Clash Royale

Having an angry soldier shouting as a logo for an Android game seems to be the trend these days and Clash Royale follows this tradition. This game is simply everywhere, from YouTube and Instagram ads to billboards and you have probably already heard of it elsewhere.

Clash Royale is a mashup of different genres. It's sort of a collectable card game where the cards you collect actually represent units you use to fight in real-time strategy battles on a battlefield consisting of several lanes. Each player possesses two towers and the base which you need to protect and also destroy the opponents base.

Currently, there are 1v1 and 2v2 game modes available, making it a great game to play with a friend. You and the opponent start with full Elixir points which slowly regenerate over time. Each card unit costs a certain amount of Elixir to play, and it can be placed anywhere on your half of the battlefield, unless you have destroyed any of the opponents towers, in which case the available area is bigger.

Units move automatically towards the closest lane and they attack whatever they want. Each card behaves differently which forces you to come up with a strategy. They have their weaknesses and strengths, and you have to manage your deck successfully in order to beat skilled opponents.

Games last a maximum of four minutes. First two minutes are played normally. If no bases are destroyed, the game proceeds into an additional minute where you gain Elixir twice as fast and whoever destroys more turrets wins. If it's still a draw, the winner can be decided in the last minute as anyone who destroys a turret. After that, it's a tie!

There are some in-app purchases which usually mean you get to upgrade your units faster and open chests more often, but the game can't be considered pay-to-win. There are many different aspects with clans, trophies and leveling up. Chest opening received the biggest backlash as better chests take as much as 8 hours to open. Still, it's the biggest thing you can pay for!