Avengers, assemble your decks! Marvel SNAP reaches far across the Multiverse to bring together hundreds of heroes and villains for fast-paced, no-holds-barred card battles. Crafted by developer Second Dinner (led by former Hearthstone creative director Ben Brode), Marvel SNAP infuses the collectible-card genre with out-of-this-world energy.

Here’s the deal:

Your goal isn’t to wipe out your opponent – it’s to secure at least two of three locations on the board by outscoring your foe. Each location has game-changing effects: any card played in the Danger Room, for instance, has a 25 per cent chance of being destroyed, while the Gamma Lab transforms all cards played there into the Hulk after turn three. Since locations are randomised, no two games are the same.

“It creates novel scenarios,” Brode says, “and those who can adapt on the fly will be better players.”

Each card has a power rating – the higher, the better – and many have additional special abilities. (They’re superheroes, after all!) Drop Mister Fantastic in the centre location and he’ll extend his arms to bump up the power in adjoining locations. Play a Sentinel and a second robot will magically appear in your hand, ensuring you never run out of the unyielding hero-stoppers.

Cards can also form powerful combos. Moon Girl duplicates the cards in your hand, while Devil Dinosaur gains strength the more cards you hold. Build a beefy 12-card deck and you’ll have an unstoppable super-team.

Marvel SNAP’s vibrant illustrations look ripped from the pages of a comic book. And just as there are radically different versions of characters across the Multiverse, there are multiple variants of the same card. Think Scarlet Spider looks cool? Wait till you unlock Black Suit Spider-Man.

The art is as dynamic as the heroes. Each card can be upgraded with awesome visual effects that make the character bust out of the frame (“Frame Break!”) or add subtle, striking animations. Why settle for a regular Iron Man when you can show off one with 3D parallax?

It wouldn’t be a superhero tussle without high stakes. To climb the ranks, earn Cosmic Cubes – one is wagered at the start of each match. Think you’ll pull out a win? Perform a Snap (tapping the cube at the top of the screen) to double the wager and test your opponent’s faith in their deck. Players can Snap back and forth to up the ante, though a handy Retreat option lets you resign early to avoid costly losses.

In addition to making every match matter, it cleverly adds an element of psychological warfare to an already strategic game. “You can use a Snap to bluff your opponents and make them think you’re winning when you’re not,” Brode explains. “It creates this super-fun mind-game moment.”

Hoping to master the Multiverse? Heed these tips before heading into the unknown:

Play the numbers: It’s crucial to play at least one card each turn (you have only six turns to work with). Spread card cost across your deck, ensuring you have multiple low-cost cards to place early and a few higher-cost cards left so you can finish strong.

A squirrelly combo: Squirrel Girl is a 1-cost card that adds two 1-cost squirrels to other locations. Follow her up with Ka-Zar – who boosts all 1-cost cards – and this cheap starter will rack up solid numbers.

All will be revealed: Looking for a strong starter deck? By grouping cards whose abilities activate upon reveal, you can quickly stack powers across all three locations. Early cards such as Ironheart, White Tiger and Odin pair perfectly.