It's been over 10 years now, but I've spent several hundred hours in the world of The Witcher 3 I spent a lot of time playing the game within the game – Gwent. I collected every card I could and rode through the beautiful world, not only to slay monsters but also to find opponents to play Gwent with. The digital card game had completely captivated me. The Deluxe Edition of the game already included smaller card sets that allowed you to play the game analogously. However, I never got my hands on these. So I was all the more delighted when... Asmodee announced the 10th anniversary of the video game Gwent in 2025.
This 5-minute insight is intended to deliver what the title suggests. A brief insight with our opinion in just under 5 minutes of reading..
The analog version of Gwent essentially has everything ready that we have to painstakingly piece together in the digital world. We have a total of five Gwent card sets: the Northern Realms, the Nilfgaardian Empire, the Scoia'tael, the Monsters from the base game, and the Skellige set from the expansion. Each of the five card sets plays fundamentally the same, but they have slightly different cards, each enabling different strategic approaches. While the Nilfgaardian Empire, for example, focuses on good balance, the Monsters prioritize quantity and try to bring as many cards into play as possible, with the drawback that their cards are generally somewhat weaker individually.
The basic game is played by two people against each other. At the start of a game, you choose a deck of cards to play with. Then you decide whether to play with the standard deck or build your own. You also choose a leader card. Each deck of cards has its own leaders, each with different special abilities that can be used once per game or passively.
The basic gameplay is the same as in the digital version. Both players shuffle their decks and draw 10 cards. They can then discard up to 2 cards and draw 2 new ones. From this point on, players must manage with these 10 cards for the remainder of the game. Only certain abilities or effects allow players to draw additional cards or play cards directly from their deck.
The game is played in a best-of-three format. Whoever has the higher total strength on the board at the end of a round wins. On your turn, you must perform one of three actions: 1. Play a card, 2. Use your leader's ability, or 3. Pass. If both sides pass, the total strength is tallied. The player with the lower strength loses one of their two gems (or lives). Then, all played cards are discarded, and a new round begins. If a player loses their second gem, they lose the game.
Information about Gwent
| Number of players: 1 – 5 Age: from 14 years Playing time: 20 minutes Difficulty: higher family game Classification: Card game, Hand Management Author: CD Projekt Red, Rafał Jaki, Damien Monnier Illustrations: CD Projekt Red Publisher: CD Projekt Red, No Loading Games, Asmodee Official Website: Link Year of publication: 2025 Language: German Cost: approximately €40 |
Conclusion
Even in its analog version, Gwent possesses the depth and tactical decision-making of the digital original, with the advantage that all cards are available from the start. This might overwhelm newcomers, but veterans will appreciate it. Here, too, careful consideration must be given to when and whether to pass and retain cards for subsequent rounds, because in Gwent, if you play all your cards too early, there won't be any left for the following rounds.
The various game modes included are also a nice touch. For example, you can play a tournament, a round with up to 5 players, or a 2 vs. 2 game. Personally, I didn't enjoy the variations as much as the original game, but it was great that you could play a tournament with just one copy. I took advantage of that opportunity right away, and it brought great joy to everyone involved that evening.
Gwent, however, doesn't quite deliver the same smooth gameplay experience in its analog form as in its digital counterpart. The culprit is the way combat strength is calculated. What happens automatically digitally requires tedious, repeated double- and triple-checking in the analog version. Despite the combat strength chart, it's impossible to know for sure whether all combat strength points have been correctly tallied. Depending on which effects or abilities are used, combat strengths can change in the blink of an eye. This often necessitates quickly doubling the strength of all cards, and so on.
The game's quality isn't great either. It comes with a kind of "poster" that can be used as a game mat. It includes all the different spaces and the combat strength track. This "poster" has obviously been folded several times to fit in the box, giving it a rather cheap feel on the table. There's also an additional combat strength track printed on cardboard. However, it only has four strength markers and gems (hit points). More markers would have been useful for the tournament version. At least the cards are standard.
In the end, Gwent as an analog card game didn't really grab me anymore. I simply have enough other card games that are significantly better and more engaging than Gwent. However, it did pique my interest in another digital adventure in the world of The Witcher.
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