When do you stop playing against bots in Marvel Snap?

How’s never for you?

One of the concerns people have with any competitive free-to-play game is whether or not you’re playing against real people or bots. It’s not unusual to find bots across all competitive online games. Many online games use bots as a way of gently introducing the player to the game before putting them up against human opponents. For most competitive games, the longer you play, the less likely it is you’ll face AI opponents. As Marvel Snap is the hottest free-to-play mobile game on the market right now, many have been asking if there are Marvel Snap bots. And the answer is yes. In fact, you’ll face bots for quite some time.

When you first start playing Marvel Snap, you’ll go through the tutorial and what’s known as the Recruit Season Pass. In both of these instances, you’ll be playing against bots (and winning with some level of ease). Once you complete the Recruit Season Pass and start to build your Collector’s Level, the number of bots you face will begin to shrink in favor of real people. Several publications have speculated that you could encounter bots all the way up through rank 30, though developer Second Dinner hasn’t made any formal statements as to that just yet. Just know that if the game is unable to make a match for you, chances are it’ll send in a bot rather than tell you to come back later.

If you’re still questioning the sentience of the player you’re facing in a match, there are a few key clues to look for that could help determine if they’re a bot or not:

• If your opponent makes incredibly dumb moves, they’re probably a bot.
• If your opponent has a simple, regular name like Bill or Angie, they’re probably a bot.
• If your opponent has a base avatar, they’re probably a bot.
• If your opponent seems to be two steps ahead of you throughout the match on higher levels, they might be a bot.

Without official word from the developer, players will continue to speculate about the traits that all bots share to better weed them out. Don’t think just because you’re playing against an opponent who Snaps or retreats that you’re playing against a person. Bots will perform both those actions as well.

As with all competitive games, the more players there are out in the world, the more likely it is you’ll be paired up against another human. With more than five million downloads and counting, the possibility of playing against bots in the higher ranks will shrink. The game will soon add the ability to play against your friends as well, which should guarantee that you’re not playing against bots (unless you’re Barney Pudowski from Ron’s Gone Wrong). In the meantime, continue growing your Collector’s Level and unlocking new cards. Because, bot or not, you’re going to want the best deck you can get as Marvel Snap continues to add new players.