Alteil is a story-driven, flash-based online collectible card game. It was released in Japanese in 2004, and in English it was released in 2008. Alteil claims to be the most popular online card game in its home country- Japan.
A game of Alteil usually lasts between fifteen and twenty minutes. Since the internet allows players to use virtual gameplay techniques, players are able to do things which they couldn’t do using physical cards. For instance, players can have the same card from their deck in multiple files, choose cards to use from the entire deck rather than drawing cards from the deck and using them a hand, and complex mathematics can be implemented without disrupting the pace of the game.
The game itself is rather simple. It involves one static resource that replenishes at a steady rate the whole game. You use this resource to build levels, fuel abilities, and attack with your cards, all pretty standard fare. Your wins and losses are tracked and allow you to gain levels as a player. In addition, Alteil has a guild system, that allows you to form guilds with players you like to play with. Each victory you earn gains points for your guild and changes its standing in guild rankings as well. Basically, players get a certain number of ranking points which fluctuate up or down based on wins and losses with a certain expansion, and the player with the highest point total, by the time the next expansion comes out, it is considered the champion of the last expansion.
The cards are separated into four elements, like groups, called Spheres of Influence. These spheres are individually called: Refess, Lawtia, Gowen and Falkow. Cards of a sphere typically have similar strengths and weaknesses. In the game there are two types of cards: Unit cards and Grimoire cards. Units are cards placed on the battle field and deal damage to enemy Units and the Player. Grimoire are cards that activate a special ability or skill in the game such as direct damage to an enemy Unit. In this game strategy gets deeper than just playing the correct card there is also the battlefield to consider.
To purchase expansions, players first buy in-game currency called Gran. Gran gets cheaper the more you buy it at once, but roughly 1 dollar is equivalent to 100 Gran.
One of the biggest draws of the game is the ability to play without paying for cards. Cards are given out as prizes for beating masters, winning tournaments, leveling up, participating in promotions, and even just signing up. Many top players in Alteil have spent no money on the game, including one of the top players in Japan. In addition, some battles will randomly become treasure battles with the winner taking away a prize in the form of cards.
Alteil is interesting game, and it is doing very well on the American market.