The most addicting free online game you can play right now: SkyWeaver
This collectible card game leverages new innovations in tech to take on rival games like Hearthstone while giving players the edge with a unique offering
The SkyWeaver homepage is enticing, drawing you in and making you want to explore the world and find out what it's all about.
Digital collectible card games took the world by storm when Blizzard’s Hearthstone launched on mobile phones in 2015. An overnight success, it seemed every commuter on the train and kid at the lunch table was playing a game. The game exploded in popularity and quickly spawned so many competitors it was hard to keep track. But there was one glaring problem not just with the game, but with digital gaming as a whole.
People spend their valuable time playing games like Hearthstone and they are rewarded with in-game cards and items. You can even spend real world money to buy card packs and other cosmetic items. Yet you never actually own these items. They’re just rented. It’s happened countless times: you buy a few card packs (US$1.50 each) and HOLY COW you got a legendary card! Except you already have that card. Now you’re stuck with two of the same rare cards that you can’t trade or sell even though there are people who would pay for it. Now there’s finally a solution.
Blockchain and Ethereum are creating a platform for unstoppable, powerful, decentralized applications (dApps) that are giving the edge back to the player
In comes blockchain which allows for the digital transfer of wealth between 2 people without an intermediary. Any game can be built on top of this decentralized infrastructure layer (Ethereum). The most hyped dApp is Gods Unchained, which looks like a copypasta of Hearthstone (AAA, beautiful, and polished). Another lesser known game with the same Coinbase backing is SkyWeaver. Now players can actually own their in-game assets. So if they get a duplicate or decide to quit altogether, they can sell their cards and walk away with some money instead of getting the shaft. This also means you can buy the exact cards you need to complete your dream deck instead of buying random packs and trying to get lucky (read:gambling). Though it doesn’t have the same pomp and circumstance of a AAA title, the game is tenfold more fun and addicting to play (and it’s just as beautiful).
Same basic premise: you have a hero, a card deck which contains spells and units with attack/defense. You gain +1 max mana every turn and the goal is to kill the enemy hero while keeping yours alive. The twist that makes this game so fun is that units can have spells as well that are playable when they’re on the battlefield. The unit spells cost mana, are single-use, and can be replaced by enemy debuff spells. This brings a level of interaction that is extremely engaging. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities that weren’t there before. There is a sense of urgency to use the unit’s spell before it dies or before the spell is replaced by an enemy’s debuff spell. The debuff spells will either damage your character or stop them from attacking, and will cost mana to remove. These spells can change the course of a battle 180 degrees.
We’ve all played that game that just seems so heavily one-sided it’s not even fun anymore. However with SkyWeaver these moments are scarce. Anything can happen, even when your opponent has a board full of units and you have zero. The end may seem nigh, but then you pull the perfect spell to clear the board the heal your hero. Hope is easy to come by. The most attractive part of this game, though, is the playstyle.
Death seems imminent. The enemy has 5 units, a total of 12 attack, and I only have 7 life left with 1 unit. But the next card I drew changed the landscape allowing me to turn the tides of the battle and gain the upper hand.
The mechanics of the game are so engaging that it sucks up 100% of your attention. No more idle gaming. You can’t look away, even for a minute. Interactions between units is key, with each character having special abilities or spells that you need to be aware of to fully utilize or be able to counter so they can’t be used against you.
This unit has a spell “Flock”, seen as the blue bubble between it’s attack and HP. The spell costs 6 mana and summons 3 units “Songbird” which is shown to the right. The songbird has Banner, an ability which gives your hero +1 attack. 3 Songbirds gives your hero +3 attack, along with the combined 3 attack from all the Songbirds. This is a pretty powerful spell, which is why it costs 6 mana.
SkyWeaver is still in beta, but the current iteration is many times more captivating than its competitors.
Here are 8 ways in which this game is changing the meta:
1. The interaction between cards has been cranked up to 11
You have to know what each and every card on the table can do, what spells it has, and what it might trigger when it dies. If you lose sight of any of these, it will come back to bite you.
2. There is no mana cap
No longer are you stuck playing only a couple cards per turn. Sometimes games go so long you can reach 14 or 15 mana or more! This is great because it cranks up the stakes due to some spells like “Lose all your mana, deal that much damage to enemies” or “this unit gets X attack (X is your max mana”). It also makes longer games finish faster, as you can throw out more powerful units and start cranking out damage.
3. Units themselves can have spells
This is a big deal, because it adds a layer of depth that no other game has. A 1 cost unit might have a 4 cost spell, meaning it’s no wimp. And because the unit’s spells can be replaced by enemy “debuff” spells, and debuff spells can be replaced by ally spells, it makes you think twice about what move to make.
4.The game balance is nearly perfect
No more feeling like the game is stacked against you 100:1. Digging yourself out of a hole is much easier with a high variety of cards and spells to turn the tide. On the flip side: don’t get too cocky if you have a full board of units and victory seems imminent.
Some games might seem lopsided, like being up 47 health to 1 with a board full of units, but that can all change with the draw of a single spell or unit. So don’t get cocky, and don’t lose hope!
5. The art is superb and really beautiful to play
The characters on the cards pop out of the cards creating an effect of them coming to life. The characters are visually pleasing and their level of detail is remarkable. Whoever designed the character art for this game deserves a raise. The background art and effects are quite nice, too. The sky behind the gameboard actually changes from day to night, with rendered clouds floating lazily past. Very polished for a beta level game.
6. Built on blockchain means the cards you earn or buy are yours to keep, trade, or sell, forever
That’s right, no more lifetime rentals. You really own these assets just like physical games. Decide to stop playing a game for good? Instead of just walking away empty handed you can sell all your items on the open market and get a fair price for them.
7. Heroes have attack by default
Though it may seem like a small change, it has a massive impact on the game. Your hero can always do 1 damage with his attack, which makes it a bit easier to get out of sticky situations. The hero’s attack can be boosted, as well, by spells and allied units. Utilizing the hero’s attack makes game go a bit faster as both heroes tend to lose HP every turn. It also gives you more options in terms of dispatching enemy units, even though attacking them will trigger a counter-attack, damaging your hero.
8. Built on blockchain means you own your in-game assets
The future of gaming is here, where whatever cards or items you earn or buy are yours. Forever. You can do with them as you like, so if you decide to quit a game you don’t have to walk away and lose all your investment, you can liquidate all your items and actually get a decent chunk of change them.
What are you waiting for? Sign up today and start playing this life changing game! www.SkyWeaver.net (still in closed beta so you’ll have to queue up).
Source: https://medium.com/@cobler.d/the-most-addicting-free-online-game-you-can-play-right-now-skyweaver-fb022fc21a97