Kingdom

Prototype based on an idea. made with AI. Currently it's not perfect balanced, just an approach.

KINGDOM — Player Manual

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A 1v1 historical card game in your browser. Pick a faction (country or

continent), draft a hero and up to 10 units, then march from the Tribal era

all the way to the Powder era as you crush the enemy Nexus.

HOW TO WIN

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Bring the enemy Nexus to 0 HP before yours falls. If both Nexus die in the

same combat, the one with the higher remaining HP wins (a literal -3 beats

a -8). Exact tie = Draw.

SETUP — THE DECK BUILDER

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Before each match the Deck Builder opens in fullscreen.

1. Choose a mode:

   - Country (19 available): China, France, Spain, Japan, England, Egypt,

     Persia, Portugal, Ethiopia, Rome, Greece, Mongolia, Ottoman, Vikings,

     Aztec, Inca, Russia, Korea, Maya.

   - Continent (5 available): Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Oceania.

     Continent decks pull units from every country in the region.

2. Pick a faction tile. The Default preset is auto-applied the first time

   you select a faction, so you can jump straight in.

3. Pick a hero. Heroes are unique cards that sit permanently in your hand

   and require your Nexus to reach their era before they can be deployed.

4. Pick 1-10 units. Use the search bar, sort dropdown, "Only selected"

   toggle, or one of the quick buttons:

   - Default: balanced preset — random hero + 1 unit from every era +

     low-to-high fillers (continent mode prefers different countries).

   - Select All: the 10 cheapest units.

   - Clear: empty the selection.

5. Press Start Match.

THE NEXUS

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Each player starts with:

- 25 HP (max HP = slots x 5)

- 5 slots on the battlefield

- 1 starting coin

- Era 1: Tribal

Upgrading the Nexus costs (current level x 2) coins:

- 1 -> 2 (Settled): 2

- 2 -> 3 (Crowned): 4

- 3 -> 4 (Imperial): 6

- 4 -> 5 (Powder):   8

Each upgrade grants +1 slot, +5 HP (current and max), more income, a better

shop pool, and unlocks any heroes gated to that era. You can chain upgrades

in the same turn if you can afford it.

COINS AND INCOME

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- Income per turn = your Nexus level (capped at 5).

- Units with the income effect add +1 coin each turn.

- Units with the tax effect drain 1 coin each turn (capped at your balance;

  they don't die if you can't pay).

THE SHOP

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- Shop size = floor(slots / 2) + 1 (3 cards at the start, up to 6 at max).

- Persistent: unsold offers stay between turns; the shop tops up at end of

  turn instead of being wiped.

- Refresh button: rerolls all shop cards (your hero stays). Cost grows with

  slots: 5-6 slots = 1, 7-8 = 2, 9-10 = 3.

- Cards from your deck appear with weights based on the distance between

  their level and your current era (closer to your era = more frequent).

TURN STRUCTURE

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Decisions can be made in any order:

- Buy cards from the shop (your hero is always there if eligible).

- Sell placed units (Sell Mode).

- Refresh the shop.

- Upgrade your Nexus.

- Move placed units to empty slots (free).

Press End Turn. The AI plays, then both armies clash. Survivors stay on the

field, income ticks, the shop refills, and the next turn begins.

COMBAT — SLOT BY SLOT

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Slots are processed left to right. Combat does NOT stop when a Nexus hits 0

because the tie-breaker uses leftover HP.

At the start of combat:

- Every heal effect (e.g. Priest) heals the owner's Nexus by 1 (per unit).

- A snapshot of effective ATK/DEF is taken: each Captain (aura) gives +1/+1

  to adjacent friendly units. Stacks if multiple Captains are adjacent.

For each slot index i:

- Both empty: nothing happens.

- Only one side has a unit: it hits the enemy Nexus for its full ATK.

- Both have units:

    1. A unit dies if opponent ATK > its DEF (ties survive).

    2. Guardian: a friendly Shielder adjacent to a dying unit can sacrifice

       itself to save it. Each Shielder triggers at most once per combat.

    3. Spillover: max(0, ATK - DEF) leaks to the enemy Nexus (no spillover

       on ranged or aoe).

    4. Ranged: ignores the opposing unit and hits the enemy Nexus directly.

    5. AOE: hits the opposing slot AND both adjacent slots; no retaliation,

       no spillover. Empty adjacent slots take full ATK to the Nexus.

    6. Triggers on kill:

       - overkillHeal (Berserker): heal your Nexus by max(0, ATK - target DEF).

       - cleave (Champion): deal an extra full ATK to the enemy Nexus.

BUYING, SELLING, MOVING

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Buy: click a shop card -> highlighted slots glow gold -> click an empty slot.

Sell: toggle Sell Mode -> click a placed unit -> get floor(cost / 2) coins.

Move: click a placed unit (outside Sell Mode) -> click an empty slot.

Locked cards show a tooltip explaining why (not enough coins, hero gated by

era, etc.).

HEROES

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- Permanent card in your hand from turn 1.

- Cannot be sold or rerolled out of the shop.

- Requires Nexus level >= hero level to deploy.

- If killed, lost for the rest of the match (no respawn).

EFFECT GLOSSARY

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income       Start of turn: +1 coin to its owner.

tax          Start of turn: -1 coin to its owner (capped at balance).

heal         Start of combat: +1 HP to the friendly Nexus.

ranged       Ignores the opposing unit; full ATK hits the enemy Nexus.

aoe          Hits the opposing slot and both neighbors; no retaliation.

aura         Passive: +1 ATK / +1 DEF to adjacent friendly units.

guardian     Sacrifices itself to save a dying adjacent ally (once per combat).

overkillHeal On kill: heal your Nexus by max(0, ATK - victim DEF).

cleave       On kill: deal full ATK to the enemy Nexus as bonus damage.

AI DIFFICULTY

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Easy: random buys, random placement, never upgrades, never sells.

Hard: full strategist — sells underperformers, upgrades the Nexus on tempo,

refreshes the shop until the offers meet a quality bar, prioritizes answers

to your board (AOE vs wide, heal/guardian when low HP, income early),

reorganizes Captains and Guardians for synergy, and spends leftover coins on

end-of-turn upgrades.

ERAS AT A GLANCE

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1 Tribal     Starting era.

2 Settled    First upgrade.

3 Crowned    Mid-game.

4 Imperial   Late-game.

5 Powder     Endgame.

TIPS

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- The shop never runs out: upgrade your Nexus to shift the pool toward the

  cards you actually want.

- A Shielder next to your high-value units is often worth more than a hard

  hitter — it eats one lethal blow per combat.

- Captains love clusters. Avoid leaving them alone on the flank.

- Don't hoard coins: 5+ unspent coins late game usually means a missed

  upgrade or a missed refresh.

- Tax units (Mercenary) are great early but a steady drain late — sell them

  once your economy stops needing the burst.

- Against a wide enemy line, AOE and Cleave units swing the game fast.

- Healers (Priest) shine in long matches; in fast Hard-AI rushes they may

  not keep up.

CREDITS

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Single-page HTML/CSS/JS prototype. No build, no install — just open it in

any modern browser.

Have fun!