A Succession Battle in Card Form
The Emperor has passed away and seven heirs are left to fight for the throne. In Heart of Crown PC you pick a princess and build a deck to back her claim, trying to push her toward the crown while the land teeters on chaos and war. It is a deck-building card game based on the physical "Heart of Crown", rebuilt one-to-one for the PC and then extended with what a digital version can do. The base game carries the cards from the original trading card game along with the Far East Territory expansion. The seven princesses each suit a different playstyle, so the deck you assemble and the way you play shifts with your choice.
Playing Together
Heart of Crown PC has online play where you face up to 4 human or CPU opponents at a time. Ranked Matching puts you against other players and tracks your place on the online leaderboards, so a group can compare standing and take turns trying to climb. Matches are turn-based, and the deck-building core means every player starts on a level playing field and builds from there. Beyond ranked play there is free play, which gives your group room to sit down for a match without the leaderboard pressure.
Before You Start
There are three game modes: online ranked play, campaign play, and free play. Campaign play uses points you earn to unlock missions, and those missions are unique scenarios that also fill in more of the world and story of Heart of Crown. If your group wants to learn the game first, the campaign is where the scenarios and background live, while free play is the open option. The digital version adds visual and audio effects that the physical card game cannot offer, and the localized edition includes Steam trading cards and achievements. The game is described as easy to pick up but difficult to master, so expect a first match to teach the basics and later matches to reward tighter play.