
Hollow Crown is an idle-incremental roguelite deckbuilder where semi-automated combat meets deep strategic planning. You are a would-be monarch ascending a ruined spire, commanding a court of corrupted champions who fight at your direction — but never entirely at your mercy. The Crown rewards those who invest wisely, sacrifice without hesitation, and strike deals they may one day regret.
Unlike traditional card games that demand constant attention, Hollow Crown runs on a slot-based cooldown system. You load cards into your weapon's slots before each turn — then watch them execute automatically on independent timers. The battle unfolds in real time, but every outcome traces back to the choices you made in the quiet moment before the fighting began.
Your weapon is divided into three slot types — Attack, Defense, and Special — each drawing from its own dedicated card pile. Choosing which cards to assign, which to discard, and when to go wide with aggression versus digging in to survive is the strategic core of every turn.
When a turn begins, you choose how to prepare:
Manual Assignment — Hand-pick each card for each slot. Full control, full risk.
Quick-Fill (Attack Turn / Defense Turn) — Commit to an intent and let the system prioritize accordingly. Speed over precision.
Auto-Set — Balanced fill for when you trust the machine more than yourself.
No approach is always right. Enemies telegraph their intent, and reading their behavior is as important as building your own.
You carry one weapon — and it is yours to shape. Between runs, the Player Hub gives you access to a branching weapon upgrade tree where you spend earned resources to permanently expand your arsenal: add new slots, reduce cooldowns, amplify attack or defense bonuses, and unlock capabilities that reshape how entire runs play out.
This is meta-progression with teeth. Every upgrade you purchase survives your death and carries forward into your next attempt.
The Player Hub is your sanctuary between runs — and your debrief after defeat. Here you can:
Invest in permanent stat upgrades (Max HP, Attack, Defense, and more)
Expand the weapon upgrade tree
Browse your card collection and unlock new cards for future runs
Review your lifetime statistics and learn from every death
You return here after every run — whether you conquered the spire or collapsed trying.
Semi-idle, slot-based combat with independent per-slot cooldown timers
Three typed card piles (Attack / Defense / Special) with a shared discard system
Manual, Quick-Fill, and Auto-Set turn setup modes
One weapon with a permanent, branching upgrade tree
Persistent stat upgrades and card unlocks across all runs