[Heart of Crown Online]A new game that is a digital version of a real board game!

“HEART of CROWN Online” is a card game for PC by illuCalab., whose “early access version” has been available on the Steam store since April 24, 2024.

Its main features include an outstandingly strategic play element where you can grow your deck and defend your princess to welcome her “coronation'', an attractive princess with a character design that will appeal to anime fans, and CPU battles and online PvP.

A new title recommended for people who like playing card deck building games, people who are looking for a game where players can enjoy playing against each other online, and people who are looking for a digital board game that can be played for a long time.

A card game where you fight in support of a princess.

“HEART of CROWN Online”, which is currently being distributed in early access on the PC game portal site “Steam”, is a recommended new game that is a “digital version” of the popular board game.

This work is a digital version of the real board game “Heart of Crown,'' which is highly popular both domestically and internationally, and has entered the PC game genre under the name “Deck Growth Card Game.'' It's a must-see new game for fans.

The game is developed by illuCalab and FLIPFLOPs, and published by Japanime Digital. The developer is the same one that created the original real board game, so in a sense it's a work that feels very secure.

The theme of this game is the same as the original board game: a battle for succession to the throne of an empire, and players will step into an era when swords and magic ruled the world, and will choose one of the seven potential successor princesses.

The ultimate goal is to place the princess on the “emperor's throne,” and the play elements will develop while defeating other powerful people and gathering territories and supporters. This is a new game that is recommended for those who like card game titles with highly strategic gameplay.

The game is a four-player battle format, and this work supports offline CPU battles and online interpersonal battles (PvP). You will grow your deck by taking out territories from your hand and using the funds you earn to purchase new territories and cards.

The princesses that appear in the work all have unique effects, and the play elements you choose should also improve. This is an extremely interesting new game in which the player aims for the coronation ceremony while gaining many supporters such as parliamentarians and dukes on his side.

The key point is that the princess character that players can support in this work has an anime-style design and an appearance that will appeal to bishoujo game fans. This is a recommended new game that you can enjoy while enjoying the charm of a princess.

Current status of early access version

At the moment, you can enjoy both the aforementioned PvE and PvP, and you can also experience competitive elements with friends and other players. There are two types of online matches: “Free Match'' and “Room Match.''

Although the number of cards available in the game remains limited, it has been announced that this number will increase in future updates. Even now, the game system is well-established, and it can be said to be a very easy-to-play work.

Development will be done based on player opinions and feedback on the community hub and official Discord server. The plan is to regularly examine opinions in Japanese, English, and Chinese.

It seems that the graphics and production aspects of the early access version are not yet perfect, and this is expected to be refined in the official version, which is scheduled to take place in about a year. The correct answer is to play with an attitude of watching the work mature with warm eyes.

The selling price is currently 1,980 yen, but this is an early access price, and it is predicted that the price will increase by about $5 to $10 for the official version. It would be a good idea to get the product now while it is cheap.

By the way, if you purchase a game at an early access price on Steam, even if the price of that product increases due to development progress, users who have already purchased the game will be able to update it without paying any additional fees.

You can currently get the early access version for 1,782 yen, a 10% discount, which is the release commemorative sale price, so if you want to keep the initial cost down as much as possible, hurry up and buy it. This release commemorative sale price is a limited time price until May 1, 2024.

The game supports a Japanese interface and subtitles as standard. There is no mention of compatibility with universal controllers or Steam Deck, so it may be best to wait for future updates and announcements.

There are currently zero Steam achievements that can be unlocked. When selling products on the Steam Store, we would like to see them implement the “benefits'' and “added value'' of playing through this portal site, as this will lead to increased purchase intent.

The required specifications for the PC are light, with the recommended CPU model being an “i7” class processor, and a graphic board with 4GB or more of VRAM. The installation size is about 3GB, which is as light as a smartphone app.

The highly recommended new card game “HEART of CROWN Online'', which is a long-awaited digital version of the popular board game, is currently being distributed on the Steam Store as an “early access'' title.

At the time of writing, 33 user reviews have been received, with the content being “somewhat positive''. There have already been many requests from users, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these will be reflected in the work.

If you are interested, please visit the store now and check detailed game information.

[Recommended points]You can play with the digital version!

Gameplay flow

The game unfolds in a turn-based manner with a “main phase” and a “second phase.” There are four types of cards that appear in the work: “Princess Cards'', “Territory Cards'', “Action Cards'', and “Succession Rights Cards''. Each card has a cost.

The player's victory condition is to support the princess, collect 20 “succession cards”, and hold a “coronation ceremony”. You participate in the game as one of the powerful people of the empire, and your mission is to have the princess inherit the position of emperor.

In the “main phase”, you can put action/territory cards from your hand into play. As long as the link continues, you can issue as many copies as you like. By the way, some cards have no links, while others have two links.

In the “Second Phase”, you can purchase as many cards as you like with coins from your territory. You can also defend your princess by paying 6 coins during this phase.

Among the territory cards used when defending the princess, the three cards with the highest cost become the “directly controlled territory” and are placed next to the princess. In the second phase, it is also possible to set an inheritance card to a territory under direct control instead of purchasing a card.

Action cards that are not used in the above turns can be kept and carried over to the next turn if the cost is “less than'' of the territory cards of each directly controlled territory.

About the coronation

If the total number of points held by the succession cards of the directly controlled region is 20 or more, the player can declare a “coronation ceremony”. If there is no coronation declaration from other players during the round after the declaration, the game can be won.

If other players also declare a coronation, an overtime game with sudden death rules will develop. In this overtime game, the first player to score 30 points will be crowned the champion and win the game.

The highly recommended new card game “HEART of CROWN Online'', which is a long-awaited digital version of the popular board game, is currently being distributed on the Steam Store as an “early access'' title.

It's a title that has the most interesting gameplay, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how future updates will improve game balance, production, and graphics.

If you are interested, please visit the store now and check detailed game information.

[Recommended points]Enjoy card battles!