Temple Gates Games, who is behind one of our all-time favorites (Race for the Galaxy) has announced the upcoming release of Shards of Infinity. The game is slated for a Spring 2019 release and will go through beta testing prior to release.
The app is packed with features, including asynchronous online play, cross-platform play, and that famous Temple Gates use of neural networks to train intelligent AI opponents. A big reason Race is one of our favorites around here is that we can play a great game against really tough AI in only a few minutes. We look forward to similar fun from Shards.
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Shards of Infinity is a deck-builder. It comes from one of the designers of Ascension and will feel immediately familiar to those who have played Ascension and/or Star Realms. The game features some twists on the basic deck-building formula, but has the same core mechanics, including four unique factions which allow cards to be played off of each other for increased benefits.
Players race to destroy each other and be the last one standing in the game that plays 1 to 4. The game manages to cut out much of the "building" part of deck-building, as the cards you will be able to buy from the get-go are quite powerful and things escalate quite quickly. Each player begins with 50 hit points, and the game can fly by compared to others in the genre.
One of the other unique aspects of Shards of Infinity is mastery. Each player starts with zero mastery and can gain it throughout the game in various ways. As you achieve mastery milestones, it will unlock additional powers from some of your cards. Should you max-out your mastery at 30, there is a card in each player's starting deck which will allow infinite damage to be dealt to any player; instant death. This provides another route towards victory, but players can also play off of the factions to combine powers to keep themselves alive or go all-out attack on opponents.
One constant among deck builders is the support of the games through expansions. We're happy to report that Temple Gates plans in bringing the current expansion to the app and to continue to do so for future expansions.
Temple Gates Games' press release can be found below:
Description
One-hundred years ago, The Infinity Engine was shattered and its reality-bending shards have destroyed most of the world. Now, it falls upon you to gather your forces, defeat your adversaries, and rebuild the Infinity Engine! Will you survive? Shards of Infinity combines an unprecedented level of strategy and customization into one small box. Rather than competing for points, players must outlast their opponents and reduce their health to zero, which can be done in a number of ways. Each player starts the game with a basic deck of cards, and they can acquire new cards from a central display of six cards (as in Ascension) and add these new cards to their deck or use them immediately, depending on what they are. Every character starts with fifty health and zero mastery. On each turn, you can spend one gem (a.k.a., money) to gain a mastery point. The more mastery you have, the more powerful your cards become. This lets even the weak cards in your starting deck become more powerful as the game progresses. If you reach a total of thirty mastery, you can activate your Infinity Shard, which instantly defeats your opponent. As you acquire new cards, you can employ allies and champions to craft your strategy. Mercenary cards can be added to your deck as in other deck-building games or they can be played immediately from the center row for their ability; this adds even more drama to each player's turn as a key mercenary flip can alter the very outcome of the game! Will you neutralize your opponents before they can fully master the Infinity Shard? With careful planning and aggressive gameplay, only one player can emerge the winner!
History
Stone Blade Entertainment, in collaboration with Temple Gates Games, is bringing the hit deckbuilding game, Shards of Infinity, to iOS, Android, and Steam! Designed by Justin Gary and Gary Arant, Shards of Infinity combines an unprecedented level of strategy and customization. Stone Blade Entertainment is well known for their depth of strategy and innovation, and Shards of Infinity is their hit follow-up to the award winning deckbuilding game, Ascension. Shards of Infinity introduces the innovative Mastery mechanic, giving players multiple paths to victory in a quick, cutthroat game that always leaves players wanting to play “just one more game.” Temple Gates Games has a long history of success working with board game publishers. They specialize in digitizing card games including Ascension, making it the first deckbuilding game to take place in virtual reality. Their amazing attention to detail and background in digital gaming make them the ideal partner to develop Shards of Infinity for a digital audience. The digital version of Shards of Infinity will release in Spring 2019 for $7.99 across all platforms. Players will enjoy local pass-and-play, asynchronous multiplayer, and can take on challenging AI opponents! Temple Gates Games is known for including world-class AI which uses neural network technology to create formidable opponents. As the AI trains it will grow stronger to keep up with advanced Shards of Infinity players.
Features
- For 2-4 Players
- 30 minute playing time
- Build your armies by recruiting allies and champions from four unique factions.
- Launch surprise attacks on your foes by instantly deploying mercenaries.
- Unlock limitless power by mastering the Shard of Infinity
- Cross platform network multiplayer
- Local pass and play
