Card games may not be the most popular genre in our catalogue, but it remains a great focus of creativity where developers are innovating continuously, as in the unique game Card Thief. This title is based on solitaire, that inveterate classic that everybody’s played before, but gives it a radical twist: you play a burglar whose aim is to steal as much treasure as you can without getting caught. The premise might seem surprising, but it somehow works perfectly as a card game.
Much of the credit for the creative boost recently happening to card games falls on the shoulders of this game’s creator: Arnold Rauers, the brain behind Card Crawl, ENYO, and the recent Miracle Merchant, whose praises we were singing recently. His genius lies in turning the traditional concepts of old-school card games on their head – and he’s done it again brilliantly in this game, which is surprising not just for its premise but also for the trademark shadowy visual style that transports you to a sort of Dark Ages.
Our short description above makes clear what your task is in Card Thief, but we haven’t told you how: you’ve got a table with 9 cards on it and have to guide your cat burglar along the most straightforward path to his escape. You’ve got a limited number of moves and most of the cards on the table will cost you a few of them. Every time you make a “run” new cards will replace the previous ones and you’ll have to carry on like this until find the card that gets you out. All this while dodging the guards who are after you and stealing everything you can, which won’t be simple – especially with the torches that will make every step trickier and that you have to put out as you carry on. This may sound complicated but once you’ve played one or two rounds you’ll get the hang of it. Plus there’s valuable equipment to rob along the way and help save your hide.
Card Thief is one those games that might fly under the radar among all the brouhaha in our vast Android catalogue, but it’s a proper gem that you really must give a go. It recently got a big update that lets you play with 10 new thieves, each with his own characteristics that have a big impact on the game. A comprehensive game delivered up in a fantastic package, thanks to the shadowy illustrations that it shows off.
Card Thief for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download
