Battlebound Cards: AR Tank Wars

Instructions for setup:

1.1 Download Battlebound Cards: Tank Wars app. 

If you have an android, visit this link on your phone: 

If this is not working, and you have friends that want to play on android, send me an email including their emails and names and I’ll make sure to include them on the email list including a screenshot of the error you are having.

If you have an iPhone, please download TestFlight and check your email, as there should be an invitation for you to join the game. If you have other iPhones that would also like to play, go to this link on your phone.

If that doesn’t work, send an email to battleboundcards@gmail.com including the emails of the other iPhones, and I’ll make sure to contact you as soon as possible to try to get it fixed. 🙂

1.2 Take the cards out of the transparent bag they are in and set them aside. It should include the following list of cards: Battlefield card, Green Tank card, Blue Tank card, Bullet Speed Powerup, Bullet Reload powerup, Bullet Power Powerup, Homing Missile Powerup, Explosive Bullet Powerup, Health Powerup, Omniwall Powerup, Allowall, Invisibility Powerup, Turbo Charger Powerup, Tanksformation Powerup, Phantom Rounds Powerup, Vampire Bullet Powerup, Basic Shield, Golden Shield, and Oil Spill Disruption.

1.3 Open the Battlebound app. Sign up for a Battlebound account with your username, email, and password. (Or, if you already have an account, click the sign-in button below and sign in with your email and password). It should bring you to a screen with buttons that say “Host Game” and “Join Game.” Repeat this step with all phones that are playing.

1.4 Press on the button that says “Manage Friends.” It will bring you to a new screen where you can type your friends’ usernames that you’d like to play with. Add the usernames of your friends who are playing with, then press the “Back to Main Menu.” You’re ready to play! I recommend pulling the game instructions (below) up on another device while you go through the game.

Again, just a huge thank you to you for backing my project! I really appreciate it, and I hope that you’ll have a little bit of fun with this beta kit and see my vision of where this is going! Remember that this is just a beta, and it will DEFINITELY not be perfect. If you have feedback, which I’m sure you will, shoot me an email at battleboundcards@gmail.com. I’d love it if you did, as I want this game to be the best it can be.

Instructions for Game:

Welcome to Battlebound: Tank Wars, an augmented reality multiplayer card game. 

2.1 In this game, the goal is to be the last player standing by using powerups, your tank, and your mind to outsmart your opponent. 

2.2 To start the game, press the “Host Game” button. It should take you to a new screen that says “Scan Powerups.” If you have friends joining in, make sure that they are added (refer to step 1.4 of setup instructions) on your account. 

2.3 On your friends’ phones, your username should’ve popped up below the “Join Code” input field. If so, then they should press the “Join Game” button. If not, then look at the bottom of the host’s screen for the join code. Enter that into the join code input field and then press “Join Game.” If that does not work, close the app and restart from step 2.2.

2.4 Take the Battlefield card and place it into the center of you and your friend FACE DOWN. I would recommend that you and your friend sit across from each other. Then give your friend 1 of the tank cards and keep the other tank card. Place them in front of you FACE DOWN. Now, flip the deck of powerups over, shuffle, and deal out all of the cards between you and your friend, alternating. (Like deal your friend a card, then deal yourself a card, and then deal your friend another card, until the entire deck is dealt.) 

2.5 Now, sort through your powerup cards and look for the 4 that you want to use. Make sure that the powerup tab is sticking out while you scan in your cards. If not, then click the white button on the right of the screen. Scan in the 4 powerups that you want to use by hovering your phone camera over them (refer to 3.1 if having issues), and make sure that they come up in the sidebar. When you are done, press the “Done” button and wait for the other person to finish.

2.6 Once everyone is finished, flip over the Battlefield card in the center. Scan in the battlefield by hovering over the card with your phone. Refer to 3.1 if you are having issues scanning it in. Refer to 3.4 if the battlefield keeps flying away or changing positions.

2.7 MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS SCANNED IN BATTLEFIELD BEFORE CONTINUING. This is in order to avoid 3.2. Scan in your tank card (Refer to 3.1 if there are scanning issues).

2.8 Move using the left joystick, and shoot using the right button. To open and close your powerups tab, press the white button attached to your right side of your phone. To use your powerups, you must collect coins (the yellow cylinders) that are scattered around the map (beware of 3.3).

2.9 To use your powerups, click on them in the sidebar. There should be a green border around it if being used, that will slowly go down until you run out (Except for walls). If you can’t seem to activate it, refer to 3.5. At some point, I will also give a rundown of what each powerup does, but most should be pretty self-explanatory.

2.10 Shoot the other player till they die! Use your powerups to your advantage. Press the play again button after one person dies and try out different powerups! Although, don’t be surprised if something breaks after you try to play again. If you are having card-scanning issues, refer to 3.1.

Common errors:

3.1 Card-scanning issues: Make sure that there is no glare on the cards, since that will mess up the image tracking. If the card is not scanning in, then rotate the phone around the card slowly at different angles, making sure that the entire card is in view. If the card is simply not working, then do not use it, or if it is a crucial card (battlefield or tank cards), then restart the app.

3.2 Failure of network-syncing. If a tank card is scanned before a battlefield card has been scanned in on another player’s phone, the tank’s position will not be synced, resulting in different positioning on the host and client, making for terrible gameplay. To fix, just wait for the other person to scan the battlefield before scanning your tank.

3.3 Failure of battlefield-coin syncing. If coins are spawning outside of the battlefield or in placing that aren’t being collected, there is not much you can do about this error except wait for me to try to fix it. Just restart the game or play without powerups.

3.4 Battlefield is flying away?!?! Yes, that is a weirdly common error.  That is a phone issue, but one thing you can try is just to keep scanning in the battlefield card over and over again until you are able to get the battlefield to stay still. Then slowly back away.

3.5 Failure of recognizing powerup button press. This is a stupidly common error where it’s hard to press the powerup button in the sidebar. Just try simply tapping it at different rates (like a short tap or a long tap) and it should work eventually.

Thanks for your patience!