Card Thief

About

Card Thief is a single player casual turn-based strategy game. It was developed by Tiny Touch Tales and was released on March 19, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

"Card Thief is a solitaire-style stealth game where you navigate a deck of cards as a sneaky thief, extinguishing torches, pickpocketing guards, and stealing treasures. With 4 heists, multiple enemy and trap types, and 12 upgradeable equipment cards, each game offers accessible gameplay with deep tactical planning and rewarding challenges."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,020 reviews

gameplay267 positive mentions

monetization109 negative mentions

The game features stunning graphics and a unique art style that enhances the overall experience.
Gameplay is engaging and challenging, requiring strategic thinking and planning.
The game is free to play with optional ads, and a one-time purchase to unlock additional features without intrusive monetization.

The tutorial is lengthy and can be confusing, making it difficult for new players to grasp the mechanics.
Progression can feel tedious due to increasing wait times for unlocking chests, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
The game can be repetitive after a while, with limited content and a lack of meaningful rewards for collected treasures.

gameplay
460 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
39%
3%
The gameplay of the game is generally praised for its innovative mechanics, engaging design, and beautiful art style, making it enjoyable and addictive for many players. However, some users find the mechanics complex and confusing, particularly after the tutorial, leading to a steep learning curve and occasional repetitiveness. While the game offers a unique blend of stealth and card mechanics, some players express frustration with unclear instructions and the lack of meaningful rewards, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is surprisingly complex and open-ended for it residing in a 3x3 grid.”
- “The gameplay is fun and challenging for me at least.”
- “The gameplay is stellar, and really makes you feel like a thief stalking the halls of some ancient castle.”
- “The gameplay becomes repetitive after a while.”
- “The tutorials aren't very helpful, and even after beating all four castles, I still don't fully understand the mechanics of the game.”
- “I honestly found the entire gameplay very repetitive... I got bored in an hour or so. The game doesn't really give rewards or prizes, so it just feels like I'm playing for nothing.”
graphics
427 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
30%
1%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their beautiful and unique art style, which enhances the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Many users appreciate the attention to detail and the charming visuals that contribute to the game's appeal, although some note that the graphics can be demanding on device performance. Overall, the aesthetic quality is a standout feature, making the game visually engaging and enjoyable to play.
- “The graphics are amazing and so are the animations.”
- “The art style is beautiful, and the gameplay never gets old.”
- “I absolutely love the artwork and the experience it gives, amazing storytelling.”
- “The aesthetic also feels directionless and the progression is clearly slowed way down so as to mask a general lack of content.”
- “Graphics look nice but lag really bad when playing the daily event.”
- “I liked the game, but it froze twice in the daily heist (one of which I was on the way to the exit) while I like the graphics a lot it seems poorly optimized since my phone lags with the special effects, and loses its charm without them.”
monetization
150 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
8%
73%
The monetization model of the game is largely praised for being non-intrusive and optional, with players appreciating that ads are only presented as a means to speed up gameplay rather than being forced upon them. The game features a single in-app purchase to remove wait times for chests, which does not affect core gameplay, and many users find the cost reasonable for the quality of the game. Overall, players commend the developers for creating a genuinely free experience without aggressive monetization tactics, making it a standout in the mobile gaming landscape.
- “The game only has one in-app purchase that lets you play more of it in one sitting forever, but does not impact the gameplay in any way.”
- “Free to play with no ads, and none of the equipment costs any real money at all.”
- “There are no ads and the in-app purchases are truly optional and don't affect the gameplay.”
- “Was fun at first, but putting the player's earned rewards behind an hour-long timer or ad blocking is scum-level monetization.”
- “Gameplay is okay but if you're gonna play this offline then good luck opening some chests because of the timer and if you're playing online be ready to watch ads because they put it at a core aspect of the game to move forward.”
- “Its a very fun game but you are forced into watching ads to progress because they have a wait-to-win system with the chests but it doesn't progress while offline and it gets longer and longer every time.”
music
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
8%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, contributing to a charming and immersive vibe. However, there are significant complaints regarding technical issues, such as music bugs that cause unwanted tracks to play repeatedly or overlap, detracting from gameplay. Overall, while the soundtrack is often described as beautiful and fitting, these technical problems have led to frustration among players.
- “The soundtrack is fantastic, giving it a stealthy, cute vibe.”
- “The art is beautiful, and one simply must play this game with the music on, because the game's music helps sell that darkly beautiful gothic charm the game oozes with.”
- “The music and sound design create a great atmosphere, and the gameplay is fun and gets you thinking.”
- “The main menu and 'music' was the first impression and reason to immediately uninstall the game.”
- “Music bug (DJ with echo effects) breaks the game to the point you want to quit.”
- “I couldn't even play the tutorial because a really annoying song would keep playing. I tried shutting off the music in the game, but it would keep playing; it would also echo and keep starting over. It wouldn't stop until I closed the app; it made the game unplayable.”
story
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
67%
7%
The reviews highlight a strong desire for a more developed story within the game, with many players expressing that the beautiful art and engaging gameplay would be enhanced by a narrative that provides context and progression. Users suggest incorporating quests, character backstories, and a clear storyline to elevate the overall experience, as the current lack of a cohesive plot leaves the game feeling repetitive and lacking depth. Overall, while the gameplay and graphics are praised, the absence of a compelling story is a common point of criticism.
- “Would love it if there were a story or a sequel--it'd be fun to have a story that complements the wonderful art style.”
- “I absolutely love the art style and the experience it gives, amazing storytelling.”
- “Wonderful graphics and challenging gameplay with a story - very professional, loved it!”
- “Fun gameplay, great graphics but the lack of story (or maybe super unclear story?) makes it hard to get a sense of progression.”
- “I would suggest some sort of plot and a purpose for the treasure (besides rankings).”
- “It gets boring after a while and sometimes the quest to unlock higher power-ups is hard to understand; better if there was a demo on how to overcome challenges for power-ups.”
atmosphere
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
16%
8%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating art style, engaging music, and immersive themes, often evoking a D&D or gothic/steampunk vibe. Players appreciate the unique aesthetic and how it enhances the gameplay experience, making it addictive and enjoyable despite some concerns about repetitiveness. Overall, the combination of visuals and sound design creates a strong, memorable atmosphere that keeps players hooked.
- “It's creative in theme and format, extremely interesting in atmosphere.”
- “The art is gorgeous and the music is perfectly atmospheric.”
- “The artwork and the music fit perfectly and convey a spooky mischievous atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere reminds me of the medieval era.”
- “The artwork and the music fit perfectly and convey a spooky, mischievous atmosphere.”
- “Not too surprised it's a game by the same developers; it has a charming atmosphere and visuals.”
replayability
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
26%
12%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players noting that the randomized elements and unique challenges in each match contribute to an engaging experience that remains fresh over time. While some reviews mention a decline in replay value after extended play, the majority highlight the game's fun art style, strategic depth, and the abundance of content to unlock, making it a compelling choice for repeated play.
- “The game has an immense amount of replay value - as each match is played with a deck of shuffled 'cards', no two matches are the same.”
- “Highly addictive and high replayability, each time is unique and presents challenges that get you to really think how to achieve the end goal with a fat stash of plundered loot along the way.”
- “Intuitive mechanics, endless replayability, and perfect graphics make this one of the best games available for mobile.”
- “Better than most of their other games, and it still has little replay value... the different locations are the same deck with a card switched here and there. It entertained me for a week or so before I forgot about it, and it's right next to my other games, so... yeah.”
- “The only downside is it loses its replayability over time.”
- “Good fun game, complex mechanics, though not as much replay value as I hoped.”
grinding
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often requiring them to repeatedly play the same levels for minimal rewards or progression. While some appreciate the game's graphics and mechanics, many express frustration over the lack of meaningful advancement and the feeling of grinding for high scores rather than genuine achievements. The consensus suggests that the game could benefit from reducing the grind to enhance enjoyment.
- “It all started to become more tedious than fun.”
- “However, the game lacks any meaningful progression; basically, you just grind on the same level/map for around 10 times until you unlock a new map to grind another 10 times. When you get excited about unlocking a new menu option by grinding 20 chests, you realize it's just another mashup map for you to grind high score and nothing else.”
- “With two emblems (insignia/merits, whatever) per chest and needing 15 to do level two, it seems very grindy and tedious.”
stability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with frequent reports of crashes, freezes, and lag during gameplay. Many players experience issues such as the game shutting down unexpectedly, particularly after completing levels or during ad interactions, which hampers progress. While the game is praised for its design and fun elements, the overwhelming presence of bugs and performance issues detracts from the overall experience.
- “My only gripe is that trying to use an ad to accelerate lockpicking (to open chests you win from levels) always causes my game to crash, and I can't exit the ad unless I close the game entirely (which means no extra progress on lockpicking).”
- “Great game, but it's unbearable to play... lots of bugs, freezes!”
- “It shuts off or freezes after almost every round, and I'm constantly having to restart it.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
63%
14%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues such as lag, FPS drops, and excessive battery drain, particularly on older devices. While some users appreciate the graphics and gameplay, the consensus is that improvements are needed in optimization to enhance the overall experience and reduce overheating and battery consumption.
- “Great graphics, runs smoothly and a really good game idea.”
- “There is no real problem with the game, it's fun (personally/for me and probably for most people) super original, great art and, as my phone is pretty well optimized, it doesn't lag out for me.”
- “Optimization can also be done to reduce battery consumption.”
- “Performance is abysmal.”
- “I have atrocious fps drops and issues even if no other apps are running; not really sure how it can be improved performance-wise.”
- “Nice idea, good graphics, but significant lack of optimization.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its quirky character designs and amusing dialogue, such as a bird greeting players with "wha gwaan, breadcrumb?" However, some users find the humor can become repetitive or annoying over time, particularly due to the prevalence of ads and random elements that disrupt gameplay. Overall, the game's comedic elements contribute to its entertainment value, making it enjoyable for many players.
- “Haha, funny coins go cha-ching!”
- “It's hilarious walking into someone's crib and being greeted by a bird saying 'wha gwaan, breadcrumb?' Strangely, the bird could also create wormholes at random and just vanish at will.”
- “Very entertaining to play and a funny, comical, and pretty art style.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its unique and stylish character designs that incorporate humor, enhancing the overall experience. Players appreciate the strategic elements required to navigate challenges, adding depth to the characters as they work towards their goals.
- “A real stealth game with an impressive character design that requires strategic thinking to reach the loot.”
- “Character designs have a great style and a sense of humor.”