Clans of London takes Vampire: The Masquerade back to its tabletop roots

When you talk about cult games, one that will always show up is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. For good reason. It is a masterpiece that overshadows the whole World of Darkness franchise. However, the series has its home as a tabletop adventure, and it is that vein that we return to, with mobile card battler Clans of London.

Or at least certain parts of the world can. Despite London being in the title, it isn't in the UK yet. Clans of London has been soft-launched in Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Thailand, and the United States. If you are lucky enough to live there, dive in, go live your card-based Tremere dreams.

There is one thing that comes to mind when you look at Clans of London: Marvel Snap. And not just because it is a card game on a mobile. No, this is the game Ben Brode would have created if he listened to The Black Parade more often when deciding to leave Blizzard. Even the word style on the cards is similar. 

In fact, the entire card is just a reskinned Snap asset. It is giving “can I copy your homework, yes, but change it a bit”. I know you could say that about all manner of games, but it just looks so egregious here for me. And I say that as someone who loved Bloodlines. But anyway, back to the impartiality.

You will compete in 7-turn matches designed to last around 5 minutes with 15-card decks, on a board with location-based modifiers. Fancy that. What does sound interesting, though, is the King of the Hill spot in the middle: Prince of London. 

You gain extra points for holding this, but you will, of course, make yourself a huge target by having it. Rushing to claim early will leave you open for ambushes, but waiting until you have the resources to hold it could put you too far behind early. An interesting gamble to balance.

Clans of London is available to download from the App Store and Google Play in the aforementioned territories.