You can’t coast through a Clash Royale match. Little decisions can make a big difference in these online battles against live opponents.

To win, you’ll need to assemble a deck of eight cards and use them to knock down your opponent’s base before they flatten yours. Every match becomes a tense test of who’ll make the first mistake.

There are many ways to customise and power up your deck with new cards and gold. Although they can be purchased, you’ll earn plenty simply by playing the game.

At a certain point, you’ll have accumulated a healthy stockpile of these assets and will have to start thinking strategically about how to spend it all. Here, we answer your burning questions about the best in-game investments.

I’m looking for some direction in gold expenditures. While I’ve amassed quite a bit of gold through the quest system and battles, I’m unsure if I’m applying currency as efficiently as possible across my card portfolio. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

If you’re just starting out, identify your ideal initial growth areas.

Think there might be a promising future in Archers, for example? They have obvious downsides, like slow movement speed, but can become a threat when placed behind another unit that can absorb damage, like a Giant.

To minimise risk, you should try them out in practice mode. Then, if you like their long-term prospects, you can use gold to level them up and ensure Archers operate with peak efficiency.

I’ve been playing Clash Royale for a few months because my kids love it so much, and among the three of us we’ve managed to acquire a substantial collection of assets.

I want to ensure our combat and collection strategies are optimally aligned as a family. I’m deeply invested in Goblin Gang, while my daughter (against my advice) has committed to the X-Bow. Given these circumstances, how can we maximise our earnings’ effectiveness?

Joining a clan with your family would be a smart move. One of many benefits of being under a single clan is that you and your family members can use the chat system to request and exchange the exact cards you need, rather than having to wait for treasure chest timers.

Even better, donating cards to others yields gold and experience to the donor. If you have no interest in holding on to the X-Bow cards you’ve amassed, this is the perfect way to divest while rebalancing your portfolio.

I’ve been researching online and noticed others utilising a large, stony creature as the capstone in their combat portfolios. I believe it’s called Golem? What’s the best acquisition strategy here?

Golem is an outstanding choice. Highly recommended. It can absorb a remarkable amount of risk while you deploy powerful support assets behind it.

To acquire it by playing, you’ll first need to reach Arena 6, the Builder’s Workshop. That could lead to the acquisition of a formidable set of other battle assets too, including Elixir Collector, which pairs nicely with Golem’s high deployment cost.