RuneScape Legends is an upcoming collectible card game from Jagex, featuring turn-based gameplay with heroes and characters appearing from its long-running online game, RuneScape. Strategic deck construction and clever hand-playing is the name of the game. Idle Adventures is a multi-platform game that’ll offer a miniature RPG experience which can be played only a few minutes at a time. It’s a game, which Jagex say, can play itself.

Players must assemble and play decks of enemies, allies, and power-ups which form your encounters in each region of Gielinor. Where Chronicle differs from most CCGs is you're not trying to dominate opponents - you're playing to strengthen yourself. The ultimate goal is to create a challenging, but rewarding adventure which improves your character before they enter a final battle with their rival. We’re all familiar with the hit mobile / PC title Adventure Capitalist, right? A game which has players purchasing businesses from Lemon Stands to Banks, and then simply sit back and watch the cash roll in.

From the studio best known as the creator of iconic MMO RuneScape, Chronicle is an enthralling new game where every card is an action; there’s no mana, no minions and definitely no random number generation. We didn’t really want to attend an event for the 15th anniversary of RuneScape. Despite all the talk of hundreds of millions of players we’ve never known a single person who’s played or even talked about RuneScape. But the game has achieved quite the milestone, and developer Jagex are now the biggest independent developer in the UK.

So we dragged ourselves along, in the hope at least of a few free vol-au-vents*, and came away surprised, bemused, and intrigued by some truly unconventional game offerings. RuneScape was first released in January 2001, years before World of Warcraft redefined what people thought of when you use the term MMO. The game isn't due for full release until sometime next year, but thanks to the folks at Jagex, we're giving away a limited number of keys which allow instant access to the closed beta. The beta is on Windows PC only at the moment, although Jagex is looking to bring the game to Mac, Linux and mobiles next year.

Presenting a step-change for the genre, Chronicle twists traditional strategy card game mechanics from battle and board control to create a unique experience, that embraces RPG-style questing and skilling. A solo-play campaign is in the works, but for now, the game is strictly multiplayer, with asynchronous PvP also planned for the future. Along with several unannounced Legends to arrive post-launch, Jagex will unveil Morvran, a “Slayer Master” elf who earns extra bonuses for defeating many creatures of a specific type. You can also expect a draft-play tournament mode which will allow you to collect keys from defeating opponents; you can choose to spend keys for loot chests or attempt to save them for a better reward later on.

The underlying concept is that each battle plays out as if it were a story; the turns are referred to as 'Chapters' and the match plays out on a landscape that emerges from the pages of an open book, known as the Chronicle of Legends. The art style incorporates this magnificently, it's as if the characters and environments were developed with acrylic paints decorated onto models; it could be suggested that this painted aesthetic is a love-letter to table top games such as Warhammer with its figurines and models, something that clearly is a big inspiration for the game's designers.