There is a game that is somewhat an RPG but has that puzzle element and card collecting element that makes it stand out from other games. The title is "Spirit Stones" and the game is well made. Yes it is a fantasy setting. Yes there are fighters and mages and monsters and elves and whatever else would be found in a fantasy setting. And, yes, the women are mostly scantily clad in either armor or the most flimsy of costumes.
(The fact that even a few of the women are fully clothed does surprise me.)
The scantily clad women are not my point of contention. The sticky sexism that I would like to point out is that whenever a MALE character is advanced to a final evolution (also known as "upgrading") it CANNOT BE MERGED with another card to make a Rare rank card. Most of the evolved cards presenting female characters can be merged with other evolved cards to make Rare rank cards (which also present females). In others words, it sucks to be a guy.
I claim sexism because the main mechanic in the game is not the RPG or the card collecting, but the match-3 game you use to attack the monsters. In the current app environment a match-3 game is considered "casual" and targeted primarily at "females". I propose that by allowing only female cards to be advanced beyond the evolution rank that the game objectifies women and only targets men (or "males" if you want to include age ranges) for this game.
It is a fun game and both genders can play, but the pandering and the gender bent holds back the potential for this game to really catch on in the mainstream. (Just think of all those "nerd" women who play match-3 games AND role-playing games.)
Addendum: I found that there is a card with a male character that, when combined with a female character, makes a more powerful female rare card. I admit that I was wrong.
