[Dev] After 4,000+ hours of solo dev, my Portrait Card Battler 'Grimoria' has officially reached Full Launch today! (2v2, Battle Royale, Zero P2W)

Hi everyone.

After almost 3 years of grinding, learning, and over 4,000 hours of work late into the night, my passion project Grimoria is officially live on iOS starting today.

First, I want to say a massive thank you to this community. The feedback and support you gave me during the pre-order phases and android launch helped me polish the game, and get across the finish line. As a solo developer from Italy, seeing people showing interest and playing my game is amazing.

I wanted to create something new, not just another big studio copy. The core gameplay is actually inspired by a popular local card game called "Watten," which is heavily played where I live. I wanted to bring that social, bluffing energy to a digital format, but with much more accessible rules and mythical creatures.

I tried my absolute best to hit "Studio Quality" visuals and effects. One of the biggest challenges was making it a true real-time multiplayer experience. I built the entire backend server architecture and code completely from scratch to ensure smooth, fast-paced PvP, all while keeping a tiny install size and minimal data consumption.

The game is 100% Free-to-Play. There are no forced ads. There is exactly one optional ad for bonus loot, which you can permanently remove with a single premium purchase. There is absolutely zero Pay-to-Win.

For those seeing Grimoria for the first time, here is how it plays:

  • Its a fast-paced PvP Card game with multiple modes: Classic 1v1, 2v2 Co-op, and 4-Player Battle Royale.
  • The Basics: Everyone starts with 10 Life. Each round, all players play one card simultaneously. Highest strength card wins. The loser takes 2 damage. Last one standing wins.
  • Strategy: Cards have abilities like Shield, Heal, Negate, or bluffing cards that only reveal at the end of the turn.
  • Elements: Ties are broken by elemental counters: Fire > Earth > Water > Fire.
  • Teamwork: In 2v2, you actually share a life and shield pool with your ally!

Overall, Grimoria takes few minutes to learn but offers strategy for competitive, ranked gameplay.

Grimoria features full Cross-Play, so iOS players can instantly match with the Android player base! (A Steam PC version is planned next).

Download on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516
Downlaod on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emberveilgames.onlinecardgame

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 day ago

[Dev] After 4,000+ hours of solo dev, my Portrait Card Battler 'Grimoria' has officially reached Full Launch today! (2v2, Battle Royale, Zero P2W)

Hi everyone.

After almost 3 years of grinding, learning, and over 4,000 hours of work late into the night, my passion project Grimoria is officially live on iOS starting today.

First, I want to say a massive thank you to this community. The feedback and support you gave me during the pre-order phases and android launch helped me polish the game, and get across the finish line. As a solo developer from Italy, seeing people showing interest and playing my game is amazing.

I wanted to create something new, not just another big studio copy. The core gameplay is actually inspired by a popular local card game called "Watten," which is heavily played where I live. I wanted to bring that social, bluffing energy to a digital format, but with much more accessible rules and mythical creatures.

I tried my absolute best to hit "Studio Quality" visuals and effects. One of the biggest challenges was making it a true real-time multiplayer experience. I built the entire backend server architecture and code completely from scratch to ensure smooth, fast-paced PvP, all while keeping a tiny install size and minimal data consumption.

The game is 100% Free-to-Play. There are no forced ads. There is exactly one optional ad for bonus loot, which you can permanently remove with a single premium purchase. There is absolutely zero Pay-to-Win.

For those seeing Grimoria for the first time, here is how it plays:

  • Its a fast-paced PvP Card game with multiple modes: Classic 1v1, 2v2 Co-op, and 4-Player Battle Royale.
  • The Basics: Everyone starts with 10 Life. Each round, all players play one card simultaneously. Highest strength card wins. The loser takes 2 damage. Last one standing wins.
  • Strategy: Cards have abilities like Shield, Heal, Negate, or bluffing cards that only reveal at the end of the turn.
  • Elements: Ties are broken by elemental counters: Fire > Earth > Water > Fire.
  • Teamwork: In 2v2, you actually share a life and shield pool with your ally!

Overall, Grimoria takes few minutes to learn but offers strategy for competitive, ranked gameplay.

Grimoria features full Cross-Play, so iOS players can instantly match with the Android player base! (A Steam PC version is planned next).

Download on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516
Downlaod on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emberveilgames.onlinecardgame

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 day ago

[Dev] I missed playing traditional bluffing games around a table with friends, so I built a 4-Player & 2v2 Co-op digital card game to recreate that social chaos.

Hi everyone.

After almost 3 years of grinding, learning, and over 4,000 hours of work late into the night, my passion project Grimoria is officially live on iOS starting today.

First, I want to say a massive thank you to this community. The feedback and support you gave me during the pre-order phases and android launch helped me polish the game, and get across the finish line. As a solo developer from Italy, seeing people showing interest and playing my game is amazing.

I wanted to create something new, not just another big studio copy. The core gameplay is actually inspired by a popular local card game called "Watten," which is heavily played where I live. I wanted to bring that social, bluffing energy to a digital format, but with much more accessible rules and mythical creatures.

I tried my absolute best to hit "Studio Quality" visuals and effects. One of the biggest challenges was making it a true real-time multiplayer experience. I built the entire backend server architecture and code completely from scratch to ensure smooth, fast-paced PvP, all while keeping a tiny install size and minimal data consumption.

The game is 100% Free-to-Play. There are no forced ads. There is exactly one optional ad for bonus loot, which you can permanently remove with a single premium purchase. There is absolutely zero Pay-to-Win.

For those seeing Grimoria for the first time, here is how it plays:

  • Its a fast-paced PvP Card game with multiple modes: Classic 1v1, 2v2 Co-op, and 4-Player Battle Royale.
  • The Basics: Everyone starts with 10 Life. Each round, all players play one card simultaneously. Highest strength card wins. The loser takes 2 damage. Last one standing wins.
  • Strategy: Cards have abilities like Shield, Heal, Negate, or bluffing cards that only reveal at the end of the turn.
  • Elements: Ties are broken by elemental counters: Fire > Earth > Water > Fire.
  • Teamwork: In 2v2, you actually share a life and shield pool with your ally!

Overall, Grimoria takes few minutes to learn but offers strategy for competitive, ranked gameplay.

Grimoria features full Cross-Play, so iOS players can instantly match with the Android player base! (A Steam PC version is planned next).

Download on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516
Downlaod on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emberveilgames.onlinecardgame

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 day ago
▲ 45 r/cardgames+2 crossposts

[Dev] OUT NOW! After 3 years and 4,000+ hours of solo dev, my 1-4-Player portrait online Card Game 'Grimoria' is finally live on iOS! (No P2W)

Hi everyone.

After almost 3 years of grinding, learning, and over 4,000 hours of work late into the night, my passion project Grimoria is officially live on iOS.

First, I want to say a massive thank you to this community. The feedback and support you gave me during the pre-order phases helped me polish the game, and get across the finish line. As a solo developer from Italy, seeing people showing interest and playing my game is amazing.

I wanted to create something new, not just another big studio copy. The core gameplay is actually inspired by a popular local card game called "Watten," which is heavily played where I live. I wanted to bring that social, bluffing energy to a digital format, but with much more accessible rules and mythical creatures.

I tried my absolute best to hit "Studio Quality" visuals and effects. One of the biggest challenges was making it a true real-time multiplayer experience. I built the entire backend server architecture and code completely from scratch to ensure smooth, fast-paced PvP, all while keeping a tiny install size and minimal data consumption.

The game is 100% Free-to-Play. There are no forced ads. There is exactly one optional ad for bonus loot, which you can permanently remove with a single premium purchase. There is absolutely zero Pay-to-Win.

For those seeing Grimoria for the first time, here is how it plays:

  • Its a fast-paced PvP Card game with multiple modes: Classic 1v1, 2v2 Co-op, and 4-Player Battle Royale.
  • The Basics: Everyone starts with 10 Life. Each round, all players play one card simultaneously. Highest strength card wins. The loser takes 2 damage. Last one standing wins.
  • Strategy: Cards have abilities like Shield, Heal, Negate, or bluffing cards that only reveal at the end of the turn.
  • Elements: Ties are broken by elemental counters: Fire > Earth > Water > Fire.
  • Teamwork: In 2v2, you actually share a life and shield pool with your ally!

Overall, Grimoria takes few minutes to learn but offers strategy for competitive, ranked gameplay.

Grimoria features full Cross-Play, so iOS players can instantly match with the Android player base! (A Steam PC version is planned next).

Download on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 day ago

[Dev] 7 days until my 4-Player Online Card Battler launches on iOS! As a solo dev, I spent this last week adding a final polish to better match game studio quality. What you think iosgaming? (No P2W)

Hey everyone. I'm the solo dev of the upcoming card game Grimoria, dropping in exactly 1 week on July 4th!

Since I don't have a massive budget or a team like established studios, I have to rely heavily on creativity and uniqueness. I used copyright-free assets like sound effects and spent hours hand-coding animations (LeanTween) and custom visual effects (Unity Shader Graph) to make the game feel alive.

I think the result isn't too bad, and I am incredibly proud of what I've built over the last 2-3 years.

In the short clip above, I’m showing off:

  • The new card, 'Kamaitachi' (along with its VFX, animations, and sound effects).
  • The brand new Collection page I finished a few days ago, showing the animation flow when a newly obtained card "snaps" into your collection.

Feel free to pre-order the game now and dont miss the Launch reward when the game drops next Saturday!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 8 days ago

[Dev] My solo-developed multiplayer online Card Game launches on July 4th! I just overhauled the F2P progression and added Global Ranked leaderboards. (No P2W)

Hi everyone.

We are exactly two weeks away from the iOS launch of my passion project, Grimoria (July 4th!) i have been working on 3 years.
The response to my announcement post 2 weeks ago was amazing, and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who pre-ordered.

Instead of spamming another trailer, I wanted to show you some cool actual updates I'm finishing up for the iOS launch:

  • The 'Ascendant Path': A brand new progression system I built, alongside an updated main menu. This path is designed to reward players with card packs, essences, coins and more just for playing matches.
  • Collection page: A brand new feature where you can track your collection much more clearly (sorted by Element), with a cool new animation when you get a newly obtained card.

And a few features I implemented recently:

  • Global Ranked System: You can climb the ladder in Solo mode. I added a full in-game leaderboard to track the top players and a monthly reward based on achieved rank.
  • New Card - Kamaitachi: A new creature with the ability 'Gain 2 Strength when played first.'

Based on the feedback i recieved i am working on more cool progression features coming up after launch.

For anyone new, Grimoria features 1v1, 2v2 Co-op, and 4-Player Battle Royale modes. It's played entirely in portrait mode with fast 15-second turns.

Pre-order the game right now so you don't miss the launch week reward.
Pre-Order on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516

I'd love to hear what you guys think of the new changes in the screenshots!

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 16 days ago

What are the absolute "must-play" iOS exclusives I have been missing out on?

Hi. For the first time, I finally own an iOS device, which I needed so I could port my Android card game over to iOS.

Because I was an Android only user until now, I haven't really followed the App Store and its ecosystem, I have no clue what I may have missed out on.

I generally prefer multiplayer games, portrait games, or GPS games, but I am open to all kinds of masterpieces, even very old ones (10years+). Ideally free to play.

Thanks.

Edit: Thank you for the suggestions, i will check them all out!

reddit.com
u/PlayMelodyWorld — 20 days ago
▲ 39 r/digitalcards+1 crossposts

[Dev] After 4000+ hours of solo dev, my portrait casual friendly online Card Battler 'Grimoria' with 2v2, Battle Royale and 1v1 game modes finally comes to iOS on July 4th! (No P2W or forced ads)

Hi everyone.
I am an Italian solo dev. I quit my job 6 years ago and started working full time on my gamedev projects. My first game was a GPS music game in the style of Pokemon Go. My second game, Grimoria, I started 2-3 years ago with over 4000 hours of work, and it now finally comes to iOS on July 4th. Since I code entirely on a Windows PC, fighting through the Apple ecosystem was an absolute nightmare 😅, but after a lot of back and forth I'm really happy to see the iOS page live now.

With Grimoria I wanted to create something new and unique. Where I live, there is a very popular local card game called "Watten", which is played 2v2. I tried to extract the essence of it and make something that works for everyone on mobile. I also added 2 additional game modes: Battle Royale and 1v1. Gameplay feels a bit like a mix of Uno and Marvel Snap.

Grimoria basics:

  • You start with 10 Life. Each round every player plays one card. Highest strength card wins. The loser takes 2 damage. Last one standing wins.
  • In 2v2, you share life and shield with a random ally or friend.
  • Cards have abilities like Shield, Heal, Negate, Strength buff or bluffing (reveal cards at the end of the turn). I am planning to release new cards and abilities each month.
  • Skin Cards can have elemental counters: Fire > Earth > Water > Fire. (You start with neutral Wind cards).

Overall, Grimoria is easy to learn but still offers strategy for competitive gameplay (Ranked).

Monetization:
The game is Free-to-Play. There are no forced ads. There is one optional ad for bonus loot, and you can permanently remove it with an ad-free support pack ($5). There are microtransactions for customizations (skin cards, icons, card backs, emotes, board backgrounds). The game is 100% no pay-to-win, as neutral cards can be obtained relatively quickly just by playing, and skin cards are not stronger than neutral cards.

Apple approved the build yesterday, and the official release is set for July 4th!
You can pre-order the game right now so you don't miss the launch week reward:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grimoria-online-card-game/id6761027516

I want to thank you all for the support <3.
For a solo dev it's hard to reach studio quality, as it requires a lot of learning and effort in multiple professions. I tried my absolute best to get as close as possible. I hope you enjoy it.

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 day ago
▲ 14 r/digitaltabletop+5 crossposts

I’m a solo dev, and my multiplayer card game Grimoria is finally up for iOS Pre-Order!

Hi everyone! (Attached is a quick clip showing newest card, ranked and visual updates!)

For the past 2 months, my solo-developed card game, Grimoria, has been out on Android.

First off: Thank you all! The feedback from the Reddit community during the Android launch helped me fix a lot of issues and balance the game faster than I ever could have alone.

A lot of you asked when it was coming to iPhone. Since I code on a Windows PC and haven't touched the Apple ecosystem before, getting an iOS build approved was an absolute nightmare. 😅

But today, I can finally announce that the iOS Pre-Order page is officially LIVE!

To celebrate, anyone who Pre-Orders on iOS and plays during launch week gets 160 Bonus Coins. The release date is set for July 4th.

For anyone new here, here is what the game is about:

  • Unique Modes: It features 4-Player Battle Royale, true 2v2 Co-op (you share health/shields with your partner), and regular 1v1 mode.
  • Zero Pay-To-Win: It is 100% Free-to-Play. All cards are unlocked by playing. Monetization is strictly cosmetics. There are no forced ads, with an optional premium upgrade if you want to remove the optional reward ads.
  • Mind Games: Simultaneous 15-second turns, elemental counters, bluffing, and unique card abilities.
  • Portrait Mode: Built to be played comfortably with one hand during a commute.

The Links:

Thank you again for supporting a solo dev. I'll be in the comments if you have any questions about the game or the iOS porting process!

u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 month ago

[iOS/Android] My 100% Free, No-P2W Card Game 'Grimoria' (with 2v2 &amp; Battle Royale) is finally coming to iOS. Pre-orders just opened!

Hi everyone!

For the past 2 months, my solo-developed card game, Grimoria, has been out on Android.

First off: Thank you all! The feedback from the Reddit community during the Android launch helped me fix a lot of issues and balance the game faster than I ever could have alone.

A lot of you asked when it was coming to iPhone. Since I code on a Windows PC and haven't touched the Apple ecosystem before, getting an iOS build approved was an absolute nightmare. 😅

But today, I can finally announce that the iOS Pre-Order page is officially LIVE!

To celebrate, anyone who Pre-Orders on iOS and plays during launch week gets 160 Bonus Coins. The release date is set for July 4th.

For anyone new here, here is what the game is about:

  • Unique Modes: It features 4-Player Battle Royale, true 2v2 Co-op (you share health/shields with your partner), and regular 1v1 mode.
  • Zero Pay-To-Win: It is 100% Free-to-Play. All cards are unlocked by playing. Monetization is strictly cosmetics. There are no forced ads, with an optional premium upgrade if you want to remove the optional reward ads.
  • Mind Games: Simultaneous 15-second turns, elemental counters, bluffing, and unique card abilities.
  • Portrait Mode: Built to be played comfortably with one hand during a commute.

The Links:

Thank you again for supporting a solo dev. I'll be in the comments if you have any questions about the game or the iOS porting process!

apps.apple.com
u/PlayMelodyWorld — 1 month ago