KARDS - The WWII Card Game News

Hello KARDS players!

In January this year, we shared with you some changes that we did to the KARDS esports scene, with some alterations to the Officer Club Championship, the KARDS Open, and introducing a new Special Operations format with special rulesets. You can refresh your memory on these changes here: KARDS eSports in 2023.

Now that we’ve completed our first full cycle of tournaments since these changes were implemented, we’ve been evaluating the results and considering the best way to move forward for the competitive KARDS community. With this in mind, we will be making some alterations to KARDS esports in the latter half of the year. Read on for all the details, or, if you’re strapped for time, head to the end for the tl;dr summary of changes.

[h2]Officer Club Championship[/h2]
The OCC has always been the flagship and a staple of KARDS tournaments, where the most dedicated and skilled players on the in-game seasonal ladder fight to prove that they are the champion of the Officer Club for that month. A part of our esports changes earlier this year was done to emphasize and highlight these champions of the game further, adding the quarterly OCC: Ultimate tournament with the OCC Leaderboard, where players accumulate points through OCC: Clash participation in the three months leading up to an OCC: Ultimate tournament. Additionally, we moved towards a pre-recorded video format for the OCC: Clash tournaments, to try and create an experience that focused more on the gameplay and expert analysis.

After announcing changes to the OCC format earlier this year, we received a lot of feedback on various aspects. While we did make some initial adjustments based on this, we also felt it was important to allow the format to play out fully and analyze the results before making any drastic alterations to what we had initially decided. Now that we’re heading into the second OCC: Ultimate cycle of the year, we’re ready to announce some changes we’ve decided to make based on player feedback and our own analysis of this first quarterly cycle.

[h3]Live Broadcast Format[/h3]
To start off with, we’ve decided to move all OCC tournaments to a live broadcast format. While there are definitely some upsides to the pre-recorded format, such as being able to edit the show beforehand to put a huge emphasis on the gameplay, as well as some unique opportunities to have seasoned players such as Berto Burrito and Jking7 describing their own games in great detail, we also observed some downsides. By moving the OCC: Clash tournaments towards a live broadcast format, we hope to bring the magic of a live show to the OCC: Clash, with giveaways, excitement, and an overall more engaging experience for our viewers in the chat.

Going forward, you can expect a monthly broadcast for OCC: Clash tournaments, where we’ll feature two quarter final games and all semi finals and grand finals games, including a third place matchup, in one day. We’ll also have the OCC: Ultimate tournament broadcast live every three months, an event which takes place over the course of an entire weekend, with the quarter final games played on Saturday, and all semi finals and grand finals games, including a third place matchup, on the following Sunday.

[h3]OCC: Clash Prize Pool[/h3]
We’re bringing back a cash prize incentive for the monthly OCC: Clash tournament! With a prize pool of 500 USD split among the top 3 players, and Diamond prizes for the players in 4th - 8th place, the stakes are getting higher for our OCC participants! From May onwards, the prize pool will be as follows:



Players will also continue to earn points for the OCC leaderboard to qualify for the quarterly OCC: Ultimate. The OCC: Ultimate prize pool remains the same, at 3,000 USD. Additionally, anyone who wins an OCC: Clash tournament and anyone who qualifies for an OCC: Ultimate will earn the coveted KARDS Champion card back, allowing these players to show off their status as one of the most elite KARDS players in the world!

[h2]KARDS Open and Special Operations[/h2]
The KARDS Open has had a great run since it was first introduced in 2020, providing an alternative official tournament for players who want the tournament experience without climbing the seasonal ladder.

While the Special Operations tournament was only recently introduced, we have run a number of alternative format tournament types throughout the years on an ad-hoc basis. These tournaments have provided opportunities, often for newer players or those who prefer alternative formats, to get some tournament experience and have fun with special rulesets.

As the KARDS esports scene has developed, we evaluate our resources and their allocation, as well as analyzing trends among other video game esport scenes. At this point in time, we feel that the best way to move forward for KARDS esports is by putting our primary focus and resources into the OCC format and community tournaments. We aim to hold one more KARDS Open and Special Operations tournaments for the year each, with the Special Operations taking place in late May and the KARDS Open in June - more details on the exact dates and times to follow. There’s still absolutely a chance that we will do more KARDS Open or Special Operations tournaments in the future, but for the remainder of this year, these tournament formats will be taking a rest.

While the KARDS Open and Special Operations formats take a break, we urge you to consider participating in one of the officially supported community tournaments, or consider hosting your own tournament! We are currently focusing on supporting and growing the community tournament scene, providing more resources and support to community organizers.

[h2]Community Tournaments[/h2]
The KARDS community is filled with talented and dedicated people, some of whom have already put a lot of energy into creating and hosting various different community tournaments! Some of these tournaments are done on a regular basis, while others are on an ad-hoc basis. Some of them are open for anyone to enter, while others are invitationals. We’ve seen the number of community tournaments and participants steadily increasing over the course of the last several months as we’ve worked with and supported community members and tournaments. KARDS is committed to continued and increased support for community tournaments, which are a crucial part of the KARDS esports scene.

Depending on the tournament, we may be able to offer assistance with things such as in-game prizes, temporary access to our spectator mode to broadcast the tournament, and giveaway codes for viewers on your tournament stream. If you’re interested in running a tournament of your own, please reach out to us - we’d love to hear from you! Check out the KARDS Contributor Program, which has a section specifically for tournament organizers. You can also feel free to reach out to our Community Manager directly on Discord: Elin#1695.

The upcoming changes to the KARDS esports scene represent an exciting shift in focus towards a more sustainable and cohesive competitive ecosystem. While the absence of the KARDS Open and Special Operations tournaments for the rest of the year may be felt by some players, the increased support for OCC and community tournaments are expected to provide new opportunities for players to showcase their skills and compete at the highest level.

[h2]Tl;dr[/h2]

• The Officer Club Championship (OCC) will be the primary focus as the official KARDS tournament.
  
• OCC: Clash tournaments will move to live broadcast format, as opposed to the pre-recorded YouTube premiere format.
  
• A 500 USD prize pool will be offered for the OCC: Clash, split among the top 3 players, with Diamond prizes for players in 4th - 8th place.
  
• The upcoming KARDS Open XVI will be the last Open planned for the year, with a break taken from this format for now.
  
• The upcoming Special Operations tournament will be the last one planned for the year, with a break taken from this format for now.
  
• Community tournaments will continue to be supported and we will continue to seek ways to improve and increase our community tournament support.

That sums up the upcoming esports changes in KARDS. Join us on Discord and let us know what you think!

A new Skirmish event is live now until May 7th!

Here’s everything you need to know.

Skirmish is a special game mode in KARDS where you play with alternate rules. These rules vary; you’ll face something different at every Skirmish event. Read more about Skirmishes in our announcement blog New game mode: Skirmish.

For this Skirmish, you choose your own deck to battle with. Players start with 12 Kredits, and cards cost a minimum of 4.

We have a special prize for you in this Skirmish! For your first win, you will receive a full set of the new US card, Firewall! This Order card costs 2 Kredits to play and, when played, gives target unit: “Cannot attack the enemy HQ.”



Access the Skirmish event from the game's main screen to get an overview of the game mode, rules and prize.

This Skirmish is accessible from May 5th at 12:00 GMT until Sunday, May 7th at 18:00 GMT.

Join this special event - win your Skirmish to claim victory and the spoils!

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

See you in the Skirmish this weekend!

Hello everyone!

As you may have noticed, a lot of our focus lately has been on modernizing various aspects of KARDS. Next up is the in-game shop! Here, we will break down what changes will be happening to the shop in May and some of the reasoning for these. Read on for all the details, or, if you’re strapped for time, head to the end for the tl;dr summary of changes.

[h2]A Brand New Shop[/h2]
The KARDS shop has not undergone any significant changes for some time. Packs and accessories on offer have stayed much the same, with the occasional new addition and limited time special offers. We feel that the shop could use a bit of streamlining and improved focus. To this end, we are introducing a number of changes and new shop features.

[h3]Daily Free Card[/h3]
Log in every day to claim your free card from the shop! A different, Standard rarity card will be available each day in the shop for you to claim.

[h3]Purchase Cards[/h3]
Each day, two cards will be available for direct purchase with Diamonds. Specific days will include Special or Elite rarity cards, with other days containing a random selection of Standard and Limited cards.

[h3]Rotating Cosmetics[/h3]
To create a more positive shop experience for our players, we aim to fundamentally rework the way in which cosmetics are presented in the shop. We will be removing all equipment, emotes, card backs and bundles from the store and introducing them on a rotating basis. Through these rotating offers, you’ll be able to purchase equipment, emotes, alternative card art, card backs and Battlefield HQs. Shop offers will be rotated every 2-3 days.

[h2]Reward Changes[/h2]
Rewards that players receive for the battles they engage in are a critical part of KARDS. In making KARDS, we have gone through some different reward systems, some of which have stayed even after new and improved systems have been implemented. When Gold for every 3rd win was introduced, the game was a pretty bare boned experience, with very little else in terms of rewards in the game. Now that we have the national progression system, and with the upcoming addition of the daily free card in the game, we will be removing the Gold for every 3rd win reward, while the first win of the day reward remains. This change is important for the health of the economy of KARDS and something that should be considered as one part of the whole picture.

[h2]Pack Changes[/h2]
As part of the shop update, we dived into a lot of data about card packs. For a new player, Base packs can be a good way of building up your initial collection, as you’re getting more cards into your collection for the price you pay. Officer packs are a better way to build up your collection of Special and Elite rarity cards. After analyzing the drop rates in Base packs, we saw that the Special cards have a smaller weight than we would like to see compared to the overall card pool. Therefore, we will be increasing their drop rate in Base packs, at the expense of Limited and Elite cards.

Drop rates for gold cards and wildcards in Base packs is fairly low. To further differentiate between Base and Officer packs, we plan to increase the drop rates of wildcards and gold cards in Officer packs, while removing them from Base packs. With these changes, we will also be adjusting the Gold prices on Officer packs, to 330 Gold instead of 300 Gold. Diamond prices will remain the same and there will be no changes to prices of Base packs.

[h2]Duplicate Protection[/h2]
With duplicate protection, any packs you open will be packed with value! This becomes especially relevant as you complete more of your collection, with the duplicate protection ensuring that if possible, you will not get a card duplicate. This duplicate protection also applies to cards received as end of season rewards, such as gold Elite cards.

Duplicate protection will not affect rarity distribution within packs, so if you have a fully completed collection of cards of a certain rarity you will then receive duplicates in that rarity (e.g. if all Standard cards have been collected you will start getting Standard duplicates).

[h2]When Are These Changes Happening?[/h2]
The shop update is planned for mid-May. The update will include all of the elements described above.

[h2]Tl;dr[/h2]

• Daily free card: every day, you’ll be able to claim a free card from the shop.
  
• Purchase cards: specific cards will be available for purchase with diamonds each day.
  
• Offerings streamlined: the shop will be de-cluttered, providing a smaller selection of rotating cosmetics that change every 2-3 days.
  
• Reward change: Gold reward for every 3rd win will be removed as part of an overarching economic balancing, while the first win of the day reward remains.
  
• Pack changes: Special rarity cards will be more likely to drop in Base packs, with some additional changes in drop rates in Base and Officer packs and a small Gold price increase on Officer packs, which will be more likely to drop wildcards and gold cards.
  
• Duplicate protection: duplicate protection is introduced, allowing you to complete your collection faster.

That sums up the upcoming shop changes. Join us on Discord and let us know what you think!

Attention KARDS players!

It’s time for the most EPIC broadcast event so far this year - the OCC: Ultimate!

Over the course of the last 3 months, the most dedicated and skilled KARDS players in the world have battled in OCC: Clash tournaments to collect points to earn a qualification for the OCC: Ultimate tournament.

The OCC: Ultimate features a 3000 USD prize pool - every player who has made it to the top 8 earns at least 125 USD for their efforts, with the winner taking home a whopping 1000 USD.

Who will win: Head, 金轮会怎么做 (Jinlun), Berto Burrito, Noein5, Jking7, UwU_Moi, Leo or 老虎不发猫 (Tiger)?



[h2]OCC: Ultimate Broadcast[/h2]
The OCC: Ultimate quarter finals games will be broadcast on Saturday, May 6th at 13:00 GMT, with the semi finals and grand finals broadcast on Sunday, May 7th at 13:00 GMT. As always, our expert analysts will be there to break down all the action throughout the weekend.

Make sure to follow KARDS on Twitch and tune in for the broadcasts, as we’ll have giveaways going throughout the broadcast with card packs, draft tickets, and more!

TUNE IN HERE!

Type ULTIMATE into the Twitch chat during the broadcasts on May 6th and 7th to enter the giveaway!

The OCC: Ultimate is a highly competitive event, where players must showcase their skills and strategic thinking to come out on top. All games in the OCC: Ultimate are best-of-five series played in conquest format. Each player brings 4 decks from different main nations, and can ban one of the opponent’s decks in each matchup. Deck lists are open - type !decks into the Twitch chat to bring up deck lists for the OCC: Ultimate players, including the deck import codes that you can use to try them out yourself!

You don’t want to miss this EPIC broadcast event! Join us on Twitch on May 6th and 7th at 13:00 GMT and find out who will become our first OCC: Ultimate Champion!

Hello KARDS players!

We are delighted to bring you the fourth episode of the official 1939 Games podcast - The Frontline: A KARDS Podcast! Join us and get an exclusive insight on the exciting future of KARDS in a discussion with the developers.

The KARDS Podcast is a monthly podcast featuring different KARDS developers in every episode. This is where you’ll hear about all the latest things in KARDS and get a closer look at the team behind KARDS, as we explore developers’ varied work and contributions to the constant development of the game. The podcast is conveniently available on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts, as well as on the KARDS YouTube channel.

[h3]The Frontline Episode 4: KARDS Mobile[/h3]
In this fourth episode, KARDS Community Manager Elín and host Christo welcome Programmer and Mobile Development Lead Tuomas to discuss the upcoming release of KARDS mobile. Join us as we discuss the mobile development journey, upcoming release date, and some of the technical aspects of mobile development.

[h3]Tune in Now![/h3]
Tune in to The Frontline podcast on the following platforms:

YouTube Anchor Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts

Join us on Discord, let us know what you think of this fourth podcast episode and if there are any particular questions or topics you’d like us to cover in the future!