Clash Royale - Deconstructing Supercell's Next Billion Dollar Game

Upgrading Cards costs ever-increasing amounts of cards and Gold. The benefit of the upgrade mechanic in Royale it that it make a player want hundreds of instances of the same card.

Upgrading Cards in Royale is a simple power-up mechanic familiar from card collecting games. First, a player has to find a new card from a Chest. This will grant the player the first level of that card. As a player receives more of the same card, he can power up the card by consuming all of the required ones into one card. The higher the level of the card, the more Cards and Gold it requires to level up. And a player has no choice but to level his/her Cards as it not only improves the stats of the card but also gives XP, which is needed to Level Up. The Player Level is important as it increases hit-points of the player’s Towers making them more powerful in battles. 

The Battle

The short and fast paced synchronous player versus player battle in Clash Royale is unbelievably addictive. Firstly, it takes only a handful of seconds to open the app, go to matchmaking and start a battle. Secondly, the battles are fun to play and fun to watch due to the sense of anticipation created by asymmetrical knowledge between the players.

In the battle, both players have a strategy that they’re looking to execute with their chosen deck of cards. Spectators see the board as well as the opposing players’ hands - but they have no idea what goes on in the other players’ mind. Asymmetrical knowledge combined with spectators seeing the cards each player has is what makes spectating e-sports and poker so popular.

Arena & Rules

The Battle Arena in Clash Royale consists of two lanes, two towers, and a central base tower. The winning conditions are simple: the first and the easiest way to win is by having more Crowns at the end of the match. Each match has a timer of three minutes with a chance of a one minute overtime if the match is a draw by the time three minutes are up. Collect as many crowns as you can before time is up. A player earns one Crown for each Tower they take down. The second way to win is via “knockout”, which in Royale means the destruction of the Central Tower. Destroying the Central Tower immediately rewards the player with three Crowns… and a high-five from everyone watching the battle.