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Clash Royale 15
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Game Design Teardown 18

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Agenda 3
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Game
Monetization Social/Other 12
Mechanics 13
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! Game Play ! Premium currency ! Clans 15

! Cards ! Spend Sinks ! Notifications 16

! Treasure Chests ! TV Royale 17

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! Progression 19
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Clash Royale - Overview 3

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Executive Summary 6
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It’s no secret that past performance in free-to-play gaming is not indicative of future 9
performance. Companies like King and Rovio have struggled to follow up their 10
Why We Chose: smash hit titles with varying degrees of success. While titles like Hay Day and 11
Boom Beach demonstrate Supercell’s proclivity for crafting chart-topping games, 12
Clash Royale represents a bold step for the company. 13
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In Clash Royale, players face off in real-time, head-to-head, battles with the goal of 16
destroying their opponent’s base. On the surface the core game mechanic is similar 17
Gameplay to Clash of Clans. However, the addition of classic CCG mechanics makes Clash 18
Royale a truly unique and compelling experience. 19
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Publisher Supercell. Helsinki, Finland 22
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Release date: Soft launch in Australia, Canada, New Zealand. 25
History Peak download rank: #1, Canada; Top 3 Australia and New Zealand. 26
Peak grossing rank: #2, Canada; Top 3 Australia and New Zealand. 27
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Takeaways - Strengths 3
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Strong Brand Recognition – The Clash universe expanded
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! As an extension of the Clash of Clans universe, Clash Royale will benefit immensely from unmatched 9
brand awareness. This will drive new user acquisition and allow the Clash Royale player base to easily 10
reach the critical mass required to support a heads-up multiplayer title, all before the first marketing 11
dollars are spent. 12
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Familiar Mechanics – Moderate learning curve 14
! While Clash Royale offers a whole host of new game mechanics for players to dig into, the core 15
gameplay of deploying troops and destroying bases remains largely unchanged. Having an instant 16
familiarity with the game creates a welcoming environment for new players where they can instantly 17

feel comfortable while learning the functionality and nuances of the new game mechanics. 18
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Monetization – Deep resource sinks drive endless potential 20
! Clash Royale utilizes a leveling system with ever increasing upgrade costs that ensures a consistent 21

demand for currency, cards, and the chests that provide them. As players advance to higher arenas they 22
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unlock access to stronger cards, starting the cycle again.
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Takeaways - Weaknesses 3
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New Player Fatigue – New players face stiff competition 10
! Without a single player campaign outside of the tutorial arena, new players are at risk of facing 11
repeated losses when entering PvP competition. The addition of a PvE campaign or an extended 12
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practice mode where players could compete against an AI and earn cards would greatly improve the
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new player experience and bolster early player retention.
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Lack of Card Variety – CR pales in comparison to other CCGs
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! With only 42 cards available at launch, Clash Royale doesn’t stack up when compared to CCG giants 18
like Hearthstone. Additionally, there is a significant lack of game mechanics that result in interesting 19
card synergies as seen in most traditional CCG games. Many of the top tier cards unlocked though 20
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gameplay are simply stronger versions of previous cards.
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Gameplay Brief 3
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A new twist on a classic mechanic 6
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! Players face off in real-time heads-up competition. 8
! Battle takes place inside a map called the arena. 9

! Each player begins the round with control of their half of 10

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the arena.
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! Each player has three buildings; two Arena Towers and 13
one King's Tower on their side of the arena. 14
! The player’s goal is to destroy the other player’s King's 15
Tower while protecting their own. 16

! Players do battle by deploying troops and spells from a 17

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deck of cards.
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! Players may deploy anywhere within territory they control. 20
! Destroying an opponent’s Arena Tower will expand the 21
player’s territory and allow them to deploy troops close to 22
the opponent’s King’s Tower. 23
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Gameplay Brief 3
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Playing to win – endgame conditions 6
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! If you destroy the other player's King Tower, you win 9
immediately. 10

! If neither player is able to destroy their opponent’s King’s tower 11

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within the first 2 minutes, elixir regeneration speed is doubled.
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! If after 3 minutes, each player’s King Tower is still standing 14
and each player has destroyed an equal number of Arena 15

Towers, sudden death beings. 16

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! In sudden death the next player to destroy a tower wins the
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match. 19
! If no tower is destroyed during sudden death, the match will 20
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end in a draw and neither player will gain or lose any of their
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trophies.
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Gameplay Brief 3
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Main gameplay UI breakdown 6
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Card tray. Contains the players hand. Playable cards will appear in full color. 6 9
1 Black and white cards require more elixir to be used.
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Elixir counter. Elixir regenerates at a fixed rate for both players. As the player
2 casts cards and consumes elixir, the elixir bar will drop. 11
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3 Casting cost. The amount of elixir each card requires to be played.
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4 Next card. The next card that will be added to the card tray when the player 14
plays a card from the tray.
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Player’s King Tower. When the King Tower’s HP is reduced to zero, the player 16
5 will immediately lose the match. 8
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6 Opponent’s King Tower.
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Each player has a pair of Arena Towers on their respective side of the map, on 7 19
7 the left and right sides of the King’s Tower.
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8 Crown count. Destroying an opposing tower awards you a crown. 21
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9 Opponent’s name and trophy count.
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10 Time remaining in the match. 24
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11 Emote menu. Players can communicate using a collection of canned phrases. 4
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Gameplay Brief 3
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Preparing your clan for battle 6
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! A player’s battle deck is the rotation of cards they want to take 9
into battle. 10

! The battle deck is limited to 8 unique cards of any type. Players 11

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cannot have fewer than 8 cards in their battle deck.
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! Players can add unlocked card’s to the battle deck from their 14
library at any time between battles. 15
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Core-Loop 3
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Familiar battle and upgrade loop 6
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+ Crowns
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+ Chests
+/- Trophies 9
Rewards Battle 10
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+ New Cards 17
+ Gold
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+ Gems
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Upgrade 26
- Gold
- Cards 27
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Progression 3
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Dual progression paths offer different rewards 6
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King Level 11
Just like Clash of Clans, Clash Royale features a player-leveling mechanic called the 12

King Level. Players can advance their king level by earning experience points through 13
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various metagame actions.
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Trophies 19
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Immediately familiar to anyone who has played Clash of Clans, trophies are used to
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indicate your overall success in combat. Players gain and lose trophies based on their
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performance in arena battles.
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King Level 3
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Increases the strength of player towers 6
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King Arena King Arena 8

EXP to
Level Tower Tower Tower Tower 9
next
HP HP DMG DMG 10
1 20 2,400 1,400 50 50 11
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2 50 2,568 1,512 53 54
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3 100 2,736 1,624 57 58 14
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! Players gain experience by 4 200 2,904 1,750 60 62
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upgrading cards or donating cards 5 400 3,096 1,890 64 67
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to clanmates. 6 1,000 3,312 2,030 69 72 18
! XP gained by upgrading cards is 19
7 2,000 3,528 2,184 73 78
listed on the card at the time of 20
upgrade. 8 5,000 3,768 2,352 78 84 21

! XP gained from donations varies 9 10,000 4,008 2,534 83 90 22

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based on the rarity of the card 10 30,000 4,272 2,730 89 97
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donated.
11 80,000 4,560 2,940 95 105 25

12 100,000 4,872 3,175 101 113 26

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Trophies 3
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A measure of your prowess in battle 6
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Trophy Count 8
Arena Name Image
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0 1 Goblin Stadium 11
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400 2 Bone Pit
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! Trophies act as a measure of 16
800 3 Barbarian Bowl
player and clan skill. 17

! Players gain or lose trophies by P.E.K.K.A’s

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1,100 4 19
Playhouse
winning or losing arena matches.
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! The player’s number of trophies 1,400 5 Spell Valley
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determines which arena they
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compete in. 1,700 6 Royal Arena 24
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Legendary 26
3,000 7
Arena 27
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Cards 3
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Cards are the core of the Clash Royale experience 6
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Card Types
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! Cards are used to deploy troops, Troops Buildings Spells
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cast spells, and erect buildings on 17
the battlefield Card Rarity 18
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! Cards can be acquired by finding
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them in chests or buying them with 21
Gold. 22
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! There will be 42 cards available at Common Rare Epic 24
launch. 25
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Cards Continued 3
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Cards can be upgraded to grow with the player 6
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Clash Royale features a card-leveling mechanic that closely resembles fusion mechanics seen in countless 8
other CCGs. This system adds value to collecting multiple copies of cards and acts as a powerful gold sink. 9
With increasing costs per level, Clash Royale realizes immense monetization depth for whales. 10
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Cards required for upgrade Gold cost to upgrade 14
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Level Common Rare Epic Level Common Rare Epic
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2 2 2 2 2 5 50 400
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3 4 4 4 3 20 150 1,000
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4 10 10 10 4 50 400 2,000
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5 20 20 20 5 150 1,000 4,000
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6 50 50 50 6 400 2,000 8,000
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7 100 100 100 7 1,000 4,000 20,000

8 200 200 300 8 2,000 8,000 50,000

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9 400 500 -- 9 4,000 20,000 -- 23
10 800 1,000 -- 10 8,000 50,000 -- 24
11 2,000 -- -- 11 20,000 -- -- 25
12 5,000 -- -- 12 50,000 -- -- 26
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Cards Continued 3
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Gated access to powerful cards 6
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With each new arena, players unlock the chance to access 26
to new cards from chests. 27
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Game Content 3
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Chests are the primary source of all resources 6
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Chests are the primary source of all resources in Clash Royale. There are 5 different types of
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chests players can open. 10
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Free Crown Silver Gold Magical
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Chest Chest Chest Chest Chest
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Chest Details 3
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Retention best practice – Free chests 6
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What’s inside:
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! Free chests are awarded every 4 hours.
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! Unclaimed chests will stack to a maximum of 2.
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! Free chests can be opened immediately.
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! Can contain 2–4 Gems 16
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Why we like it: 18
! Creates a scheduled gameplay moment every 4 hours promoting strong 19
Unlock Time:
retention. Instant 20

! Stacking chests lets the player go inactive for 8 hours without feeling 21

punished. 22
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Chest Details 3
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Engagement best practice – Crown chests 6
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What’s inside:
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! Crown chests are awarded for collecting 10 crowns.
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! Players earn 1 crown for each enemy tower they destroy.
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! Crown chests can be opened immediately.
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! Players are limited to 1 crown chest every 24 hours.
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! Can contain 2– 4 gems
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Why we like it: 18

! Promotes at least one extended gameplay session per day. Unlock Time:
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! With one crown rewarded for destroying each Tower, players are rewarded Instant
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for participating in battle whether they win or lose.
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Chest Details 3
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Breaking down what’s inside – Silver Chest 6
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What’s inside:
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! Silver chests are awarded for winning battles.
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! Silver chests can be purchased in the shop.
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! No guaranteed rare or epic cards.
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! Does not contain gems.
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Unlock Time: 16
3 Hours
Drop Table 17
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Arena Gold Cards Guaranteed Why we like it: 19
1 20–25 3 -- ! The 3 hour unlock time fits nicely into a daytime 20
2 27–34 4 -- schedule allowing savvy players to unlock 4 per day 21
easily. 22
3 34–43 5 --
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4 40–50 6 --
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5 46–58 7 -- 25
6 44–55 8 -- 26
7 76–95 11 -- 27
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Chest Details 3
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Breaking down what’s inside – Gold Chest 6
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What’s inside: 10
! Gold chests are awarded for winning battles. 11
! Gold chests can be purchased in the shop. 12
! At least 1 guaranteed rare card. 13
! Does not contain gems. 14
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Unlock Time: 16
8 Hours
Drop Table 17
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Arena Gold Cards Guaranteed Why we like it: 19
1 70–80 10 1 Rare ! With an 8 hour unlock time, the gold chest is 20
2 95–108 14 1 Rare perfect for unlocking while the player sleeps, 21
creating a powerful morning engagement 22
3 119–136 17 1 Rare
opportunity. 23
4 140–160 20 2 Rare
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5 161–184 23 2 Rare 25
6 182–208 26 2 Rare 26
7 266–304 38 3 Rare 27
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Chest Details 3
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Breaking down what’s inside – Magical Chest 6
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What’s inside: 10
! Magical chests are rarely rewarded for winning battles. 11
! Magical chests can be purchased in the shop. 12
! At least 1 guaranteed epic card. 13
! Does not contain gems. 14
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Unlock Time: 16
12 Hours
Drop Table 17
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Arena Gold Cards Guaranteed
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1 200–250 30 1 Epic, 6 Rare 20
2 270–330 41 1 Epic, 8 Rare 37% Chance of 2nd epic 21
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3 340–425 51 1 Epic, 10 Rare 70% Chance of 2nd epic
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4 400–500 60 2 Epic, 12 Rare
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5 460–575 69 2 Epic, 13 Rare 30% Chance of 3rd epic
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6 520–650 78 2 Epic, 15 Rare 60% Chance of 3 epic
rd
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7 760–950 114 3 Epic, 22 Rare 80% Chance of 4th epic 27
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Monetization 3
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Clash Royale uses a single premium currency 6
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Just like Clash of Clans, Gems are the sole 8

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premium currency in the game. 10
! Gems are the only currency that can be 11
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purchased directly using real money.
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! Players cannot buy gold directly with real 14
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money. Instead, they can convert gems into
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gold. 17

! Players can buy chests with gems. 18

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! Chests bought with gems can be opened 20

immediately. 21
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! Chests are priced dynamically based on the 23
player’s current arena level. 24
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* Prices shown are in AUD
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Monetization 3
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Dynamic pricing increases the cost of a chest over time 6
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As the player progresses through the game reaching
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high-level arenas, chests will offer a greater amount of
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rewards (see slides 20-22). To account for the increase in
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rewards, the price to purchase a chest in gems also
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increases proportionally. 14
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Chest Pricing Table 17
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Arena Silver Gold Magical
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1 25 75 380 20
2 30 80 400 21
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3 30 90 470
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4 30 95 500
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5 35 100 600 25
6 35 100 600 26
7 40 120 800 27
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Monetization 3
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“Log Jam” effect promotes gem spend 6
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One of the unique aspects of Clash Royale compared to 8

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other games is the lack of an energy system. Simply put,
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players can play as much as they want. This effectively 11
allows the player to earn chests more quickly than they can 12

unlock them. 13
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With only 4 chest slots, players face a minimum of 12 15
hours to open all the chests they can earn in a well-played 16

15-minute session. 17
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Players may continue to play but face a warning that they 19
will not receive new chests while their chest queue is full. 20

This mechanic forces a player to either spend gems to hurry 21

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up the unlock process, or return regularly to achieve an
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optimal earning rate. 24
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Social Features 3
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Returning feature – Clans 6

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A returning feature that was wildly popular in Clash of
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Clans is the concept of a clans: 10

! Unlocked at king level 3 11

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! Can have a maximum of 50 members 13
! Clan members can request cards and donate cards to 14
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other members.
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! Players can donate up to 2 cards per request. 17

! Players may request up to 10 common cards or 1 rare 18

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card per request. 20
! Players receive XP and gold for donating cards to clan 21
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members.
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! Players are limited to donating 60 common cards per 24
day to clanmates. Rare cards count as 10 common 25
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Social Features 3
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New social feature – TV Royale 6
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Taking a cue from games like Hearthstone and their 9
popularity on streaming sites such as Twitch, Supercell has 10
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developed an embedded match replay service called TV
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Royale. 13
! Unlocked after completing the tutorial. 14
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! Players can view epic matches between some of the top 16
players in CR. 17
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! By highlighting top players, Supercell elevates top 19
players to celebrity status. 20
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! Each player’s battle deck is visible to help the 22
community uncover the strategies used by top players. 23
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Notifications 3
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Standard re-engagement flows are present 6
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Clash Royale asks for notification permissions upon first start, and sends notifications: 9
! When free chests are available 10
! When chests have been unlocked 11
! When clan members donate cards 12
! At standard re-engagement times (between 1 and 7 days of inactivity). 13
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Summary 3
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Overall 6
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! Clash Royale is well positioned to be the next chart topping hit for Supercell. Using a familiar
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game mechanic with just the right amount of innovation, Clash Royale will engage existing
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Clash of Clash maniacs in a new experience while expanding their reach into new audiences. 10
! Just as other games in the CCG genre have done before, evolving and growing Clash Royale 11
will be critical to achieving sustained, long term success. Engaging the community and 12
addressing player concerns will critical in developing a product that clears the high bar set by 13
games like Hearthstone. 14
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Lessons 16
! Tried and true game mechanics presented in a new context can create powerful experiences. 17

! Extended soft launches in larger territories allow for a more optimized and balanced gameplay 18
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experience.
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! Chest/card pack style mechanics are notoriously addictive and compelling for players and 21
should be utilized where they make sense. 22
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Get in touch! 3
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We are always accepting new mobile social design and development 6
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clients. 8
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You can contact us at: 11
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Email
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adrian@adriancrook.com 14
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Online 16
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adriancrook.com
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Twitter 19
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@adriancrook 21
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Skype 23
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adrian.crook
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