Now that Mojang is free to use Scrolls as the official title for their forthcoming Minecraft follow-up things have begun to move along nicely. We haven't heard much from the game since the court decision, but apparently the title is now in closed alpha.

While gamers familiar with Mojang, or more specifically Notch's approach to games will say that a closed alpha is nearly a finished product, this version of Scrolls is far from it. In the first phase of the closed alpha, which is being heralded as the testing phase, players will be able to build up their deck of scrolls (or simply experience the gameplay mechanics using a pre built deck) and do battle against an AI opponent.

In this testing phase, however, players will only be able to navigate the single player world in a limited capacity, meaning they will not be able to "venture the world or go toe to toe against the powerful bosses that inhabits it."

In addition to that alpha participants will also be able to play in random multiplayer matches online. At this point, Mojang is trying to iron out the core mechanics of Scrolls before getting into the nitty gritty. That means multiplayer matches will only allow 90 seconds for a move to be made.

Along with rolling out this alpha to a wide selection of applicants, Mojang promises that an open beta will soon follow — assuming things go smoothly with the testing phase. Previous effort Minecraft remained in beta for a year and change, before finally being available for public consumption.

While we don't imagine that Scrolls is destined for a similar fate, especially given the increased notoriety of its developer, it is still touted as targeting a "half finished" release. It's after being out in the wild in beta that the real fun begins, and Mojang gets to evolve the experience based on gamer feedback.

Any Ranters out there lucky enough to get in the Scrolls alpha? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Source: Mojang