The brilliance of Brawl Stars

When Clash Royale creator Supercell releases a new game, it’s worth paying attention. The Finnish studio is one of the App Store’s most influential game makers.

It reinvented farming games with Hay Day before defining build-and-battle games with Clash of Clans and Boom Beach. Then Clash Royale brought Supercell’s slick brand of strategy gaming to life with realtime online battling.

Which brings us to Brawl Stars, Supercell’s most ambitious game yet. This time, the action is even more intense and immediate: every matchup is an online multiplayer shootout where only those with the sharpest minds – and trigger fingers – emerge victorious.

Controlling your chosen character with your left thumb and firing with your right, you’ll begin playing as Shelly in Gem Grab mode. This starter arena is a three-versus-three scramble to get ten gleaming purple stones, where taking out an opponent holding Gems means they drop them. Snaffle them up for your team and you’re on your way to victory.

It’s breathless stuff, and it cleverly balances simplicity with nuances that reveal themselves over days, weeks and months. As you unlock ever more characters and modes, there’s more and more strategy to the play.

Team-based firefights have never been this thrilling on iPhone and iPad; once again, Supercell has stepped up to define an entire genre.

So we heartily recommend you get brawling, pronto. And to get you started, here are a few quick tips from our games editors. See you in the arena!

Your Super move is an extra powerful one-shot attack which charges up with every bit of damage inflicted upon the opposing team. So don’t worry if you’re not landing knockout blows – you’re still building up your Super. When it’s ready, the icon on the right side of the screen will turn yellow: now take aim and watch the carnage unfold.

Okay, so you’ve taken quite a bit of damage. Never fear! Cease fire and after a few seconds your health will start to recharge. If you’re really struggling, it helps to hide in the grassy areas or wait it out behind cover for guaranteed protection.

Moving around as a tight three-player unit is often very effective. And if one of your team makes a dash for some Gems, you’ll be close enough to lay down some cover fire for them.

Later on in the match, if one player holds most of your team’s Gems, it’s wise to shield them as much as you can. With one player defending your precious cargo, the other can make a solo dash for Gems to push your team’s total up to 10. Then you can hang back and defend as a unit for victory.

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