Kaiju are attacking! But in Kaijack Card Attack, rather than battling it out with tooth and claw, they engage in a wacky adaptation of blackjack.
Kaijack Card Attack, from Arcane Circus, is a card-game adaptation with a difference. While many modern takes on casino classics do so through changing the arena in which you play, Kaijack gives it a zone-control element and changes a major part of the scoring process: the house card.
In traditional blackjack, players normally attempt to beat the house score without exceeding twenty-one; in Kaijack, the house score can move and the winner is the player closest at the end of their turns. Much like its inspiration, players draw cards in turn, but they have a chance to apply it either to themselves or the dealer’s hand. This means that proximity to victory is not assured until the last moment, especially if both players are within a few numbers of each other.
All of this is held together with a metagame about capturing sections of the city from other Kaiju, with each showdown resolved with one of the Blackjack-style contests.
Above all this, while playing Kaijack at Pocket Gamer Connects London, the real standout elements were not the fun metagame or the duels, but the funky music and nineties-cartoon-style artwork and animation. Each time a card was used it danced through the air before reaching its destination — and dancing is the correct word, with the animation extremely fluid and the movement flamboyant.
Kaijack Card Attack is currently in development for mobile platforms with a view to a later release on other platforms. You can follow development via the developer’s Twitter, or on their website.
Played this game whilst I was in London, absolutely loved it!