Several free collectible card games (CCGs) for Android let players create their own decks, play a co-op battle with online friends, and take advantage of tactical opportunities to defeat opponents.

If you are fond of old-school trading-card games, then you should try out the games listed below. Almost all CCGs sport amazing artwork, and many will remind you of your prized card collection. A few games feature animated battles, where characters come alive out of cards and show exceptional combat skills. Here’s a rundown of some of the top free Android CCGs.

1. Order and Chaos Duels

 

Order and Chaos Duels brings the O&C universe back to life with a brand new collectible card game. Featuring your favorite heroes and villains from the epic multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, this Android CCG boasts beautiful collectible cards and a gorgeously animated environment where players lock horns and draw their best cards to defeat opponents.

The fantasy card battle game lets you create decks from around 250 brilliantly designed cards and fight opponents in a stunning-looking battle arena. You will also be able to choose from six different hero classes, and battle opponents in an asynchronous online multiplayer environment. Different card battle rounds allow you and your opponent to draw non-hero cards from a pool of cards. You can play against AI opponents too, and in my opinion they are tough to beat.

The game is a freemium title, which means you may need to purchase booster packs to win a card game session. The game’s difficulty curve can be a bit worrisome, especially for newbie players. Aside from these two flaws, Order and Chaos Duels is a perfect card battle game. It offers deep strategy and has a stunning set of collectible fantasy cards.

2. SpellStorm



SpellStorm is an online multiplayer collectible card game featuring gorgeous humans, monsters, and magical characters straight from a fantasy movie. In this freemium title, you step into the shoes of a summoner who is charged with dealing with a large number of monsters. The plot might sound a bit confusing to many players, but the gameplay is top-notch. Players explore areas, collect cards, and fight AI opponents or online players in a PvP arena.

SpellStorm adds some variation to card battle gameplay. You can equip creatures with weapons and artifacts and use special items. The game's automatic card battles are a treat to watch. The AI pulls out cards from both players decks' randomly, and an animated battle takes place. You get a sense of achievement from your hard-earned skills being used at the right moment. You can also skip directly to results if you don't want to watch the animated combat.

SpellStorm is a stunning card game, despite the deficiencies of the story. The excellent combat system and card enhancements are some of the top features of this game.

3. Eredan Arena

Eredan Arena’s unique dice system, superb card artwork, and simple, yet addictive, gameplay make every card battle session a thoroughly enjoyable experience. This CCG lets you control a team of five heroes, and battle opponents in quick matches.

There’s no deck-building, which may disappoint a few, but the unique dice system compensates for the lack of it. Because luck plays a big role, hero selection is crucial. You need to have a good squad of heroes with a good set of skills, so that every time the result is in your favour, the damage inflicted will be enough to eliminate the enemy.

The game’s comic book-style card artwork is pleasing to the eye, and the animated hero evolution is brilliant to say the least. The game’s free-to-play model may frustrate players, but battles can be won by proper selection of heroes with skill-sets that complement each other. Luck matters more than strategy, but if you get the strategy right, you will win most matches.

If you love quick matches, simple gameplay, and zero deck-building hassles, then you should download this free card battle game to your Android device.

4. Rage of Bahamut

A fantasy TCG (trading card game), Rage of Bahamut is known for its solid battle system and card managing system. There are over one hundred cards to collect and each card has its own special abilities. The stunning card artwork is reminiscent of Japanese manga style.

The best thing about Rage of Bahamut is that it gets regularly updated with new cards and daily surprises. The list of quests is exhaustive and there are plenty of quests that let you battle AI monsters or your multiplayer foes. Rage of Bahamut is extremely addictive and offers plenty of gameplay variations.

5. Yu-Gi-Oh! BAM Pocket

 
The pocket-friendly version of Facebook’s popular Yu-Gi-Oh card game offers the same level of fun as the original card battler.

The game has over 500 legendary cards, making plenty of room for creating unique, powerful decks. You can create stronger cards by combining unused cards, and challenge online players in competitive card battles at the Duel Arena.

The game’s unique feature is its excellent storyline, which unfolds after each victorious duel. In each card battle, you will be confronting popular characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh universe. Another fun feature is the card crafting system that lets you use “recipes” to create powerful cards.

Moreover, you will be unlocking extra challenges and maps, and exchanging rewards and tips with your online buddies. Fans of Yu-Gi-Oh will love every bit of this game. And even if you are not familiar with the Japanese manga series, you will still find card battles quite engaging. Don’t miss the tutorial if you are new to this genre.

6. Shadow Era

Shadow Era’s gameplay reminds me of Magic: The Gathering, a collectible card game known for its depth in gameplay and card variety. This CCG offers deep strategy and is known for its mind-blowing card artwork. You start as a warrior and have your own card deck. As you progress, you will be able to try out new classes and earn more cards.

Battle is either against AI opponents or your online friends. Since it is cross-platform, players can access their saved cards from any device, including their laptop. The game can also be played on Internet browsers.

Shadow Era has over 150 cards. Each day, new cards are added to their database. If you are looking for some good collectible card games on Android, then you should not miss playing this game.

7. Epic Cards Battle

Epic Cards Battle is strictly for the compulsive deck-builder. It allows players to build different decks, leaving plenty of room for strategy. With tactics and a bit of luck, players will be able to complete quests and collect loot and rewards.

The game features lovely, mesmerizing 3D backgrounds and splendid card-battle visual effects.

Epic Cards Battle’s real-time match-making mode lets players from all around the world battle similar-level opponents. Multiplayer battles are asynchronous, which means you don’t have to wait for your buddies to be online; you can play with them anytime. If you are looking for a serious card battle game for your Android, then this game is worth a gander.

8. Ayakashi: Ghost Guild

Ayakashi: Ghost Guild has a unique theme with gameplay elements reminiscent of popular Japanese card battle games. Players step into the shoes of a ghost hunter who has the job of exorcising troubled (and troublesome) spirits. After exorcising and taming the ghost, the ghost hunter enters into a negotiation with it, and if lucky, captures it. That’s one way you obtain ghost cards with which to battle opponents. Other ways are to buy premium cards, or participate in daily draws to get a brand new card.

Ayakashi: Ghost Guild’s story mode gives you a chance to investigate an area, hunt for spirits, and find them - all this can be achieved at a click of a button. Besides ghost hunting, you will stumble upon silver (the standard currency), or pieces of rare jewels that can be fused together to make daemons more powerful. You also enter into interesting conversations with ghosts you find.

In Ayakashi, card battles aren’t animated; the battle system just compares your card stats with your opponent’s stats, and if your stats are higher, you win. Strategy lies in building a formidable deck and fusing weaker cards with items or stronger cards.

The game boasts gorgeous visuals and the cards are a treat to watch. The artwork is enchanting and the anime-look is perfectly executed. Ayakashi: Ghost Guild may not be one of the best games around, but it offers a unique plot and theme.

9. Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers combines age-old board game mechanics with a traditional card-battle game. It also includes a Pokemon-style breeding system, allowing players to breed new monster cards and use them in card battles.

This Android TCG is known for its RPG-like features, such as character evolution, skill system, party customization, and exploration-based gameplay.

Players have their own unique board game figurines, with which they can explore villages, dungeons, and castles. Blood Brothers is free, but requires you to log in to your Facebook account to battle online friends.

10. Reign of Dragons

Reign of Dragons has everything one would expect from a collectible card game. It boasts stunning artwork, has plenty of cards to collect, and offers excellent PvP matches. Cards can be enhanced and evolved, and powerful cards can be added to your deck to boost its attack and defense attributes.

Evolution and enhancement can really make a difference – stats-wise and looks-wise. Cards evolved into stronger and rarer cards will sport a different look. Speaking of looks – the graphics, battle animation and card design are brilliantly executed. You have got to see the dragons and deadly-looking damsels in your deck.

Reign of Dragons is a stunning Android CCG that can really get people addicted to its gameplay. Rage of Bahamut fans shouldn’t miss it.

Android Featured Game card Strategy

12:39:00 PM

Card games are a fantastic form of entertainment. They work anywhere and everywhere, they’re small enough to fit into a bag for travel, and there are so many different kinds of card games. With our smartphones always on us, we can also play card games on mobile as a way to pass the time or goof around with friends. On this list, we’ll look at the best Android card games.

It’s important to note that there are two distinct kinds of card games. There are fantasy card games like Magic: The Gathering and the regular card games using the 52-card deck that we all know and love. On this list, we’ll include both of those types of games. Also don’t forget that many entries on this list hold more than one game, so there are vastly more than just 12 games total. Playing!

1. 6 Takes

6 Takes is a game inspired by famed board-game creator Wolfgang Kramer. The idea of the game is that each player must avoid getting cards. When cards are dealt, players are assigned points based on how many bullheads are on each card. The player with the least number of bullheads at the end wins. It requires some strategy as well as luck like any good card game. It’s also great for kids and you can play against the CPU or there’s a local multiplayer mode where you can play with friends on the same device.

2. AI Factory Limited collection

 
AI Factory Limited is a developer on the Google Play Store who has released a ton of card and board games on Android. These include standalone versions of Gin Rummy, Euchre, Hearts, Spades, and Solitaire. There are also some non card games like Chess, Checkers, and Sudoku. Pretty much all of them are pretty good and most of them were updated in the last year so the developers are still working hard on these. If you click the button, we’ll take you to the AI Factory Limited page on Google Play so you can see their entire collection. 

3. Ascension

 
Ascension is a fantasy card game where you must build a deck and battle against other players. There are 50 cards in total but those cards can do a vast number of things. It’s also worth mentioning that an expansion called Realms Unraveled was released very recently which adds to the total number of cards. There is online multiplayer support that is also cross platform so you can face foes on Android or iOS and you can play against AI opponents as well. It’s a good looking card game that has only gotten better in recent updates.

4. CardShark

 
CardShark is one of the best regular card game apps available. It includes a huge number of games including Solitaire, Gin Rummy, Rummy, various forms of Poker, and even some more obscure games like Crazy Eights, Egyptian Rat Screw, and more. There are literally dozens of games and they’re presented on a simple interface. There are even different card deck styles so you can customize it to your likes. It hasn’t been updated in a while and that’s a shame, but for now this is the best if you want a lot of games in a single app.

5. Deck Heroes

 
Deck Heroes is a fantasy card game with hundreds of cards you can get. The game play is of a similar style of Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone so those familiar with those kinds of rules should be able to pick this up pretty quickly. There is online multiplayer mode along with a campaign mode for offline play, and plenty of other things to do. It’s a solid card game with a little depth to it for those that want depth.

6. Eradan Arena

 
Eradan Arena is a mix between a dice game and a card game. You choose five heroes from a deck of 120 and then in battle you throw dice to trigger their abilities. It’s a unique premise that combines multiple elements of tabletop gaming. There are a lot of strategies which helps keep the game fresh and heroes level up and unlock new abilities. Thanks to the randomness of the dice rolls, pretty much any match can go any way and that also helps keep things even.

7. Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft

 
Hearthstone is a long-anticipated card game that finally hit Android late in 2014. It’s a fantasy card game with hundreds of cards you can use to build your decks and you can play against people online or against AI characters if you prefer. The only downside is that the game is only available on tablets and phones with screens that are larger than 6-inches. There are ways around that, though, and we expect there to be a release for phones eventually. 

8. Live Holdem Poker Pro

 
Sometimes people just want to play a good old fashioned game of Holdem and this app lets you do that. The game features extensive online play that includes a live chat, personal avatars, and the ability to quickly sign up with Facebook. We would’ve liked to have seen Google+ included as well. It features well over a million players and it’s a great way to play a classic card game with other people in a comfortable setting. 

9. Magic 2015

 
When it comes to real life fantasy card games, there are few that can even approach the massive following and customization of Magic: The Gathering. We acknowledge that the video game versions aren’t nearly as good as the real life game, but they’re still really good card games. Magic 2015 features a number of pre-made decks that you can start with and unlock new cards and decks as you go. There are expansion packs, online multiplayer, a campaign mode, and plenty of other things to do. It’s a big finicky from time to time but overall it’s a good entry point for people interested in Magic: The Gathering. 

10. Star Realms

 
Star Realms falls into the category of fantasy card game but with sci-fi and it was designed by a couple of the same people who worked on Ascension. Like most, it features online multiplayer so you can battle it out with other people and many cards so you can customize your decks. The free version features six campaign missions with the full version giving you an additional nine missions. It’s worth noting that online multiplayer mode is for full version players only while the free version acts mostly as an open ended trial. 

11. Solitaire MegaPack

 
Solitaire is one of those games that we all played when we were younger because it was on Windows computers. Solitaire MegaPack features a wealth of Solitaire variants including FreeCell, Spider, 3 Towers, Clock, and Pyramid variants along with others. It has an easy-to-use interface, includes stats like fewest winning moves and longest win streak, and even allows for Samsung’s Multi-Window feature. It’s $2.99 but there are no in app purchases and no advertisements.

12. World Series of Poker

 
It’s a rarity when a name brand product like the WSoP makes a top list. Generally they’re sub par (read: Wipeout 2) but World Series of Poker managers to be pretty good. It features multiple variants of poker, online leaderboards, the ability to play with your friends through an invite system, and more poker fun. The in app purchases aren’t very good and, with patience, you can play without them but other than that, it’s a solid online poker experience.

Android Featured Game card Strategy

12:12:00 PM

Magic: The Gathering, first published in 1993, spawned an entire genre of collectible card games in which players collect cards and compete against each other with customizable decks. Like many traditional tabletop and board games, collectible card games are making the jump to digital; titles such as Magic 2015 provide impressive mobile ports of a traditional game, while games like Hearthstone and SolForge take advantage of the digital format to introduce new gameplay innovations to the genre. Check out 10 of our favorite digital card games below, from venerable collectible card game (CCG) classics and deck-building upstarts to new, digital-only experiences.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Android, iOS)

 
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is that rarest of species: a fun, free and fair digital collectible card game. Players take on the role of the great heroes (and villains) of the Warcraft universe such as Thrall, Jaina Proudmoor and Gul'dan, engaging in epic duels and summoning allies and minions into the fray. Hearthstone features simple, easy-to-learn rules and full cross-platform play with PC and iPad players. Players earn gold that can be spent on booster packs or in the Arena mode, a special "sealed draft" format that rewards canny deck building and smart play. 2016's release of the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion marks the introduction of a new "Standard" format that helps level the playing field between new and old players.

Magic Duels (iOS) & Magic 2015 (Android)

The venerable Magic: The Gathering was a groundbreaking hit that spawned an entire genre of collectible card games, and is still going strong. Magic Duels on iOS is the latest digital version, featuring a detailed gameplay tutorial, as well as a challenging single-player campaign featuring Magic's iconic planeswalkers. As you play, you earn new cards and coins with which to customize your deck. Magic Duels also features online play, as well as the hit Two-Headed Giant teamplay mode. Android players are stuck with Magic 2015 for now.

Pokemon TCG Online (iPad) (Free, in-app purchases)

The Pokemon video games also spawned a wildly successful trading card game that draws in fans both young and old with its simple but competitive gameplay. In an amusing twist, a card game born from a video game is now getting its own mobile port, closing the circle with the Pokemon TCG Online (Android, iOS) app for iOS. This game allows players to learn the basics of play with starter decks, as well as engage in head-to-head battles with AI and human opponents in order to unlock new cards and decks. Players can eventually build their own decks, as well as apply cosmetic changes to the appearance of their cards, deck boxes and avatars.

Pathfinder Adventures (Android, iOS)



Pathfinder Adventures (Android, iOS) is the digital port of Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, a curious mixture of deck-building and role playing game. Pathfinder Adventures is a co-op deck-builder, with each player's deck representing a fantasy adventurer's weapons, gear and other special abilities. Players use these to defeat a series of themed location and quest decks. The app takes full advantage of the digital medium, with animations, backgrounds and cut scenes, while also sidestepping the intricate setup of the paper game. The app includes both single player and pass-and-play coop modes, with the full Rise of the Runelords campaign available as an in-app purchase.

Dream Quest

 
Dream Quest's art looks more like a kid's coloring book than a premium iOS game. Dig deeper, though, and you'll find an enthralling mix of deck building and roguelike dungeon crawling. Starting out with a basic character and a beginner's collection of cards, players explore dungeons, find treasure and unlock new cards to improve their decks. Do well, and soon, your character deck will be running like a well-tuned engine, and you'll need to do just that in order to defeat Dream Quest's ferocious boss battles. Death may be permanent. But do well, and you'll unlock achievements that provide lasting bonuses, secret characters and other extra content. 

Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer (Android, iOS)

Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer (Android and iOS) sports an impressive pedigree, with Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Champions Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty and Brian Kibler contributing to the original game's design and Playdek in charge of the mobile app. It shows, as Ascension is easily among the most polished digital card games in the Android and iOS app stores. A fantasy deck-building card game, players start with a limited set of cards, and then slowly build up a repertoire of heroes, mystics and constructs, as they compete against other players and monsters to earn victory. The game features a well-scripted tutorial, beautifully detailed cards, varied AIs to play against and support for asynchronous multiplayer. The base game is free, but further expansion packs are available as in-app purchases.

Star Realms (Android, iOS)

 
Rival interstellar empires clash in Star Realms (Android and iOS), a lean and mean deck-building card game that takes the action to the stars. Starting out with a small clutch of scout ships and fighters, players race to draft a variety of warships, freighters and starbase cards from various factions as they outwit and outfight each other in a battle for dominion. Easy-to-learn rules combine with solid deck-building mechanics and a tricky faction combo system to provide short but intense games. Star Realms provides a basic campaign and AI skirmishes for free, with an in-app purchase unlocking more campaigns, tougher AI foes and support for asynchronous and pass-and-play multiplayer.

SolForge (Android, iOS)

 
SolForge (Android and iOS) shakes up the basic formula of card battle games by adding a positional element and taking advantage of the digital card format. Players try to reduce their opponent's life to zero by launching attacks with creatures. SolForge adds an interesting tactical wrinkle by having five "lanes" where you can deploy your creatures to attack or block, as well as a card-leveling mechanic that players can use to improve their units in play. SolForge's easy to learn but tactically challenging rules and sleek digital presentation easily earn it a slot in our favorite digital card games.

Card Crawl (Android, iOS)

Card Crawl (Android, iOS) is a fast-playing solitaire card game that's all about risk and reward. As an adventurer crawling through a dungeon, you must make it out of a dungeon alive carrying as much loot as you can carry while fighting your way through a mob of monsters. Each round, you're dealt a spread of four cards, which can be gold, equipment like swords, shields and potions, or monster cards which deal damage to you unless you use equipment to take them out. Simple rules, challenging play, and neat art make it a great pastime, with each game playable in 2 to 5 minutes, ideal when killing time in a line or commuting.

Clash Royale

 
Supercell's free-to-play Clash Royale (Android, iOS) may be a surprising addition to a list of old-school cardgames, but it features a cool mix of card management and tower defense, all within tight, 3-minute rounds. Using a variety of unit cards played on a tower-defense style map, players must carefully balance offense and defense in quick-play rounds where a single misplay can swing an entire match. That said, it is free to play, so expect some grindyness as you slog through matches in order to earn reward chests (which you must also wait to unlock), unless you shell out cash for premium currency.

Android Featured Game card IOS Strategy

11:46:00 AM

 

The Kingdom Rush [Free / Free (HD)] series has been one of the most popular tower defense franchises out there, and it's thanks in part to its introduction of action and RTS elements with the summonable reinforcements, and the hero units that can be sent across the battlefield to help take care of any threats. It gives this genre a fresh feel, and not just about sitting back and watching towers annihilate enemy creeps. Now Ironhide Games continues the franchise with Kingdom Rush Origins [$2.99 / $4.99 (HD)], a game that iterates on the formula that previous entries established. It's still a solid game, but it's pretty clear at this point that it's a series just for fans of it, and I failed to find any reason for newcomers to particularly jump in to this entry in particular.

The game's elements will feel largely familiar to Kingdom Rush veterans, as many of the unit types follow a similar structure as they did before, with archers, stone-throwers replacing bombers, magicians, and the infantry units serving as the towers to fend off enemies. There are a number of new enemies, different upgrades to play with, new special hero attacks to play with, and all sorts of the little tweaks and changes that series veterans will likely point out. There are a number of path designs across the game's two-dozen-plus levels – pay attention to where the banners are to see where the enemies are marching toward! 

The production values are maxed out, to be sure. This game has spectacular detail, color, and animation. The levels are teeming with animated elements all over the place, including little random things that can be tapped in the levels. Some of them just do things like play music or trigger animations, but others can affect battle, though those are more obvious. The visuals are a bit small on the iPad mini 2's Retina display, and I understand the lack of zoom functionality, but it can be hard to tell where hero units are in the heat of battle when there's hundreds of units are on screen at once. Kingdom Rush Origins' pacing is a real killer. Back when I reviewed Crystal Siege HD [$2.99], I noted that game lacked fast-forwarding and felt a bit slow. Well, I forgot that Kingdom Rush has always eschewed fast-forwarding, and the missions in Origins feel particularly lengthy, particularly when there's no ability to move the action along. The game feels plodding at times, and missions contain ever-increasing numbers of waves. It's a game that winds up feeling like a chore at times. Also, that game really pushes forward the usage of hero units in tower defense, where it feels a lot more trivial here.

Also a chore? The game has issues launching properly on iOS 8.1 – it would frequently launch to a black screen on the iPad Mini 2, and I see the same issue with Kingdom Rush Frontiers [$2.99 / $2.99 (HD)] on my iPhone 6 Plus. I take issue with some of the in-app purchases. Now, I totally understand that hey, it's hard to make money on the App Store, and I have no qualms with the game's price. And if it's fair, I can live with paid games having in-app purchases. But I don't know, having a number of heroes that can only be bought with in-app purchases, and having an extra-powerful $6.99 hero in what is a $4.99 game on iPad feels icky to me. This is especially so when the game isn't universal, so if you buy a character and want to play on your iPhone after playing on iPad, you would have to buy again.

  

This criticism is possibly unfair considering that previous games have done similar things, and Crystal Siege has in-app purchases to buy exclusive items, but perhaps it's that this game puts them out in front of the player every time they select a hero. It's a combination of factors. Plus, the Android versions are $2.99 for tablet-compatible versions. It's 2014, Rovio stopped doing iPhone/iPad splits a while ago, the HD moniker doesn't mean anything any more since the iPhone is actually HD now, let's just make everything universal. At least there's iCloud support for saves. Really, I'm just going to admit that Kingdom Rush Origins is not the ideal kind of game for me. I like my tower defense a bit faster, I like getting into more detail, and I perhaps like my in-app purchases a bit more subtly-placed! I realize that now. I imagine that fans of the series will love this one, and they can flame me all they want. I understand, but I hope they understand why I'm not all that keen on this one. For the person who wants to get into the series, this isn't a bad entry point, and you probably ought to play one of these games for the cultural awareness. And hey, $2.99/$4.99 aren't inordinately high prices in the grand scheme of things, so you can say you're supporting premium game prices. But if you're new to the series, and not even sure that you like tower defense, I'd suggest jumping into an earlier entry first – you can get Frontiers for free on iPhone through IGN right now, and there's the myriad sales that pop up, as well, for the series. And I think Origins will play better if you're acquainted with the series and wind up wanting more, versus just jumping in for the first time. This one's for fans of the game already, which may be why $6.99 character IAP in a paid game is available, because people care enough to shell out for it. I guess I can't really fault that, even if I'm not entirely comfortable with it.  

Featured Game card Strategy Turn base

10:59:00 AM

 

Clash of Clans, backed by a big marketing campaign, has become the public face of strategy gaming that none of us want. Sure, it's actually pretty competent as free to play base-builders go. But that very model is so repellent that it's a bit like saying Genghis Khan wasn't quite so bad as barbarian warlords go. Clash of Clans is still the inanely grinning face that launched the steamrolling of our hobby under the freemium juggernaut.

So when its sister franchise, Clash Royale, appeared on the scene, my instinct was to run a country mile. Yet, for the sake of journalistic completeness, I felt compelled to try it. I headed into my first match with every fibre of my being straining under duress. I left it with a hot itch to play another. Right away. And another, and another, until I was forced to admit that actually, Clash Royale is really good.

It's a true mini-mobile MOBA. Unlike other games in that hallowed turf, like Vainglory, it doesn't carry a ton of baggage over from its PC roots. Matches are incredibly fast, at 4 minutes tops before a draw is declared. There are only two lanes. Each player has three castles, and the aim is to destroy more than your opponent does. There's no heroes to learn, only a variety of different missile and melee troops that you launch onto the board at a time and place of your choosing. From thereon in, the AI takes over and directs them for you.

You can take eight units into battle. There's a default eight everyone gets at the start, and a small selection of new ones you can unlock through pay or play. It's a bit like a card system where you can put things in and out of your deck as you get access to them or upgrade the ones you have. As you rank up, you slowly gain access to more and more cards and this slow drip keep the learning curve nice and shallow.

If it seems surprising that there's any learning curve at all in such a simple, stripped down game, that's down to the genius of the design. Units don't have many statistics but what there is creates an intricate web of attack and counterattack. Swarms of small units can be quickly removed with splash damage. Splash damage units can be effectively countered by flying troops. Flying troops are vulnerable to swarms of small missile units. And so on, ad infinitum.

That would be enough to make an interesting game. Yet richness is added to the mixture through a thousand tiny decisions in timing and positioning that can help win a battle. You pay for units through a slowly refilling bar of elixir. To win through to an enemy castle, you need to throw a mix of units into the offensive down one lane. But if you're out of elixir, and you suddenly find yourself assaulted down the other lane, you're in deep trouble.

Following a successful defence, you’re then in a dilemma with what to do about the survivors. The ragged, wounded band will march grimly on toward the enemy keep, where they’ll meet with a quick death unless you support them. Cash in too little, and it’s wasted points. Too much, and you leave yourself vulnerable. So, so many little decision points that can swing the tide one way or the other.

The result is a surprisingly deep and beguiling mix, where there's a hint of randomness in your card selection and a lot of skill. With things being so smooth and fast it's ideally suited to the mobile medium. The quick matches, predominance of player skill and multiple, interlocking collection and upgrade systems make it dangerously addictive. A quick five minute session can expand to eat an hour with terrifying ease.

t's not all a bed of roses. Matchmaking is based solely on your ladder score, but you also have slowly increasing levels for your towers and all your cards. That can lead to some frustratingly one-sided matches if you happen upon a higher-level player down on their luck.

Bigger, though, is the monetisation model, which is so odious that it makes me wish Clash Royale wasn't as good as it is. Winning matches wins you chests, which contain gold and cards. You need gold, because it upgrades your existing cards and is the only reliable way to obtain the most powerful cards. However, you can only own four chests at once, and opening one takes up to twelve hours. Unless you pay with premium, real-money fuelled, currency to take the timers away.

The reality is that while you can, in theory, play forever for free, you will lose a lot of matches and will struggle to get anywhere unless you pay. It doesn't have to be a handsome amount, but it's still effectively a paywall unless you have the patience of a saint. And if you're at all impulsive, or if the game gets its substantial hooks in you, it would be easy to spend a lot of money. Top players are already taking about hundreds of dollars.

 What's so tragic and infuriating about this is that Clash Royale would have worked brilliantly on a Hearthstone style pay model. Earn gold through quests or through victories, up to a sensible daily limit. Buy card packs with your gold, or with real money. It's made plenty of profit for Blizzard. But SuperCell weren't satisfied with that. Instead, they chose the greedy path with Clash Royale and made what could have been a truly great game into merely a very good one.

Sad, but it's an effective and instructional metaphor for the direction mobile gaming seems to be going. So Clash Royale sticks us in a bind. Enjoy this excellent game and hasten the demise of the things we love, or miss out on a cracking strategy game and stick to our principles? On the assumption that I'm in too tiny a minority that cares about the latter, I'm going to have to recommend we all go with the former.

Featured Game card Strategy

10:52:00 AM