14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard is encouraging Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft players to get out of the man-cave and meet up with their rivals in brick-and-mortar environments, in an initiative called Fireside Gatherings.
The company is attempting to encourage real-life interactions, which are now easier than ever, since Hearthstone was also launched on iPads, with cross-play compatibility with the massive PC gaming throng.
The collectible card game is based in the Warcraft universe, borrowing the playable classes from Blizzard's massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft and featuring from lowly Murlocs and Kobolds to the powerful dragon aspects. Hey there mister tough guy Kobold, I'm gonna take the candle, let's see what you can do about it!
The first Fireside Gathering will take place on April 26, with Blizzard encouraging Hearthstone players to get together with their friends to play the collectible card game in public gathering spots, from local coffee shops to book stores or campus lounges, enticing players to give up the mouse and the comfort of their homes by allowing them to unlock a new, exclusive card back.
Players who want to nab the new card back can do so by following the simple instructions posted on Battle.net. First of all, a minimum of three people have to be logged into Hearthstone on the same subnet, then every player who wants to unlock the new card back has to play three matches against another player on the same network, either against friends or using the Player Near Me feature.
If you are considering hosting your own Fireside Gathering in your area, whether it is for a small tournament or simply for a friendly gathering focused on deck building and friendlier interactions, you can visit the Fireside Gatherings subsection of Battle.net and download the handy How to Host Your Event Guide and the templates for the Fireside Gatherings poster.
The gatherings are not sanctioned, endorsed, or sponsored by Blizzard Entertainment in any way, but they are a nice way to get to know some new community members and people generally interested in card and board games in your area, especially if you're not heavily into Warhammer or Magic: The Gathering.