App Review: Adventure Time: Card Wars for iOS and Android

Apps GeekMom
Image capture: Patricia Vollmer.
Image capture: Patricia Vollmer.

My youngest son is our Adventure Time fan. Based on our multiple product reviews and the birthday party he had in January, our blog regulars probably know that already.

GeekMom received an invitation to check out the new Adventure Time: Card Wars app for iOS and Android, and I was happy to check it out and let my sons play. The review here discusses our download of the iOS version for my iPad 2. We did not test it on our Android tablet.

The game is based on the Season 4 Adventure Time episode, “Card Wars“, in which Jake the Dog unearths a card deck and challenges Finn the Human to a game. The winner of the game is to be deemed “Cool Guy,” while the loser is the “Dweeb” and has to drink a grog-style drink of assorted ingredients as penance. The card game in the episode pays homage to popular TTGs such as Magic: The Gathering and PokémonIn the episode, you see a wide variety of capabilities and non-capabilities that can be used to battle your opponent.

You begin play as a Jake the Dog (shown here playing against Finn the Human), but will collect other Adventure Time characters as the game progresses. You can play those additional characters in parallel. My sons are playing as Jake, Finn, and Lady Rainicorn simultaneously right now. Image capture: Patricia Vollmer.
You begin play as Jake the Dog (shown here playing against Finn the Human with the “Dweeb” and “Cool Guy” cups of soda), but will collect other Adventure Time characters as the game progresses. You can play those additional characters in parallel. My sons are playing as Jake, Finn, and Lady Rainicorn simultaneously right now. © Cartoon Network

The app is based on this game accurately enough, even though I saw some reviewer on iTunes complain that not all capabilities from the television episode were available in the app. Players will start with a tutorial that covers the basics of game play. Then, you’re all set to venture on your own.

First, you’ll lay down your “land” cards, which provide the setting. These cards frame what warriors and spells you’re able to set up on the tabletop. After your opponent sets up his/her land cards, warriors, and spells, you will then “battle.”

The battle part of the game takes a little bit of tablet savvy. As seen in the image below, there’s a spinning pointer on-screen. Tap the tablet to time the pointer with where you want it to land. Where it ends up corresponds with the level of attack or defense you will have. You win/lose the game according to the types of cards you have in combination with your ability to tap the tablet properly. It’s an interesting mix.

Tap to attack. This will test your hand-eye coordination. Image capture: Patricia Vollmer.
Tap to attack. This will test your hand-eye coordination. The green signifies a successful attack, while the red is a loss. © Cartoon Network

My sons are really enjoying this game and continue to play it often after nearly three weeks. However, there are in-app purchases available that they claim would help them enjoy it more. We ordinarily don’t do in-app purchases, but gems are available for purchase at approximately $0.99 each.

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Image: Turner Entertainment.
The more you purchase, the cheaper they are. You can cash in the gems for additional health, special cards, and extra shuffles of your deck of cards.

Like other games, the in-app purchases will help you achieve tasks more quickly. However, the game can be played perfectly well without the investment.

Adventure Time: Card Wars retails for $3.99 and is now available at both the iTunes App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android devices. In-app purchases start at $0.99. The game is rated for ages 9+ for infrequent/mild cartoon or fantasy violence.

GeekMom received this item for review purposes.

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3 thoughts on “App Review: Adventure Time: Card Wars for iOS and Android

  1. This game is totally worth the buckaroos. Reasonable battles, tough enough bosses, and just when you think it might become mundane they add new Heros, new challenges, and better prize chests…yadda-yadda. I play this game a ton. My coworker plays at least an hour a day. I recommend it to everyone, no matter their game-style. It’s great. :3

    You’re only forced to buy more gems if you want to get through the game faster. I personally like the fact that it spaces you out and promotes breaks. It’s a good game and it’s hard to know when to stop. My hearts last me at least a hour of game time and accrue one heart for every fifteen minutes. I sense the anger stems from enjoying the game so much that the player is forced to buy more to keep enjoying it. I personally like the challenge. Plus, the game lasts longer this way. http://thebookofsarah.blogspot.com/2014/04/card-wars-apk-download-for-android.html

  2. Everyone’s complaining about this game. I simply do not understand why. Go play flappy birds you noobs. You do not need IAP to enjoy this game. You do need strategies in order to beat your opponent and lots of patience. You people just want things to be easy! And if you want to refill your heart, which is one of the main things some are crying about, just go to settings, turn off the wifi and change the date. Tada noobs! This works with every game that does not use online sign in. God!

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