SolForge Review

SolForge is a multiplayer trading card game that seems to play a lot like a boiled down version of Magic: The Gathering with a twist. In the game, players build decks of 30 cards to be used as an army against a single opponent. Thanks to some fantastic art and solid mechanics, SolForge holds its own as a great card game on the iPad.

Perhaps the greatest part about SolForge is that playing it is a snap. The game board shows two sets of five card slots, and players simply plug creature cards into those slots to place them in the battlefield. Once that is done, these characters enter a battle phase where they attack any enemies directly across from them. In the event there is no enemy to battle with, creatures deal direct damage to the opposing player. Each game ends when one of the two players takes 100 points of damage.

Although the basic mechanics for actually playing SolForge seem dead simple, there are a lot of things to keep track of that make mastering winning strategies challenging and satisfying. For example; when playing cards, players can only play up to two out of a hand of five. Once those two cards are played, the hand is discarded and completely new cards are drawn again. Also, playing cards multiple times allows players to "level them up" to a more powerful version. Lastly, players can win more cards by successfully beating their opponents and use those to customize their own decks.

These added layers to SolForge make it a much more compelling package than it would be if it were a more standard card game. And although it crashes a bit on iOS and has offers for in-app purchases, it is still worth checking out right now (especially since it's free!).

Overall SolForge is a cool new evolution of digital card games. Leveling up creatures and lane management makes it even feel a bit like the card game version of Defense of the Ancients (DoTA). If players are the least bit interested in iOS card games SolForge is a pretty great get, even despite its flaws.