Here's a little secret you may or may not know about me. Once upon a time, before I was ever covering video games, I used to run a comic book and game shop. And by "game", I don't mean the video games we talk about on The Clik every day. I mean those collectible card/figure games like Magic: The Gathering and Mage Knight. Of course, I was as big a fan as just about anyone else who walked through the door. And while some video games had tried their best to capture the fun offered in these tabletop experiences, only a small number have ever succeed. Thankfully, Sony Online Entertainment's casual collectible strategy game, PoxNora ranks high on that short list for gamers.

PoxNora keeps things simple for the casual crowd with plenty of layers of strategy for the more hardcore gamer. The game combines one part collectible card game with one part turn-based strategy video game to create an experience that deftly maintains its balance for gamers of both the virtual and unplugged variety. The basic premise of PoxNora is simple. Players first create a deck, or "Battlegroup", of 30 units ("runes") from any of the game's eight main factions. Battles take place on grid based maps, with each player getting a home base, or "shrine" at either end of the map. The goal being to make your way to the other player's shrine and destroy it. Occasionally, the single player campaign missions might mix it up a bit by tossing in a different goal, like defeating a particular target unit or protecting special units, but by and large, the gameplay strategy remains the same.

PoxNora's business model follows the free-to-play formula that's worked for so many other casual games on the market today. Players can jump right into the action and play with some pre-built, non-editable starter battlegroups for each faction, as well as one free upgradable battlegroup. If you like your first taste of what PoxNora has to offer, you can head over to the Rune Marketplace and buy more runes for your battlegroups with SOE's Station Cash. This is where the collectible aspect comes in, as the virtual packs contain a variety of new runes in different rarities with which to create and expand your custom battlegroups. PoxNora also has a Rune Trader section, which operates like a virtual swap meet where players can trade with one another to find that one perfect unit to complete your killer deck, or unload extra copies of those runes they never use.

Visually, PoxNora is phenomenal. Each action the player takes is fully animated and breathes a bit of life into what is, for most tabletop gamers, a pretty static experience. Unfortunately, the game is not without its flaws. While the game itself looks great, controls well, and has a lot of appeal, it's not exactly the most welcoming game for newcomers. Even after playing through the initial tutorials for each faction, you can't help but feel like you're missing a lot of the how-to's of the game. You can dig around in the PoxNora forums for some extra guidance, and learn the nuances over time through trial and error in live games, but it would have been nice if the developers had thought to include a quickplay guide to help walk newcomers through the basics. Something akin to a printable PDF manual including an explanation of the interface and the rune stats would be a huge help for those just starting out.

Despite the learning curve facing new players, the fact remains that you'll always get at least as much out of PoxNora as you're willing to put into it. Stick with the basic single-player games and the starter decks, and you'll always have a quick pick up and go game to kill time with. Spend some time, effort, and a little extra money on the game, and you'll end up with a deeply involved and rich strategic experience that can stand toe to toe with the best trading card games on the market today.

Final Score: B+