Cardburners: Chaotic and Surprisingly Hard

• Developer: GrosChevaux
• Publisher: GrosChevaux
• Platforms: Steam

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co

I had the impression that Cardburners was going to be a silly little, and somewhat simple, card game. But after a couple of hours into the game, I realized that while yes, it is simple, the tempo and strategy needed were unexpected. That being said, it’s as fun and chaotic as I thought it would be.

The premise of Cardburners is simple: there’re four packs, and each pack has its own rule, although that only matters depending on who you’re going up against. Each pack will probably remind you of another card game; “Crazy 8” is basically Uno, while “Cardpursuit” is somewhat like Monopoly, in a way. And while some of these rules are similar to more familiar or common card games, the chaotic part comes through the fact that… there are no turns, and the cards keep coming, and coming, and coming.

While the rules of the game may change depending on the cards being used, the one thing that won’t change is the tempo. Each level will have its CPM (Cards per minute), and for every card not used, that’s damage taken directly to you. Mix that speed with the wacky rules, sometimes getting wackier because of abilities or a mix of packs, and you’ll basically just slam your space bar every millisecond, hoping the card activates (although that could also backfire).

Are Burning Hands Worth It?

This game, Cardburners, is much, MUCH harder than I thought it would be. I understood the idea of rapidly activating cards, but even with only one pack it’s still hard. I’ve had to use strategies, if you could call them that, to beat certain characters—the strategy was holding two cards for later, which everyone is able to do—but it was still a pain to beat some people. At times, it felt like the game wanted me to lose, but after I won a round, I realized that it was just me misplaying.

Some packs, for me, are more enjoyable than others, which I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, but a good sign. There’s a pack for everyone, and it’s not like there’s 50 different packs, but only four. And you can even play against your friends, where you’re able to mix and match and play whichever pack.

And all of this for the price of 10 USD? It’s a really nice price, considering the replayability and multiplayer capabilities. That being said, it’s not a strategic game per se, just a chaotic casual game anyone can pick up and play for either a few hours or minutes. I’d say if you’re someone that likes Exploding Kittens, then there’s something here for you.

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