Marvel Snapis a fast-paced, surprisingly accessible deck builder that takes full advantage of Marvel’s iconic assortment of heroes and villains. With a free-to-play model and matches that tend to resolve in three or fewer minutes,Marvel Snapis well-regarded by genre fans for being easy to enjoy casually, especially on mobile devices. That said, there’s always room for improvement, and theMarvel Snapteam at Second Dinner is always looking for positive changes to make.
Game Rant spoke withMarvel Snapgame designer Jozie Brajkovich and product manager Safwaan Khan to discussMarvel Snap’s alliance bounty system, a system that’s intended to reward participating in alliances and experimenting with a variety of playstyles. They spoke about changes to the system, how the team looks at player data to make decisions, and some future plans forMarvel Snap’s alliance bounties.This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How Marvel Snap is Making Bounties More Accessible
Q:Marvel Snaphas been working on making Alliance Bounties more accessible and fun for all players. Were there certain pain points you really wanted to target? What sorts of changes do you feel might address these?
A:A lot of our focus has been on fine-tuning bounties to get them feeling just right in their space. Our goal is for them to offer challenges or quests that are both engaging and rewarding. We typically prioritize adjusting the bounties that are underperforming first, as we want to address those issues as quickly as possible.
Q: Has there been any specific player feedback that has guided the team’s approach to the Alliance and Alliance Bounty systems? How does player feedback typically factor into your process?
A:We actively seek out and read as muchbounty-related feedbackas we can find! Player feedback not only informs us about how the feature is received but also shapes its future. Qualitative feedback helps us identify negative experiences, which we can then validate with the data we collect, ultimately guiding us toward developing effective solutions.
Q: How does the team determine the balance of systems like Alliance Bounties? It seems difficult to make bounties reasonably challenging but also worth pursuing in terms of rewards.
A:Before players ever saw the feature, we used trends in player behavior and baseline estimations to develop an initial model that balanced the requirements for completing a bounty, the frequency of bounty types, and the points players would earn for completion. Now that bounties have been live for a couple of months, we’ve been able to observe how long bounties take to complete,which ones are discardedmost often, and how frequently players engage with them overall, helping us adjust the system as needed.
Q: What plans or ideas do you have for changes to the Alliance system in the future? Do you have certain goals you’d like to achieve with Alliances?
A:We’ve brainstormed a variety of updates and iterations tothe Alliance systemthat we’re very excited about! Some updates, like bounty adjustments, are easier to implement, while others require significant development time and need to be resourced accordingly. Our main goal is for Alliances to be a space where players can enjoySnaptogether by sharing our victories, decks, and strategies. We think this helps promote a sense of belonging within their community.
Q: Were there any changes proposed to these systems that you ultimately decided against? Can you talk about how that decision-making plays out?
A:Before anything is confirmed for the game, it must meet a certain standard of fun. Some bounties didn’t make the cut if their objectives were too narrow to provide an enjoyable experience.
Q: Marvel Snap has recently been running a Bounty Boost event to celebrate Agatha All Along on Disney+. How do you approach launching events in Marvel Snap regarding their subject, the rewards, or the duration?
A:We wantSnapto feel like a natural extension ofeverything happening in the Marvel universe. We see Bounty events as a fun way to bring those celebrations intoSnap, and we’re always on the lookout for such opportunities as we plan future content. Bounties follow a weekly cycle, much like other in-game content, though we’re open to experimenting with shorter weekend bonuses. If a thematic reward fits, we’ll do our best to integrate it.
Q: Are there certain types of bounties you’ve noticed are the most or least popular choices for players to grab? How does that kind of information affect your decisions?
A:We found that bounties requiring the destruction or movement of a certain number of cards in a single game were more difficult than expected, so we reduced those requirements accordingly.The Move archetyperemains a challenge—it’s a rewarding deck to play, and we want to encourage players to try it out, but it can be difficult to pilot. Our goal is to find the right balance of requirements, frequency, and rewards so that every archetype feels equally enjoyable.
How the Marvel Snap Team Approaches Changes to Bounties and Alliances
Q: Looking back, what do you feel have been some of the most significant changes the Alliance and Alliance Bounties systems have seen?
A:One major change we were excited about was increasing the base point values for all bounties. While our initial model appeared solid on paper, it didn’t translate as well in practice, so we made the necessary adjustments to ensure players are properly rewarded for their efforts.We have more updates like this plannedfor the future, and our goal is to be increasingly precise with each change.
Q: What kinds of metrics do you tend to look at when deciding if a feature in Marvel Snap needs some adjustments? Do certain patterns set off alarm bells for the team?
A:We always seek a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to ensure we have the full picture. Each feature’s success is measured differently, but the ultimate goal is always to provide a fun experience for players. While there are sometimes clear red flags that prompt immediate action, we generally aim to make informed decisions with as much data as possible before implementing any changes.
Q: Is there anything upcoming regarding Alliances or Bounties that you’d like to mention or hint at?
A:We’re excited about future bounties that will expand the range of supported archetypes, with plans to add support for decks centered around characters like Silver Surfer, Mr. Negative, andeven Bounce decks. The key is ensuring that whatever we introduce is both fun and enhances the game without detracting from other features. To make bounties feel even more dynamic, we’re also expanding our technology to implement changes more quickly.
Additionally, we’re thrilled to introduce more tailored difficulty adjustments to the bounty system. Instead of having requirements scale uniformly across rarities, we’ll now have the flexibility to set specific completion thresholds for each level. This will create a more balanced progression, especially for higher-tier bounties, which may have reduced requirements.[END]
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MARVEL SNAP is a fast-paced, award-winning collectible card game with innovative mechanics that has been called “accessible, and utterly brilliant” and “one of the best card games” today.Build your deck of 12 cards. Each Card represents a Marvel Super Hero or Villain, each with a unique power or ability. The goal of the game is to outsmart and outwit your opponent. Learning how to play only takes a few minutes, and matches only takes 3 minutes.The game is designed so that every match feels different. Play your cards at 50+ different locations across the Marvel Universe, each with iconic game-changing abilities. From Asgard to Wakanda, new locations are introduced regularly to put your creative problem-solving skills to the test.Every player begins with a Free Starter Deck that helps you get started. From there, you may earn new cards to add to your collection simply by playing and mastering the game.Unlike other games in the Collectible Card Game Genre, there are no card packs in MARVEL SNAP. You can Play More to Earn More.
