Here is a compliment sandwich on the new game:

I have deep and true respect for you guys for stepping up and inviting negative feedback. That is brave and responsible after such a negative reception. It makes me feel respected and valued as a player and builds my trust in SBE. Here are my thoughts on the new client:

Pros: Turn timer. In fact TURN TIMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cons: The entire design not only went in the wrong direction for me, but also seemed to have values opposite to mine. What I most value is the functionality of the game. This means, above all, a quick response from my opponent (thank you, turn timer), and also a quick response from the machine. After the mechanical function of the game, I most value the usefulness of the interface. On mobile, this means a small number of large buttons that I can easily press, text I can read and actions I can easily perform (ahem: Metasight). Then I value the card art. I don't value animations or "zazz" at all.

The game seems to prioritize zazz over every other consideration. There's a big metal table that makes the apparent sizes of the cards smaller and less useful. There are animations that slow down the actual game play. There is a big ass Wegu that serves no function except to make anything I would want to interact with smaller and less useful. The card redesign makes the cards smaller and harder to read, and also less aesthetically appealing. The original cards looked like cards with nifty art. The current cards look like heavily bordered icons that I had better have memorized.

A ton of the design elements look ripped directly from Hearthstone. You know what I mean. My disapproval of these choices forms by far my strongest emotional reaction to anything in the design.

Once I played the game on a widescreen monitor, I saw what it was supposed to look like, but experiencing this first on mobile, with a tiny screen and touch controls- and no right click- it seemed absurd. Conserving utility of display space should be the golden rule of design, even on pc, but especially on mobile.

I like the game a lot. I've been here from the beginning. The mechanics are interesting and engaging. I miss the old cards which had larger, better looking art and easier to read text, and the old interface which had less dead space.