There’s a new card fighting game climbing the charts on both Steam and mobile app stores: Marvel Snap from Second Dinner Studio. It’s a fast-paced card game with new mechanics and a twist on the genre from Ben Brode, former game director of Blizzard’s genre-defining card game, Hearthstone.

In Marvel Snap, players build decks of 12 cards and battle other players. Like other card fighting games, each card has an energy value (1-6) and a strength level (but no health; these cards don’t fight each other). In the first round, you have one energy. In the second round there are two, and in the sixth round there are up to six.

Each battle takes place in three locations – neutral cards with unique effects (e.g. “Cards here cannot be played after round 4” or “Cards here get +1 power”). The first location is revealed in round 1, the second in round 2, and the third in round 3. To win each battle you need to win two of the three locations. Tiebreakers are determined by overall strength.

That’s all well and good, but why has it been so successful? A few key factors:

The games are short

Since each Marvel Snap game has 6 rounds (although it can be a bit shorter or longer in special cases), each game takes about 5 minutes (but never more than 10 minutes). This is the perfect length for a mobile game that involves lifting and placing.

The cards look cool

This game and the cards are designed to be played primarily on mobile. Unlike many other games in this genre, it was designed for computers and tablets, and can then be used on phones. This means that the map looks beautiful in portrait orientation on smartphones, and looks even cooler when you update (that’s how you get new maps). When you first update, the map is freed from the frame, and eventually the map may become three-dimensional, animated, or have other cool features added to improve its appearance.

New spins on the genre formula

The location mechanics bring more variety, as each battle involves different stakes that unfold as the game progresses. The “two out of three” location mechanic encourages different strategies and also encourages guessing where your opponent is likely to play their cards.

It’s free and not pay-to-win

Yes! That’s true! You can unlock all the decks in the game without spending money, although you can also buy a season pass that gives you extra rewards. Plus, you can’t pay for or craft specific cards using the in-game currency. It’s all random! So it’s fairer (or at least just as unfair, depending on how you look at it).

The Marvel factor

There may be differing opinions here; for some it’s a reason for interest in the first place, for others it’s a reason for skepticism. There’s no doubt that the ubiquitous Marvel IP helped this game gain traction at launch. From my perspective, I’m glad it didn’t rely so much on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, relying instead on its rich comic book history of character and stylistic variations.