HEX is fun.  It had the most successful dTCG funding on the kickstarter by far.  However, the direction Cryptozoic appears to be going right now may appear slightly different from some of players originally believed to be the strength of this game.  If you are one of those, and truly feeling like the game is not providing what you originally believed in, Cryptozoic understands that, and will give us the full refund.

I am sure each backers had their own reason to support this game, but perhaps the two most common reasons are the “depth of the game play” that is actually truly compatible to Magic the Gathering compared to many other dTCGs out their aspiring to get as much depth as possible but still far from the gold standard, Magic’s depth.  The other common reason is the game’s potential on PvE.

We have not seen the PvE part of the game yet, so we really cannot say anything about this.  However, the depth of the game seems definitely beyond other mobile platform supporting dTCGs out there.  The one of the main reason is its dynamic interactive play (DIP) system support rather than making it into the current mobile dTCG standard, purely turn based (PTB) system.  However, Cryptozoic’s current direction seems to start compromising this DIP potential.

The original update patch approximately a month ago introduced all triggered event ability no longer going into the chain.  This clearly took away several potential card design and flexibility for the game that originally believed to have true DIP system support like Magic.  Then later, this was reverted and personally felt like actually evolved as now design space have two options for the developer.  So this to me seemed like ended with a happy ending.

However, the latest patch decided to take away the Prep phase stop i.e. the player no longer can interact opponent’s turn until he/she draws their card.  Without even understanding the detail, this should be clear that it takes away potential design space for the game.

Cryptozoic is doing all this to try improve overall game’s tempo with less clicking of “pass priority” button.  However, are we now going into the direction where the game becoming more like other dTCGs i.e. ease of play first, depth second?

I personally think we are still in the stage where HEX is much deeper than any other mobile platform supporting dTCG. However, I can certainly see why people are concerned.  Prep phase has only small potential, may be true statement.  But one can start making the same argument for any other phase, and say “trap card” type interaction provide pretty much the same experience i.e now we are talking about Hearthstone, Shadow Era, or Yu Gi Oh.  It all comes down to relative effects.

In any event, if you truly lost interest in this game as it is no longer what you thought it would have been when you pledged.  Cryptozoic understands that, and for those of us who pledged during the kickstarter (not slacker backers), you can request the full refund.

HEX Refund Policy

In order to standardize and clarify our policy on HEX refunds, we will currently refund any pledge made during the Kickstarter campaign either through Amazon Payments or PayPal. We want to maintain a friendly, fans first policy towards our initial backers whose donations made our campaign such a success, even if that means that player is leaving us during the alpha period. HEX always will be free to play, so we hope that player will rejoin us when they are able to.

If you do decide you desire a refund, please keep in mind that this action is irreversible should you change your mind later. You can head to Support.HEXTCG.com and open a ticket with your email address including your name, email, username, and transaction ID. Due to the steps we must go through with the payment processors and their timing in processing your refund request, some refunds may take up to a month to return the money to your account.

We are not issuing refunds on Slacker Backer accounts. We feel at this point that it’s clear what HEX is as a game, what expectations are in terms of delivery, and what players can expect from their donation to the HEX project.

Thank you,

-William Brinkman

Source: http://forums.cryptozoic.com/showthread.php?t=31418

If for nothing else, I would truly respect the Cryptozoic’s stance.  They believe in their game, but also understands that the changes that they are making have strong potential ramifications.  I believe this is the best answer Cryptozoic can provide based on their “fans first” motto.