I like them very much.. as I'm looking for them at the moment, I'll post in this thread only the best ones I stumble upon.
I'll express a rate for each game with one to three stars; three stars means you should definitely try it; a game with two stars is one I had much fun with but still missing something; one star games are okayish but limited. I'll not bother to list zero-star games I don't like.
1) The first one I'd recommend is, of course,
Spectromancer http://www.mochigames.com/game/spectromancer-level-pack-cheats/ here's the thread I dedicated to it:
http://roguetemple.com/forums/index.php?topic=2396.0 . Good AI, simple rules but very challenging games, Richard Garfield among its creators.. Highly recommended.
***2) About
Magic The Gathering, there are four ways to play it on pc:
Magic On Line (MTGO), Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, other non WOTC simulators like MAGMA, and an old abadonware Microprose version called Shandalar.
MTGO has a big playerbase but its interface is ugly and ankward.. you'll get blind to read those small texts, and it'll cost you like real-life MTG to build a deck card by card.
I prefere DOTP2012, the only cons are a smaller playerbase and the impossibility to build your deck (you can change up to 20 cards in each deck though). There are also some minor rules infringments sometimes, and one of the last decks (beknighted) is somewhat overpowered.
It is possible to play Shandalar not only for free but also improved in many aspects thanks to the slightlymagic.net devs (download ManaLink here:
http://www.slightlymagic.net/wiki/Installation_Guide_and_User_Manual); the game is very cool.. you wander in the wilderness fighting different opponents winning/losing cards after every fight and slowly building your deck. Recommended. ManaLink offers also different modalities to play against the AI, human players, and many apps.
Can't say much about unofficial MTG simulators because I never managed to make them work properly, I admit, but they don't look very smooth. ChexWarriors and Getter77 listed some options in the posts below.
Ratings for MTG fans: MTGO
**; DOTP:
***; Manalink:
***; if you don't know MTG, DOTP is probably the best option to learn and start appreciating this game.
3) In
Armor Wars http://armorgames.com/play/3252/armor-wars you can build your deck with the only limitation of max 5 copies of the same card, without restricton about its minimum/maximum size, and you can even select your starting hand. Proceeding throughout the game you get gold you can use to purchase new cards and heroes with different powers.
The AI is not excellent btw, and I never managed to connect to the server to play against human opponents. The came could be maybe better balanced and polished but is still nice to play.
At the moment I think I built an almost unbeatable deck (at least for the AI): Marak Wolfsbane as hero, 5 bloodlust, 5 flame golems, 5 green wyrms, 5 shadow dragons, 1 hill dwarf, 1 kyrian watchman, 1 frailty, 1 wall of brambles, starting hand: 1 of each card type. Basically I just play the wall on the first turn and wait until I can play the wyrm than rock'n'roll. Marak makes the wall very tough to take down, and let's not talk about the wyrm, which basically becomes a monster that we could consider having 40 hp and regenerate: 6. Golems are also in good synergy with Marak ability and the dragons.. just awesome cards and still good with Marak having high hp (12). Bloodlust is the killer card.. little drawback thanks to Marak, huge boost (even the wall can attack with it). Despite the first turns it's a very fast deck able to take down iron giants without problems and beating to death 150+hp opponents in short time. The only hassle can be when an opponent is playing many recalls, because of the somewhat high average cost of the creatures, but usually once you manage to put the wyrm again there's no hope for the opponent army; anyway two ways to deal with this are playing frailty to get the required time to build resources while the opponent has three enemies, and having 7 cards in your hand so that your creatures can't be affected by recall.
Nice but still too easy/unbalanced and still without pvp.
*4)
Necronomicon 2 (
http://www.gamesloon.com/free-card-25/fantasy-ccg-games-283/necronomicon-2-54368.html), dark game inspired by
Lovecraft books, is very well made in terms of graphic, music and atmosphere. You play against the AI in a rush to reach level 30 as soon as possible. You both play with the same deck. The rules are smooth and it's fun to play it but the AI could be improved. The game also features a "challenges mode" with different preset situations. Not much replayability after you win but worth playing.
**5)
CastleWars 2 http://www.mochigames.com/game/castle-wars-2_v1/ is a quick and simple game (but still good). You are in a rush against your opponent to build a 100 "tall" castle.. or destroy the opponent's one. Cards effect include increasing the resource generation, creating fences that prevents damage to the castle, decreasing enemy resources and more. I am very good at this in PvP. Coffeebreak.
**6)
Metroplexity (
www.metroplexity.com) is a sci-fi/cyperpunk browser-based roleplaying game with a playstyle similar to Kingdom of Loathing. It has a unique set of combat mechanics and many different ways to complete each quest. Lots of content to explore and intercat with, an interesting "card based" combat system (you build your own deck with the techniques you find along your way) and really free. Good atmosphere: futuristic world where a new drug is on the street; you start investigating and kickin' dealers' asses, then you try it and it's like discovering a brand new world everything looks different under eclipse effect.. and it's just the beginning. Lots of drugs, equipments, foods, stuff to craft and later on you have the possiiblity to create your own gang and start pvp. The plot is thorough and your actions have consequences on it. On the down side, anime oriented graphics and wiki-intensive. Worth playing.
**7)
Cabals (
http://www.cabalsgame.com/) is a very nice and promising card game with a strong boardgame component. You basically build your own deck choosing among four different factions and then fight against the opponent in one of the many 5x5 grids. So it's strategy and tactics together. High quality card artwork, esotheric/mature flavour, free to play (but a competitive deck costs just 10$), development up and running, good game mechanics, decent (and growing) playerbase. Recommended.
***8)
Brute Wars http://www.gamesloon.com/free-card-25/fantasy-ccg-games-283/brute-wars-54436.html don't be fooled by the graphic, this is not another asperger syndrome flash games; in Brute Wars you will build and polish on the way your perfect party with 6 animals, fighting your way against other randomly generated 6-animals parties. At the moment I'm kickin' asses with this party: shark, whale, shark, octopus, octopus, octopus. No point in different magics. Why no drakes? Because the "far attack" thing is a rip-off; compare it to the direct attack.. those guys are useless 50% of the time, while a shark has no problems attacking distant. Ahahah.. anyway. The mechanics are very clear and it's a nice game to play, challenging enough to master. Worth playing.
*9)
Magic and Tactic http://www.gamesloon.com/free-card-25/fantasy-ccg-games-283/magic-and-tactic-16537.html limited but very interesting game mechanics and decent atmosphere (good graphic, intriguing dark ambient "music"). You summon creatures (max one every turn) and attack the opponent's; there are no resources so playing a dragon costs no more than playing a goblin; the only difference is the turn required for a card to start attacking. In combat there is randomization. You build your own deck using gold you earn during fights. Big downside: the texts on the cards are very small (MTGO style.. 'fuckers). Once mastered no replayability but challenging to manage to build the perfect deck and could become definitely interesting if further developed. Worth playing.
*10)
The 7 Elders http://www.kongregate.com/games/TadeuBAS/the-7-elders is a tactical card game with very simple rules and 5-cards decks but notwithstanding this interesting and challenging enough to win. You can build your own deck winning new cards along your way. The combat system is very basilar; there is a 3x3 grid where you put your cards and every card has four numbers wich represent its strenght in any of the four position. It is basically Triple Triad, a minigame included in Final Fantasy VIII. Crappy flash graphics/effects (but still better than a kick in the balls and therefore way better than FFVIII monsters) and not much replayability but still nice to put a couple of hours to win it.
*
Addendum:a) Still not a computer trading card game, but if you like the genre give a try to Jo's
Quest for the Goat Horn (
http://roguetemple.com/forums/index.php?topic=2342.0), a print'n'play "cardlike" (card roguelike?) you can play solo or against human opponents. It simulates a roguelike experience only using cards; each player wanders in different rooms with traps, enemies and items deciding everytime wheter it's worth or not to fight the monsters to collect the loot.
b)
CCG Maker http://www.ccgmaker.com/ is in fact a CCG Maker, and as far as I can tell from my researches on the web, probably the best one avaialbe. Simple and unpolished but seems to work.
Still to try:http://www.kongregate.com/games/proteusdev/battlecrafthttp://www.battlespell.com/playhttp://www.kongregate.com/games/bytex/berserk-the-cataclysmhttp://www.kongregate.com/games/EdgebeeStudios/card-monstershttp://www.kongregate.com/games/5thPlanetGames/clash-of-the-dragonshttp://www.kongregate.com/games/makingfun/clash-rise-of-the-heroeshttp://elementsthegame.com/http://www.kongregate.com/games/feerik/eredan-itcghttp://www.appbrain.com/app/fortunes-of-war/fortunesofwar.fullhttp://www.kongregate.com/games/nulllvoid/hd-spectrumhttp://www.kongregate.com/games/AnticEnt/kingdoms-ccghttp://www.kongregate.com/games/Kongregate/kongaihttp://www.lackeyccg.com/http://www.gamesloon.com/free-card-25/fantasy-ccg-games-283/mystic-cards-54243.htmlhttp://www.kongregate.com/games/DiffusionGames/mytheriahttp://legendsofnorrath.station.sony.com/http://www.keldon.net/rftg/http://www.kongregate.com/games/mcfenix/totemica-duelisthttp://www.kongregate.com/games/synapticon/tyranthttp://www.urban-rivals.com/http://www.kardfy.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_collectible_card_games#PC.2FOnlinehttp://forum.tcgplayer.com/forum.php
