Hearthstone is a turn-based collectible card game. The ultimate objective when playing this game is to become the last hero standing. At the start of each game, the player is presented with a deck of 30 cards which contains four different types of cards that is, the minions, spells, weapons and the hero. These cards are ordered by rarity – in order of the rarest to the most common, they are as follows – Legendary, Epic, Rare, Common and Basic. The minions, spells and weapons do damage to the health of the opposing player’s hero and once the health meter comes down to zero, the game ends and the player wins.
Hearthstone does come in several game modes. These are as follows:
- One-on-One matches: Players takes on a randomly selected human opponent.
- Arena: A multiplayer mode in which the player is given the room to draft a deck of 30 cards from choices of three cards over several rounds.
- Tavern Brawls: A multiplayer mode in which players engage in weekly missions which may use unusual deck-building guidelines.
- Battlegrounds: A multiplayer mode in which eight players compete in each match by recruiting minions. The eight players are paired off randomly with combat between minions played out automatically. The player with the most minions remaining will inflict damage on the opposing player’s heroes thus giving himself the opportunity to be the last man standing.
- Duels: A multiplayer mode in which players assemble a 15-card deck on their own. Players’ battle against other players until the last man standing emerges.
- Classic: This mode reverts back to the very first version of Hearthstone released in June 2014 allowing players the opportunity to play the game without any updates or changes.
Hearthstone as an eSport
Ever since Hearthstone first emerged on the gaming scene, it has been incorporated into the eSports industry. This largely necessitated by the game developer’s focus on fast-paced gameplay and accessibility. The first Hearthstone eSports tournament was organized by Tespa in March 2014 and it was dubbed the Collegiate Hearthstone Open. More and more tournaments since that time have since been organized thus strengthening Hearthstone as one of the best eSports games in the industry. The Hearthstone tournaments that players and fans can look forward to in 2021 include the following:
Hearthstone Major Tournaments for 2021 (All events Online)
- Masters 2021 Ironforge: March 15 – Prize Pool ($250 000)
- Grandmasters 2021 S1 America: April 9 – Prize Pool ($11 500)
- Masters 2021 Orgrimmar: April 30 – Prize Pool ($250 000)
- Masters 2021 Daleran: June 18 – Prize Pool ($250 000)
- Masters 2021 Silvermoon: August 27 – Prize Pool ($250 000)
- Masters 2021 Stormwind: October 22 – Prize Pool ($250 000)
- Masters 2021 Undercity: November 19 – Prize Pool ($250 000)