You’re staring at a hand of cards, your HP is sitting at a crisp 4, and the Wolf King is about to delete your entire existence. It’s frustrating. It's also exactly why people keep coming back to Night of the Full Moon. This isn't just another mobile game you play while waiting for the bus. It’s a deck-building roguelike that actually respects your intelligence, even when it’s busy kicking your teeth in.
Developed by Giant Network, the game dropped years ago but still holds a weirdly firm grip on the deck-building community. It’s based on the Little Red Riding Hood story, but not the Disney version. Think darker. Think more "Grimms' Fairy Tales" where things don't always end well for the protagonist. You play as Little Red, searching for her missing grandmother in the Black Forest. Along the way, you meet characters who are either tragically misunderstood or just straight-up out for blood.
The game works because it balances simplicity with a massive ceiling for complexity. You start with a basic deck. You fight monsters. You get gold. You buy better cards. But the "how" is where things get messy.
What Night of the Full Moon Gets Right (And Wrong)
Most people compare this to Slay the Spire. That’s fair, but it’s also a bit lazy. While both are roguelike deck-builders, Night of the Full Moon leans much harder into the RPG elements. You have a mana pool. You have equipment slots. You have "Action" points that dictate how many non-mana cards you can play in a turn. If you run out of Actions, your turn is basically over, regardless of how many cards you're holding. It creates a different kind of tension.
Honestly, the Knight is the "baby's first class." It’s all about armor and high-damage physical strikes. But then you unlock the Witch or the Nun, and the game completely shifts gears. The Witch is a glass cannon. You’re managing mana, trying to trigger "Echo" effects that double your spells. The Nun is even weirder, relying on "Pray" cards that don't trigger for several turns. You have to predict the flow of a fight three steps ahead. If you miscalculate, you're dead. Simple as that.
One thing that genuinely annoys some players—and rightfully so—is the RNG (random number generation). Sometimes the shop just won't give you the one card your build needs to survive the third chapter. You can spend an hour perfecting a Poison Ranger build only to realize you have zero defensive cards when the Mystery Man shows up. It’s brutal. But that's the genre. You play, you lose, you learn, you go again.
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The Lore Isn't Just Window Dressing
It’s easy to skip the dialogue. Don't. The game uses a "Reputation" and "Courage" system. Your choices in encounters—like whether to help a cursed werewolf or kill it—actually change the ending. It's not just about winning the card game; it's about how you treat the inhabitants of the forest.
There are multiple endings. To see the "true" boss, you have to manage these hidden stats perfectly. It adds a layer of strategy that exists outside of the actual combat. You aren't just building a deck; you're navigating a moral compass that determines if you’ll face the Priest, the Mystery Man, or the Wolf King at the very end.
Breaking Down the Classes
If you're jumping into Night of the Full Moon for the first time, your class choice is your destiny. It’s not just a skin. It changes the entire card pool.
- The Knight: High survivability. You stack armor. You use "Equipment" cards to do passive damage every time you play an attack. It's the most straightforward path, but it can feel a bit repetitive after a few runs.
- The Ranger: My personal favorite. It’s all about "Action" cards and drawing your entire deck in a single turn. You want cards like Backstab or Dodge. It feels incredible when it works, but if you run into an enemy with "Thorns" (damage reflection), you'll kill yourself before the enemy even moves.
- The Magician: This is for the "big brain" players. You use "Counter" cards. These stay on the field and trigger when the enemy tries to attack or cast a spell. It’s essentially playing a game of Magic: The Gathering against a computer that doesn't know you've already countered its best move.
- The Apothecary: Added later in the game's life cycle. This class is about mixing "potions." You deal elemental damage—fire, ice, lightning, or gloom. It’s highly technical. You have to balance your deck so you aren't just stuck with a bunch of ingredients and no way to "brew" them.
The Economy of the Black Forest
Money is tighter than you think. In Night of the Full Moon, you’ll often find yourself at a shop with 100 gold and three amazing cards that each cost 60. This is where most people fail. They buy the flashy legendary card and ignore the basic "card draw" or "mana gain" cards.
Pro tip: Thinning your deck is usually better than adding to it.
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Every time you see a "Tavern," you should strongly consider paying to delete a basic Attack or Mana card. A 10-card deck where every card is elite is infinitely more powerful than a 40-card deck full of junk. You want consistency. You want to know exactly what you’re drawing next.
Survival of the Luckiest?
Some critics argue the game is too reliant on the "Diary" DLC or the "Mirror" mode for actual variety. I disagree. The base game is solid, but the Red Riding Hood's Diary expansion does flip the script by changing the way cards are acquired. It makes the game feel more like a traditional dungeon crawler.
Is it pay-to-win? Not really. It's a premium game on PC (Steam) and has a "pay-to-unlock-classes" model on mobile. You can play a lot for free, but the best classes—like the Soul Hunter—are behind a small paywall. Honestly, for the hundreds of hours of gameplay you get, it’s one of the more ethical monetization models in mobile gaming right now. No loot boxes. No energy timers. Just pay for the content you want.
Advanced Strategies for the Nightmare Difficulty
Once you beat the game on Normal, "Nightmare" mode unlocks. This is where the training wheels come off. Each level of Nightmare adds a permanent debuff. You might start with less HP, or enemies might have more resistance.
- Prioritize Equipment Slots: Many classes rely on passive items. If you have three Longswords equipped as a Knight, every attack deals massive bonus damage. Early on, focus on upgrades that give you extra equipment slots.
- Respect the Blessing: After beating a boss, you get to choose a "Blessing." These are permanent passives. Some are "kinda" okay, but others, like Shipwreck or Exquisite Coat, are run-defining. If you don't get a good blessing in the first act, sometimes it’s better to just restart.
- Manage Your Health Outside of Combat: Using bandages or leveling up are your primary ways to heal. Don't waste a level-up heal if you're at 90% HP. Wait until you're desperate.
The Mystery of the Full Moon
Why call it Night of the Full Moon? Because the moon is what triggers the transformations in the forest. As you progress, the enemies get more "feral." The art style reflects this beautifully. It’s hand-drawn, slightly gothic, and very atmospheric.
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The sound design deserves a shout-out too. The "thwack" of a heavy card hitting the table or the chime of a Nun’s prayer finishing is incredibly satisfying. It provides that tactile feedback that a lot of digital card games miss. You feel the weight of your choices.
Actionable Next Steps for New Players
If you’re just starting out or stuck on a specific boss, here is exactly what you should do:
- Focus on one "Mechanic": Don't try to build a deck that does everything. If you're a Witch, choose either Fire, Ice, or Mana Burn. Mixing them just dilutes your draw pile.
- Check the "Log": You can see what cards the enemy has played. Use this. If you know the boss has a massive attack coming every three turns, save your defensive cards for that specific window.
- Invest in Card Draw: In any card game, the player who draws the most cards usually wins. Prioritize any card that says "Draw 2 cards" or "Replace this card."
- Don't Ignore the Blacksmith: Upgrading your basic cards is often cheaper and more effective than buying new ones. A Slash II is significantly better than a Slash I, and that small difference adds up over a 30-turn fight.
Night of the Full Moon is a gem because it doesn't hold your hand. It trusts you to figure out the synergies. It lets you fail. And when you finally piece together that perfect, infinite-loop deck that nukes the Wolf King in a single turn? There’s no better feeling in gaming.
Go into the forest. Delete your basic cards. Watch your Action points. You might just survive the night.
Source Reference:
- Giant Network official game documentation (2024-2025 updates).
- Community meta-analysis from the Night of the Full Moon Discord and subreddit.
- In-game lore entries regarding the "Black Forest" mythology.