For a couple of weeks now, I have been hearing about the app Clash Royale by Super Cell, the people who make Clash of Clans. When I first saw it, my first thought was, “oh great, a spinoff of Clash of Clans.” Since getting the game, my opinion has changed little by little. I approached the game with a negative attitude, since then I have come to enjoy it.

While almost all of the units are based off of units in Clash of Clans, there are a couple unique units. A unit is a spell that costs elixir and remains on the battle field until it is killed. The basic set up is you are on a field split by a gorge spanned only by two bridges. The goal is to play units, spells and buildings to destroy one, two or all three of your opponent’s towers, each tower destroyed gives the player whose units destroyed the tower a crown. To win a duel, the player has to destroy all three towers or destroy more towers than your opponent has at the end of the match. Each match is three minutes long. The cards have a ranking system that makes them more powerful the higher up the ladder they climb.

One of the best things about the game is how easy and understandable the interface and menu is to navigate and to use. The game play is also rather simple, making it easy for someone new to the game to just jump in to the flow of the game. The cards are generally well balanced but there are a few exceptions that are just plain ridiculous cards which are annoying to play against. The Giant has more hit points than any other unit and completely disregards the defender’s units.

The game has a few setbacks though, many of the characters are not completely balanced out yet. The game emulates Clash of Clans little too closely, this I believe Super Cell will fix though, based on Super Cell’s diligent updating of Clash of Clans and Boom Beach.

Overall, I would recommend this game despite the few setbacks. The game is well made and is very easy to start to play. Clash Royale is a free game, it has no cost.