Best Mac games of 2020
We round up the 129 best Mac games available in July 2020, from real-time strategy and RPGs to racing, shooting games and puzzles, together with links to buy at the best price
By Cliff Joseph, Contributor 
| 12 Aug 20
Contents
We continue our list of the best games for Mac. The next category is:
Card games
Chronicle: Runescape Legends
Company: Jagex
Where to buy: rschronicle.com (free to play, with in-game purchases)
System requirements: macOS 10.10.5, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel processor, Intel HD 3000, AMD Radeon HD 5750, or nVidia GeForce GT640M
Jagex is the developer behind the distinctly old-school Runescape MMORPG, but this spin-off game has a character of its own and actually brings some interesting new ideas to the traditional card-game format.
The most obvious difference is that — instead placing your cards on a simple flat table in front of you — Chronicle is played on a 3D ‘board’ that looks a bit like a children’s pop-up storybook. And, rather than just staring at your opponent across the table, the two of you are represented on the board by animated figures called Legends.
At the start of each battle you and your opponent — called your Rival — place your cards on the board at various points. Those cards then act as ‘encounters’ that move you closer towards the ultimate battle with your Rival. Some encounters will actually require you to defeat monsters, but can reward you with extra gold that can be used to buy ‘support’ cards that may give you a health or damage bonus.
That’s a little confusing at first, as it means that you’re often fighting your own cards, rather than engaging your Rival in battle, but sometimes it’s worth using those encounter battles to pick up useful rewards. And other encounters can also cast spells that do direct damage to your Rival, so you need to think carefully about where you place each encounter card on the 3D board.
Like most card games, Chronicles is free to play, but does its best to sell you new card packs and other upgrades through its online store. But there’s a good selection of game modes that you can explore without needing to spend any money, and the unusual 3D board-game design of Chronicles really helps it to stand out from the card-game crowd. The only drawback is that the game’s 3D graphics need a moderately powerful Mac, so check the system requirements before you download it.
Elder Scrolls Online: Legends
Company: Bethesda
Where to buy: Steam (free to play)
System requirements: macOS 10.8, discrete graphics card with 256MB VRAM
There’s no shortage of computer-based card games available these days, but Legends attempts to stand out from the crowd by drawing on the mythology and characters from the hugely popular Elder Scrolls games. Admittedly, few of the Elder Scrolls games have ever been released on the Mac so that’s not necessarily a big draw for Mac owners, but it still helps to give the game a distinctive character of its own.
The game starts with a rather drawn-out tutorial that introduces the basics of the game — and, to be honest, the tutorial isn’t great, so it’d help if you’ve already played some card games before. Then you enter the main single-player campaign, which sends you on various missions throughout the Elder Scrolls world of Tamriel, where you can earn a number of starter cards and decks along the way, before introducing the Arena and Battle modes.
There are two arena options, allowing you to either play against the computer for more practice, or to go online against other players. Both Arena modes give you good rewards, with new cards, as well as gold coins that you can use to buy more cards in the game’s online store.
That’s the catch, of course, as — like most card games — Legends is free-to-play but makes its money by tempting you to splash some cash to get better cards and other items in the online store. These range from £3 to £60, so you can spend a small fortune if you get carried away buying cards for the end-game Battle mode. Fortunately, the rewards that you can earn in the single-player and Arena modes are good enough to get you quite a long way into the game before deciding if you want to part with any real-world money.
Hearthstone
Company: Blizzard
Where to buy: playhearthstone.com (free to play, with in-game purchases)
System requirements: macOS 10.10, Intel Core Duo, Nvidia GeForce 8600M or AMD Radeon HD 2600 Pro
Hearthstone has been around for a few years now, and Blizzard’s typically slick presentation quickly established it as one of the leading computer card games. Like most card games, the basic version of Hearthstone is free to play, but offers a wide range of card packs that you can either buy with real money — starting from £2.99/€2.99 for two packs of five cards — or earn by collecting gold and treasure within the game itself.
Picking up a trick from the long-running success of World Of Warcraft, Blizzard also releases special ‘expansion packs’ for Hearthstone every now and then, which bring new features to the game, as well as new cards and other goodies.
But Hearthstone is still a fun game to play, even if you don’t want to spend a lot of money buying all the latest expansions. It’s a good option for newcomers to card games, with a simple tutorial that guides you through the main features of the game, and the basic/free version of Hearthstone still includes several different game modes that you can play in order to win new cards without spending any money at all. The game runs on most types of computer and mobile devices too, so you can switch between Mac, iOS and other devices using the same game account.
Hex: Shards Of Fate
Company: Gameforge
Where to buy: Steam (free)
System requirements: Mac with OS X v10.9, 2.0GHz dual-core Intel processor, nVidia GeForce 320M, Radeon HD 2400 or Intel HD 3000 or later
Blizzard seems to have the trading card game (TCG) scene sewn up, with millions of people regularly playing Hearthstone. But if you fancy trying a card game that offers something different then it’s worth checking out Hex.
It’s also a good option for people who are new to card games, as Hex provides an extensive tutorial that introduces the basics of the game, including the combat cards that provide various skills and powers, and resource cards that can enhance your powers in different ways.
You start by choosing a champion, from a typical mix of fantasy races and classes, such as Humans, Orcs, and Elves, Warlocks, Clerics and Rogues. Each champion has their own abilities and style of play, so your choice here will determine the type of cards that you need to collect as you progress through the game. Like most card games, Hex is free to play, but does its darnedest to sell you additional packs of cards, with a basic starter pack costing £10.99, and the Primal Dawn pack that was released just last week adding another £9.99.
Fortunately, you can get started without spending any money at all. The developers describe Hex as the first ‘MMOTCG’, as it adds elements of the massively-multiplayer online genre to the trading card format. As well as playing against other people online, you can enter the game’s story-based campaign, which allows you to explore a number of dungeons in order to earn gold and other rewards. We like the idea of trying to play solo online, as it adds a different dimension to the standard card game format, and gives you a chance to see how far you can go without breaking out the credit cards.
Minion Masters
Company: BetaDwarf
Where to buy: Steam (Free, with in-app purchases)
System requirements: Mac with OS X v10.12 or later, 2.4GHz dual-core Intel processor
In Minion Masters you collect and use cards that give you a series of different warriors and magical spells to use in battle against your opponent (who wields a similar deck). But rather than using 2D graphics to depict your battles on screen, Minion Masters steps into full 3D, which — in more ways than one — really does add an extra dimension.
Seeing the screen in 3D adds a more tactical element, as you need to think carefully about where you place your cards on the battlefield — keeping them closer to your own base can provide a stronger defence, but a sudden strike attack needs your forces to hit the ground running as close to the enemy as possible.
Once you’ve completed the initial tutorial missions, you’ll find that your enemy is another real-life human being, as the game is played online against other people, rather than simply pitting you against an artificial computer-controlled opponent. Playing online also means the leisurely turn-based combat of other card games goes out the window, and the game is played in frantic real-time with both players chucking their best fighters and spells on to the screen as fast as possible. After winning a few battles, you can unlock a multiplayer option that also allows teams of two to compete against each other.
The good news is that Minion Masters is free to download and play. But, like most card games, it does its darnedest to tempt you into buying expensive decks of cards to unlock new characters and provide in-game currency to enhance your deck.
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Author: Cliff Joseph, Contributor
Cliff is a former Editor of MacUser magazine and has more than 20 years experience of the computer and technology industries.