Publisher: ChangYou
Developer: Zeonix
Genre: CCG (collectible card game)
Requirements: Any Flash enabled web browser
Release Date: 2012 (projected mid first quarter)
Written by: Mindy Hartman

Korean game developer Zeonix will be releasing a new online collectible card game, Sword Girls, which will go into closed beta 2 on December 7, 2011 and be released sometime in 2012. This CCG is anime-based, featuring over 500 hundred cards (at release, with more to come) of original art, though it is not tied to any real card game or television show. Players will have the ability to earn/trade/create countless cards and build unique decks so they can battle dungeons or other players in pvp matches.

The concept of the game is fairly simple. Each player builds a 31 card deck consisting of one main character and thirty followers and spells. The board has six slots for cards, one for the main character and five for playing followers/spells. The main character has life points which must be protected. Each follower/spell has a size value (1-5) and a player can’t have more than 10 points on the board. A player can win in one of two ways: when the other player’s main character has no life left or when the other player has no cards left in their deck to play. Sword Girls has an extra challenge because players must set their board each round within 30 seconds. This means that players will need to be fairly familiar with their cards and strategy, or they will fall behind when the round starts and they haven’t set their board.

I had a chance to play Sword Girls over the last week, and I have to admit, it’s addictive. Because the rounds are time limited, you have to think and plan quickly, and some how, that focus on making good decisions in a short time turns into extreme competitiveness and real life time loss. Losing a match made me want to tweak my deck, a card here, a card there, and then get right back in to show the dungeon master what’s what. I have a whole new appreciation for Yu-Gi-Oh! too. I couldn’t help but ask the heart of the cards to be with me and hope for the perfect draw. There are GM battles posted on their Facebook page if you want to see what it looks like.

Because this game is only dependent on a Flash browser, it could really be a lot of fun for gamers of all types, not just those tied to the PC. Sword Girls is definitely something to watch out for in 2012.