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Free vs Paid Trading Card Games of 2022
If you're big on MTG or even just missing the old Pokemon card games of the 90s, you have to read this one. I think you'll find you can get even spend less money on these decks.

Gone are the days of lugging tons of pounds of cards around in books. Now you can play all your favorite card games on your mobile device. We tested some of the highest-ranked games to see which ones were worth your time and what came out on top, paid vs free. After our extensive research, The Witcher Card Game came out on top, beating some great games in the process. Want to know which other games completed our top 3? Read on to find out!
Table of Contents
Best for Animated Card Games
Why we chose GWENT: The Witcher Card Game:
- Totally free to play, but there are in-app purchases available from $0.99 – $139.99 if you want to buy extra packs.
- Great for beginners with easy-to-understand tutorials to help you learn the game.
- High-quality graphics and fantastic animations make this game even more visually appealing.
- Good use of strategy and tactics makes this game even more enjoyable to play.
Best for fun card game experience
Why we chose Exploding Kittens:
- Only $1.99 to download, and extra packs are available for another $1.99. Overall the cheapest game we really enjoyed.
- An incredibly fun and enjoyable game that will have you in tears laughing.
- Creative gameplay with good use of tactics and strategy.
- User-friendly interface that is easy to learn and great for beginners.
- Quick, fast-paced game that doesn’t take too long to finish.
- Smooth animations and easy-on-the-eye graphics.
The best for playable action
Why we chose Mortal Kombat:
- Free-to-play game. In-app purchases are available from $0.99 - $99.99.
- Easy controls and super easy to learn the buttons.
- Great use of challenges and in-game tasks keep the game exciting.
- Fantastic graphics and animations, especially on the more brutal ‘finisher’ moves.
- Quick and easy, fast-paced action keeps the game engaging and fun.
Everything We Recommend
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Our Pick
GWENT: The Witcher Card Game
4.4 Ratings 437K+ Reviews 1M+ DownloadsJoin in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game — available for free! Blending the CCG and TCG genres, GWENT sees you clash in fast-paced online PvP duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction. Collect and command Geralt, Yennefer and other iconic Witcher-world heroes. Grow your collectible arsenal with spells and special abilities that dramatically turn the tide of battle. Use deception and clever tricks in your strategy to win the fight in classic, seasonal and Arena modes. Play GWENT: The Witcher Card Game for free now!
FREE TO PLAY THAT’S WORTH YOUR TIME — A fair and fun progression system turns the effort of building a competitive collection of cards into pure pleasure — simply collect new cards to build decks with as you play GWENT; no strings attached.
STUNNING, ALL ACROSS THE BOARD — Beautiful, hand-drawn art and mesmerizing visual effects breathe life into every card, battle and battlefield, making GWENT fun to play and every duel a joy to watch.
SKILL BEATS LUCK — Crush the enemy with brute strength or outsmart them with clever tricks — no matter your deck, GWENT’s unique round-based gameplay opens up a world of strategic possibilities to play with when fighting for victory.
MORE THAN ONE WAY TO PLAY — Whether it’s a quick online game against a friend, a highly competitive PvP challenge, or something new and wildly adventurous like the Arena, GWENT’s selection of game modes has got you covered.
EASILY SATISFYING, ANYTHING BUT EASY — Sling cards from your deck across two tactically distinct rows — melee and ranged. Gather more points in the duel against your opponent to win a round. Win two out of three rounds to win the battle. It won’t be easy, but no one said it should be.
NO HOLDING BACK, NO HOLDING HANDS — You start with 10 cards from your deck in hand, able to play each card right from the start. It’s up to you to open the game with your strongest unit, or save the best for later in the fight. How will your deck look and what will your strategy be?CostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$0.99 - $99.99 per item$4.99 - $29.99 per item -
Runner Up
Exploding Kittens® - Official
4.6 Ratings 62K+ Reviews 500K+ DownloadsPlay the most-funded game in Kickstarter history anywhere with the Exploding Kittens® Official mobile game!
🐈💣
The mobile version of the game is available now, including the Party Pack, Betrayal, Streaking Kittens, and the all new Barking Kittens expansion! Play with friends or strangers in online play, challenge the AI, or play offline with friends face-to-face!
In this highly-strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette, players draw cards until someone draws an Exploding Kitten, at which point they explode, they are dead, and they are out of the game -- unless that player has a Defuse card, which can defuse the Kitten using things like laser pointers, belly rubs, and catnip sandwiches. All of the other cards in the deck are used to move, mitigate, or avoid the Exploding Kittens.
KEY FEATURES:
- Exploding Kittens is a multiplayer card game for people who are into kittens and explosions and laser beams and sometimes goats.
- Play with 2 to 5 players across multiple phones in the same room, or online with friends or strangers
- Featuring original art by The Oatmeal
- New cards exclusive to the digital version of Exploding Kittens
- Digital versions of the hit expansions, including Streaking and Barking Kittens, as well as digital exclusive Betrayal and Party decks
- The digital version of the most backed game in Kickstarter history
Created by Elan Lee (Xbox, ARGs), Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal), and Shane Small (Xbox, Marvel).
Exploding Kittens is a paid app in which optional game features may be purchased with real money. You must be at least 13 years old to download and play. There is also an option to compete online against strangers and resulting data transfer charges may apply. Player usernames and expressions are their own. Exploding Kittens, LLC is not responsible for and does not endorse player usernames or expressions. For our privacy policy, visit www.explodingkittens.com/privacy.Cost$1.99$1.99In-App Purchases$0.99 - $1.99 per item$0.99 - $9.99 per item -
Also Groovy
MORTAL KOMBAT: A Fighting Game
4.3 Ratings 5M+ Reviews 50M+ DownloadsExperience the over-the-top, visceral fighting action of MORTAL KOMBAT! Bring the power of next-gen gaming to your mobile and tablet device with this visually stunning fighting and card collection game. Assemble an elite team of Mortal Kombat warriors and prove yourself in the greatest fighting tournament on Earth!
MK11 CHARACTERS
The MK11 team is extremely versatile, packed with unique abilities and powerful team synergies to inflict pain onto your enemies. The MK11 collection includes MK11 Raiden, Scorpion, Jade, Sub-Zero, Kabal, and Skarlet, and they are just as deadly as their console counterparts! They even perform the same Fatal Blow!
FIGHT IN BRUTAL 3v3 COMBAT
Create your own team of Mortal Kombat fighters and lead them into battle to earn experience, new special attacks, and powerful artifacts. Team up warriors with unique synergies to get an advantage over your enemies such as Team Ronin, Team Nightmare, and Team Day of the Dead!
CCG - BUILD A MASSIVE ROSTER
This game is the ultimate CCG! Collect over 130 Mortal Kombat characters including veterans like Scorpion, Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero, Cassie Cage, Ermac, and many others. Discover new additions to Mortal Kombat Mobile like the bloodthirsty Vampiress Mileena, soccer champion Kombat Cup Sonya Blade, mysterious Klassic Reptile, and warrior princess Ronin Kitana.
COMPLETE DIFFICULT CHALLENGES
Prove yourself in epic battles and complete a series of matches to bring new Mortal Kombat warriors to your roster! Come back every week to take on a different Challenge and expand your Kollection.
MULTIPLAYER FACTION WARS
Compete and fight with other players in Faction Wars, an online competitive mode where players engage other player teams. Rank up in your Faction’s leaderboard to earn weekly prizes.
PERSONALIZE YOUR FIGHT GAME
Unlock unique character customizations in Feats of Strength. Win battles to show off your mastery with limitless combinations of action packed Victory Stances, insulting Victory Taunts, and champion worthy War Banners. Unlocking Feats of Strength also boosts stats for characters!
JAW DROPPING FATALITIES
Mortal Kombat Mobile brings its trademark Fatalities to mobile, with stunning graphics, and over the top action moves that will punch you right in the guts. Other fighting games don’t come close!
EARN REWARDS ON EPIC QUESTS
Send characters on epic Quests to earn special rewards! Begin your journey in Outworld and make your way to Netherrealm!
Download this groundbreaking, free fighting game TODAY and unleash your power!
Hit us up on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MKMobileGame/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkmobilegame
For game support: https://go.wbgames.com/MKhelp
NOTICES:
* Mortal Kombat Mobile features high quality visuals. Performance is not optimized on devices with less than 1.0 GB RAM.
* Mortal Kombat Mobile is an online-only game.
* A minimum of 1.1 GB of free space is required on your device.
Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. Contains intense violence, blood, and gore.
Ad Choices: policies.warnerbros.com/privacy/en-us/#adchoice
Terms of Use: policies.warnerbros.com/terms/en-us
Do Not Sell My Personal Information: privacycenter.wb.com/donotsellCostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$0.99 - $99.99 per item$1.99 - $19.99 per item
The 411 from our Appventurer
How we tested?
Once I had them ready, I tested each game for approximately 1 hour a day. Some games were fast-paced, which meant I could get a good feel for the game in a short space of time, whereas others were slower and took a little longer to play.
I also wanted to know how well these games were at initiating new players.
With all this in mind, I was able to rank the games and establish a top 3.
Why get the app?
Playing with an app is just as fun; it costs less, and you can play multiple styles of game without having to spend a fortune or lug around a bunch of cards, not to mention putting them at risk of losing them.
Whether you play on your commute or when you’re lounging in bed, getting an app gives you more control over how and when you play the games you love.
More About GWENT: The Witcher Card Game: Our Pick
That didn’t happen with The Witcher.
The graphics are fantastic, and the use of animation in the game when you play certain cards is certainly a great choice.
As for the strategy and tactics involved, we quickly learned that if you’re not careful, you’ll lose more than you win.
You can build your packs, enhance your deck and strengthen your hands in a range of different ways, including buying extra cards if you wish.
When you play the game, you’ll find plenty of different game options available.
As for how close this is to the TV show, or how well it brings the books to life, we couldn’t say, but we did certainly enjoy playing, and we’re sure you will too.
Snags but not drags:
It’s hard to find anything that we didn’t like about this game. We thoroughly enjoyed playing, and we enjoyed all aspects of it.
However, if there was one area that could be developed, we would have to say the speed. We did find that when playing best of 3, the games did go quite long; although this isn’t a deal-breaker by any means, it’s just something to note.
We also feel it would be great to know more about the Witcher, so if they could add some extra videos to the tutorial, just to give us an idea of the world, that would be pretty good.
More About Exploding Kittens: Runner Up
When we first heard the name, we weren’t sure what to expect, but when you open the app, it all makes sense.
Exploding Kittens is a card game where players take turns taking a card from the deck. However, at any moment, the card you draw could be an ‘Exploding Kitten,’ and that’s where the fun begins.
Strategy, tactics, and a sense of humor will get you far in this game, and you can easily find yourself passing the time playing multiple games in a row as you try to come out on top.
The graphics in the game are great. They use the right level of fun and humor to bring the game to life, and the sound that goes with it is just as good (and silly).
It’s super easy to play if you’re new to mobile games, and it’s also fairly fast-paced, which means you can play over and over again whenever you have some spare time.
Exploding Kittens is a paid game, but at only $1.99, we think it’s well worth it.
It isn’t 'pay to win' like some of the other games we tested, but you do have the option to buy expansion packs if you want.
These are also priced at $1.99, and they give you a range of different cards that you can use with your opponent.
Overall this is a really enjoyable trading card game that everyone will love. It doesn’t follow the similar format of putting your team up against another, but it’s just as enjoyable to play.
More About Mortal Kombat: Also Groovy
Just like a traditional trading card game, you pick your best team possible, and you put them up against another team to do battle.
The game format is similar to what you’d expect in other trading card games, and you will discover a range of players with different strengths and weaknesses that you can use to your advantage. You can also enhance your players and make them stronger as you create a more powerful team.
From the fantastic graphics (especially in fight scenes) to the easy-to-touch buttons, this game is quick and easy to play, whatever your experience level, and we don’t think it’d pose a problem if you were completely new to the game.
It’s a trading card game with a twist, and we think you’ll love it.
Other Apps Considered
This iconic game was fun and easy to play, and we loved having the ability to duel with other players around the world. However, we did find it a little slow at times which took away some of the fun. We also had a few issues with the game crashing, which did become frustrating.
We had a lot of fun with this game, and we’re sure you will too. It features some of your favorite animated characters from hit shows such as Family Guy, Futurama, Bob’s Burgers, and more, and it’s just a whole lot of fun. If you’re new to trading card games and you watch these TV shows, this will be a great place to start.
If you’re already familiar with the Magic games, this could be a good game to try; however, we felt it wasn’t the most user-friendly game, and the app still had a few bugs. It also used a lot of memory, and it seemed like every time we played, there was a new 1GB download we had to sit through.
If you like the fantasy genre, then you’ll love this fame. It features great use of strategy and tactics, and the graphics and gameplay are great too. The only area we’d like to see developed would be the ratio of ‘pay to win’ players, because as you advance further through the game, and you start to face more of these players, it makes it really hard to win.
The potential is there for this to be a fantastic game. It has a great story with amazing visuals and exciting gameplay, however, we couldn’t get to grips with it. The game regularly crashed, and it used a lot of data. There were constant updates and new things to download, which took a very long time to download.
This was a really great game, and we had a lot of fun playing it.
If you like fun, fast-paced card games, this is a great place to start. It has good graphics, great heroes, and balanced play, making it stand out as one of the better games that we tested.
Anton Mark
As a freelancer, I use all types of different apps so that I can manage my time and remain organized with ease. I’m always on the go so I love anything that can help me to stay on top of my tasks but for fun, I love playing games or watching movies.
I’m a huge sports fan so I’ll usually be checking the latest scores or following up on my teams and I also like to expand my mind with audiobooks and podcasts. Using apps allows me to get through so much more in a typical day that I simply wouldn’t be able to cover otherwise and I love it.
Being able to write about apps is pretty great as I get to research the best apps out there and find the hidden gems that people may not know about then share that information to help others discover their new favorite apps.
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Mathilde
Thank you for sharing!