KARDS - The WWII Card Game News

Good day, soldiers!

1939 Games is thrilled to announce the KARDS World Championship 2022!

The KARDS World Championship 2022 is an event open for all KARDS players to freely join. Much like last year, the World Championship is conducted in three main stages:

• In-Client Open Qualifiers
  
• Knockout Stage
  
• Finals Stage

The World Championship starts with open qualifiers conducted in-client in September and October. It culminates in a grand finale in December where a new World Champion is crowned.

Participating in the World Championship may bring great prizes for players, such as diamonds and the unique KARDS World Championship 2022 cardback!

This year, the World Championship will be played exclusively online. After much deliberation, we have decided that an exclusively online tournament is the best way to ensure fairness for all of our players all over the world. Many players are still facing travel restrictions and as such, might have difficulty traveling to Iceland for an on-site battle in December. Our excellent team of hosts and casters will however come to the bunker in Iceland to analyze all the action!

[h2]How to become the KARDS World Champion 2022[/h2]

In order to become the KARDS World Champion, you must be successful in each of the three Championship stages.

Season winners, OCC winners, and winners of Open tournaments since the beginning of last year’s KARDS World Championship qualification period and until the beginning of the 2022 World Championship qualification period are all pre-qualified to participate in the top 128 Knockout Stage. Also pre-qualified are the top four players from last year’s World Championship.

[h3]Stage 1: Open Qualifiers[/h3]

Open qualifiers are held in September and October in two sections. Join one (or both!) of the open qualifiers available through the KARDS Client during weekends between September 10th and October 15th to earn your KARDS World Championship 2022 cardback and compete to qualify for stage 2 of the tournament. The top players from each qualifier will advance - with half the qualified players coming from each qualifier section.

[h3]Stage 2: Top 128 player Knockout Stage[/h3]

Players qualified through the in-game open qualifiers and the pre-qualified players are randomly drawn into 16 groups of 8 players and will play a round robin group stage on the weekend of the 29th and 30th of October. The top two players in each group will progress into a 32 person double elimination bracket played during the weekend of the 5th and 6th of November. The top four players during this weekend will qualify for the final stage and compete for the title of World Champion!

[h3]Stage 3: The Grand Finale![/h3]

On December 3rd and 4th, the four finalists will battle for the title of KARDS World Champion 2022! This two day event will be live streamed for your viewing pleasure on Twitch, Youtube and Facebook.

[h2]Rewards![/h2]

Participating in the World Championship at any stage is a fun and exciting experience - but of course, we also want to provide our brave participants with some extra goodies!

The rewards for this World Championship are as follows:

• The top 300 players from each Open Qualifier will receive the KARDS 2022 World Championship cardback!
  
• Every player that qualifies for the top 128 player Knockout Stage will receive 250 diamonds to spend on anything that their heart desires in the in-game store!
  
• The four finalists will play their final matches online, competing for their share of the $10.000 prize pool!

[h2]Get ready for battle![/h2]

With the first set of qualifiers right around the corner in September, now is a good time to start preparing your forces for battle.

Start thinking about what types of decks you want to bring and what cards you need to get to be in fighting shape come September to take on the world's best players!

We will continue to publish more details on the KARDS World Championship 2022 in the coming weeks and months. Make sure to check back regularly for updates - join us on Discord and follow us on Twitch, Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter to make sure you don’t miss any of the action!

This August patch includes the new battle code system and several bug fixes.

[h2]New features and updates[/h2]

• Introducing a new battle code system for private battles. Please read more about this new system in our latest article KARDS Battle Code System.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

[h3]AI[/h3]

• SEABORNE INVASION had an error. Fixed.
  
• 37mm AA GUN was sometimes not increasing the operation cost of enemy air units when returned to board from SENDAI. Fixed.
  
• Cards that remove Smokescreen and Ambush weren't working. Fixed.
  
• Fatigue damage was always reset to 1 on AI's turn. Fixed.
  
• ARMING THE RESISTANCE was adding 1 card less than it should. Fixed.
  
• PACT OF STEEL was discarding cards drawn if the opponent's deck was empty. Fixed.
  
• SHORE BOMBARDMENT could target enemy units that had "can't be targeted by enemy orders". Fixed.
  
• KING TIGER's effect wasn't working correctly. Fixed.
  
• Sd KFz 222 wasn't buffing adjacent ground units when returned to board from SENDAI in AI's turn. Fixed.

[h3]Cards[/h3]

• Buffs from TYPE 93 were not settled correctly sometimes. Fixed.
  
• The cost deduction for CROSS OF LORRAINE was not effective sometimes. Fixed.
  
• A few cards affected by SUPPLY SHORTAGE were not functioning correctly. For example, 2ND PARA C. Fixed.
  
• In some cases when damage was redirected to ROYAL ULSTER RIFLES, the amount of the damage was modified more than one time. Fixed.
  
• When TYPE 93 and 37mm AA GUN were removed from the board by an entering unit's deployment effect, their effects remained applied to other units. Fixed.
  
• The trigger wheel icon stuck on cards that got it from other cards such as SUPPLY SHORTAGE after being removed from board and replayed. Fixed.

[h3]User Interface[/h3]

• Packs were not being updated after draft match rewards. Fixed.

As usual, we welcome all feedback in the comments below and on KARDS Discord.

Dear KARDS players,

The dev team is hard at work to improve KARDS at all fronts, and that includes adding functionality to the game client. One of the most popular feature requests has been a system that allows you to play challenges without having your opponent on the friend list.

Rejoice! The new Battle Code system allows you to create universal invites so that other players can pick up that invite and battle together.

The applications of this new system are manyfold. It helps organize tournaments, it allows for open challenges, and more.

We designed the Battle Code system to be flexible and yet easy to use.

Let’s have a look at the details now!

[h2]HOW DOES THE BATTLE CODE WORK?[/h2]

Any two players that have started a battle code match and have the same battle code will be matched against each other.

1. First, you start a battle code match via the settings menu.
   
2. Then, you are asked for a battle code. A battle code is an alphanumeric string with a minimum length of three.
   
3. After that, you wait for another player with the same battle code.
   
4. As soon as the system finds two players waiting with the same battle code, a match between those players will start.

When you enter the battle code, the system checks if the code already exists and then tries to match you with a player. If no player is waiting with that code, the system simply creates a new code and you then wait for another player to join you. If multiple players use the same code, the system matches them one after another.

Matches played via a battle code are similar to challenges, they do not change rank or provide additional rewards (other than great game fun, that is).

[h2]HOW TO ACCESS THE BATTLE CODE SYSTEM?[/h2]

The Battle Code is accessible from the settings menu in the upper right corner.

This position is not necessarily final, we might change iit in the future. For now, however, this is where you can find it.

[h2]WHAT CAN THIS BE USED FOR?[/h2]

Due to its flexibility, there are many potential use cases for the battle code system.

Here are a couple examples on how this system could be used.

Matches between two friends

You can simply enter a code and share it with a friend to get a match going between the two of you - even if you are not in-game friends. Simply share the code and you are good to go.

Matches between groups

You can share the same code within your group of friends. As soon as two players using the same battle code are found, the system matches them together. Keep in mind, only players with the same code are matched together- as long as the match is started via the Battle Code system in the menu.

Ad-hoc tournaments

Tournaments can be easier organized with each match having their own battle code. You and your opponent simply enter the battle code to start the match and that’s it. You no longer need to add your opponent to your friends list to get a match going. Organizing tournaments still requires some manual work (e.g., setting up and distributing the battle codes), but for the participants this should be a major simplification.

Open challenges

This might be interesting for champions, mentors, streamers, and everyone who likes open challenges. Simply create a battle with a code and share it. Then people can pick up that code and play against you for a unique challenge, mentoring, and more. Keep in mind that there is still a bit of manual overhead here as you need to make sure that at maximum only one person is waiting in the queue for you at any given time (remember: if there are two people waiting in the queue with the same battle code, they will be matched against each other).

We are sure you can come with plenty of creative ideas, let us know how you would use this system!

[h2]WHEN WILL THE BATTLE CODE SYSTEM BECOME AVAILABLE?[/h2]

The Battle Code system is just around the corner! It will go live on 18th of August.

We welcome all feedback on this system and encourage you to think about possible use cases!

See you on the battlefield of KARDS.

The third Skirmish event is live now until August 14th!

Another new and unique set of rules for this weekend’s Skirmish! Here’s everything you need to know.

Skirmish is a completely new game mode in KARDS where you play with alternate rules. These rules vary so every Skirmish event you’ll be facing something new and completely different. You can read more about Skirmishes in our announcement blog New game mode: Skirmish.

[h3]Rules Skirmish #3[/h3]

In this Skirmish, each player is randomly assigned one of five predetermined decks to battle with. There’s one deck for every nation, and each deck consists of 39 copies of the elite order card for the nation in question that adds 1 of 3 random elite units to your hand (e.g. A Few Good Men, His Majesty’s Chosen, etc.).

Players will also start with an extra Kredit slot in this Skirmish.

[h3]Prize for Skirmish #3[/h3]

The first time you win this Skirmish, you will receive a full set of the new unique card, Hasty Reinforcements. This Standard card costs 1 Kredit to play and will make any units you deploy or add, on the turn it is played, randomly get either +1+1, Blitz or Ambush. This new card can also be crafted with wildcards even after this event ends.



You can access the Skirmish event from the main screen of the game to get an overview of the gamemode, rules and prize.

This Skirmish will be accessible between August 12th at 12:00 GMT until Sunday, August 14th at 18:00 GMT.

Make sure to join this special event - win your skirmish to claim victory and the spoils!

Please let us know in the comments below or on the KARDS Discord what you think of the event.

See you in the Skirmish this weekend!

Dear KARDS players, friends, and WWII enthusiasts,

We are incredibly excited to bring you the freshly updated KARDS roadmap.

[h2]What is the roadmap?[/h2]

The roadmap is a regularly updated, high-level overview of the milestones and important events for KARDS: The roadmap contains only the highest level of features.

The roadmap does not display regular game updates and improvements, seasonal in-game events, the Esports calendar with monthly and bi-monthly opportunities, and general KARDS refinements. Also not listed on the roadmap are balancing changes, even though they are a vital part of our ongoing work on KARDS.

Without further ado, let’s have a look at some of the exciting things we can look forward to in KARDS in the coming months!

[h2]KARDS Living Roadmap[/h2]



[h3]July: New Game Mode: Skirmishes✅[/h3]

July saw the release of the new Skirmish game mode. In these biweekly weekend events, you can play matches against other players with unique rules and exciting victory prizes - a new promo card for every event! Read more about Skirmishes in our announcement blog, New game mode: Skirmish.

[h3]August: Battle Code / Direct Challenges[/h3]

Enjoy a new way of challenging other players with the Battle Code system without having to add them to your friends list. Battle Codes will have a variety of uses - in matches between two friends, matches between groups, ad-hoc tournaments, and facilitating open challenges to whoever is brave enough to accept them.

[h3]September: Performance Improvements[/h3]

Some performance improvements inbound for your game in September - always cause for celebration!

[h3]Q4: New User Interface[/h3]

The new UI aims to enhance your playing experience, making client navigation more streamlined and simplifying communication from us to you about any new and exciting things going on in KARDS and its community.

[h3]Q4: KARDS Mobile[/h3]

Big news about KARDS! Public Beta 2 will be live in Q4, and as we near the end of the year, the mobile version will be soft launched! Soon, you will be able to have KARDS at your fingertips whenever and wherever you want.

[h3]Q4: World Championship[/h3]

The grand finals of the World Championship will be held in Iceland again this coming December. Keep an eye on the KARDS newsfeed for more updates about this, especially regarding qualifications.

[h3]2023: First Half[/h3]

The first half of 2023 will see the full release of KARDS mobile as well as a large spring expansion. Get ready to enjoy some great new content in the new year!

This roadmap provides a broad overview of what we have planned for KARDS. We will also bring you many smaller features, improvements and events throughout this period.

The whole team is incredibly excited for what’s ahead and we would love to hear your feedback! Please tell us what you think on the KARDS Discord or in the comments below.