Brawl of Ages
Brawl of Ages is a free to play collectible card arena built around quick, real time duels. You assemble a 10 card deck, manage a steadily refilling resource, and try to outplay an opponent through smart deployments, timing, and lane control. It is clearly modeled after Clash Royale, but on PC with a friendlier approach to progression, since unlocking a card is permanent rather than requiring endless duplicates.
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Publisher: S2 Games Playerbase: Shut Down Type: Collectible Card Arena Release Date: April 11, 2017 Pros: +Very quick, snappy matches. +Deckbuilding with clear roles and counters. +Low barrier to entry for new players. +Clans (Brawl Clubs) and social tools. +Generally fair, skill focused balance. Cons: -Muted colors can make units hard to read at a glance. -Feels heavily derivative of a well known mobile game. -Match flow can start to feel samey over time. |
Brawl of Ages Overview
Brawl of Ages is a free to play Collectible Card Arena that wears its influences openly, most notably Clash Royale. Matches are 1v1 and designed to be over in minutes, with both players dropping units and spells from a hand of cards while trying to break through defenses and secure the win. The core loop is simple, choose a 10 card deck, queue up, then make quick tactical decisions in real time as the battlefield shifts.
Even though it borrows from the same blueprint, it aims for a more PC friendly, competitive feel by blending familiar ideas from RTS, MOBA, RPG progression, and tower defense style lane pressure. Importantly, its economy avoids the common duplicate grinding seen in some mobile counterparts. Once you unlock a card, it stays available, which keeps the focus on learning matchups and improving play rather than endlessly upgrading the same pieces.
Brawl of Ages Key Features:
- Rapid Fire PvP Matches – 1v1 battles are short and built around fast decision making.
- Direct Crafting – Craft the cards you want instead of waiting on random drops.
- Simple Controls, Deep Matchups – Easy to pick up, but ladder play rewards timing, counters, and deck knowledge.
- Play as a Club – Brawl Clubs support social play, Club vs Club ladder competition, and voice chat.
- Flexible Display – The arena can be played in horizontal or vertical orientation.
Brawl of Ages Screenshots
Brawl of Ages Featured Video
Brawl of Ages Review
Brawl of Ages delivers a surprisingly clean PC take on the collectible card arena formula, with matches that emphasize tempo, positioning, and predicting the opponent’s response. The best moments come from those quick swings where a well timed drop flips a losing lane into a push, or where you bait out a key answer and punish immediately. If you enjoy compact PvP games that reward fundamentals and matchup knowledge, the core gameplay is easy to appreciate.
Deckbuilding is the real hook. With only 10 cards, every slot matters, and you naturally start thinking in roles, a win condition, defensive anchors, cheap cycle cards, and a couple of flexible answers. Because cards are permanent once unlocked, experimenting feels less punishing than in systems that require constant duplicate upgrades. Crafting also helps you fill gaps and move toward a specific strategy instead of relying entirely on luck.
In play, the pacing is brisk and mostly readable, although the game’s color choices sometimes work against it. In hectic pushes, certain units can blend into the background, making it harder to instantly identify what is on the field, especially when effects overlap. It is not game breaking, but it does add friction to a genre where clarity is a big part of skill expression.
The other unavoidable talking point is originality. The structure, match flow, and even the overall concept closely mirror a major mobile title, to the point where it can feel less like a twist and more like a direct imitation. That said, it does manage to be enjoyable on its own terms, particularly for players who wanted this style of PvP on PC with a less pay-to-win leaning progression model.
Long term, repetition is the main threat. Since the mode is PvP focused and the match format is tightly defined, you are largely rotating through the same types of pushes, defenses, and counterplays. The ladder gives you a reason to keep queuing, and social features like Brawl Clubs help, but players who need varied modes or strong PvE support may run out of novelty sooner.
As a historical note for prospective players, the game is shut down, so its value today is mostly as a snapshot of an era where studios experimented with bringing mobile competitive formats to PC.
Brawl of Ages Links
Brawl of Ages Official Site
Brawl of Ages Steam Page
Brawl of Ages Subreddit
Brawl of Ages Twitter
Brawl of Ages System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 / OS X 10.10 / Linux
CPU: Dual core 2.4 GHz Intel or AMD
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600 / AMD Radeon HD 2600
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Disk Space: 1 GB
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1
CPU: Intel Core i3/5/7 2.6 GHz or better
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600 / AMD Radeon HD 2600 or better
RAM: 4 GB or more
Hard Disk Space: 1 GB
Brawl of Ages Music & Soundtrack
Coming soon…
Brawl of Ages Additional Information
Developer: BNA Studios
Publisher: S2 Games
Game Engine: Kodiak Engine
Release Dates
Closed Beta: Feburary 28, 2017
Steam Early Access: April 11, 2017
Shut Down: 2018
Development History / Background:
Brawl of Ages is the sixth PC title by Kalamazoo, Michigan based studio S2 Games. After Strife, their MOBA release in 2015, struggled commercially, S2 Games worked with BNA Studios to create a PC interpretation of the Clash Royale style formula. Development leveraged existing technology and resources, including engine assets originally created for Strife, which helped accelerate production.
The project was revealed in January 2017, moved into a Closed Beta on Feburary 28, 2017, and then launched into Steam Early Access on April 11, 2017. The game ultimately did not last long term, shutting down in 2018 following the closure of its publisher, S2 Games.