Why Boomlagoon is ditching casual games for Spirit Hunter’s card-slinging wizard

Forest animals and a treasure-hoarding monster helped Boomlagoon survive its first few years in the notoriously difficult mobile-games market. But now it’s hoping a blue-haired wizard can conjure up a new recipe for success.

Until recently, the Finnish developer focused on creating casual mobile games. It made sense: Boomlagoon’s founders used to work at Rovio, the company behind the mega-popular Angry Birds franchise. As an independent studio, Boomlagoon wanted to take that character-driven approach and apply it to free-to-play games. Its first release was Noble Nutlings in 2013. The game featured a trio of squirrels building homemade racing karts. In 2014, the developers released Monsu, an endless runner with cards that act as power-ups.