Clash Royale: The Grand Arena has officially launched on Kickstarter and it's already off to a solid start. The upcoming board game adaptation has blown past its initial $25K goal in less than an hour after going live.
IGN had the chance to reveal the first trailer for the game last week and found it to be a faithful adaptation to the very popular mobile game. If you want to get in on the game before it officially launches, pledges start at $49 and go up from there.
This isn't the first Clash of Clans board game to come out of a collaboration between Maestro Media and Supercell. Clash of Clans: The Epic Raid followed a similar path via Kickstarter and managed to raise over $500K for the project ahead of its release. With the initial success of The Grand Arena, we expect the second board game adaptation to put up similar numbers before the campaign ends in November.
As for what the game actually looks like, we had the chance to talk to the game's lead designer, David Gordon about what actually went into its creation: “We tried mechanisms such as actual real time play against a clock, putting out a bunch of cubes, and simultaneous reveals, as well as various strategies to minimize the admin for players. Ultimately, we found that focusing on elixir spending in a turn-based card play system yielded a fun experience that most resembled that of the video game.”
the game itself, which is designed for 2-4 players, controls their own forces of eight-card decks built around a chosen Champion. Players take turns trying to destroy each other's towers, using elixir to fuel each move they make. Each tower you destroy earns you a crown, and the player with the most crowns at the end of the game is the winner.
“It was important that a strategy game fan who had never played the video game would find the tabletop version fun," said Gordon about the game. And that's really the core thesis behind and Clash of Clans game. You should be able to jump into gameplay fairly quickly and be able to have fun without knowing any backstory about the franchise.
Clash Royale: The Grand Arena is now available to support on Kickstarter. Fans can pledge their support via various tiers, including more expensive options that will get you access to expansions of the game.