I have been in the beta for Hearthstone for a week now and I feel ready to chime in with my opinion.
If you have been living in a cave here's a quick intro to the game. It's a collectable card game (CCG) from Blizzard, the creators of World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft. Two players each pick a hero and use a deck to battle each other. Each hero begins the game with 30 life and the game is over once a hero reaches zero.
Tutorial
When you first start Hearthstone you need to go through the tutorial before you can begin playing others. Your first deck will be a mage deck. The tutorial is broken into six sections. Each section introduces a new mechanic of game play. It's pretty simple and veterans of other card games should cruise right through it. Once you complete the tutorial you will have access to three new modes.
Practice Mode
This mode lets you compete against AI controlled heroes. Use your mage deck and select one of the heroes. After you defeat the opposing hero you will unlock their deck for use in the game. This is also a good place to try out custom decks you have created before being embarrassed by another player.
Play
Things just got real. Here you will use your decks to battle other players at the same level as you. As you play each hero they will receive experience (XP). Your hero will unlock new cards at every other level they reach until the hit level 10.
Arena
Build a deck and see how long you last. You will select one of three heroes. Once you pick your hero you will be shown three cards to pick from. Pick a card and you are given three more. Continue selecting until you have a complete deck. Once you have your deck you will be matched with another player who has done the same. You keep using this deck until you lose three time or win nine. The more you win, the better your reward. At least that's what I hear. I have yet to win a match in arena. The Arena costs money or gold. The first time is free.
Store
Buy some cards, but don't grow to attached to them. You can buy one pack using 100 gold or multiple packs using real money. It uses your credit card associated with your battle.net account. Each pack contains five cards. At some point during the beta Blizzard will wipe everything out and you will lose whatever you got. You will receive gold to repurchase packs after the wipe but you won't get the same cards. There is one exception. If you purchase anything from the store you will be rewarded with an exclusive to beta card that you will get back after the wipe.
Everything Else
Quests - There are daily quests. Most quests offer 40 gold upon completion. You get credit for them while playing in Play and Arena modes.
Collection - A binder of all you cards. There are filters and a search field to help find what you're looking for. Not the most intuitive thing to use but better than flipping 50 pages to find a card.
I'm sure I left a lot out and much more will be added before launch. If you're a fan of card games or World of Warcraft you will enjoy this game. There are some balance issues but I'm sure those will be addressed.
