The Rifts changed our world. Villages were torn apart, Riftforce emerged from it and spread across the land. What seemed lifeless before started to rise and wake. Flames left campfires and waves poured out of their riverbeds. Even the sun and moon leave their footprints in the ground.
We learned how to control those living elementals and formed guilds to perfect this knowledge. While competing for Riftforce the guilds forged temporary alliances to share their unique abilities and guard the access to the Rifts.
Now it is your time! Choose your guilds, combine their powers and rush into battle. Gain Riftforce from the land you control and all the elementals you destroy until you have enough to ascend into a higher state of power.
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In Riftforce, the two-player duel card game, each player starts by drafting four of the ten different guilds, each with a unique power, to forge their own asymmetrical alliance. Every game of Riftforce gives you a chance to discover new synergies between guilds which will greatly influence your overall strategy and strengths. Can you combine the flexible and mobile water guild with the all-consuming fire elementals who even harm their allies and unleash their full potential?
The guilds’ elementals are the lifeblood of the game - they are your troops and at the same time the resource necessary to attack. Soon you will find yourself wondering how to use them best. Each turn you are torn, choosing one of three possible actions. Do you want to strengthen your position at the Rift, sacrifice elementals for powerful combo attacks or gather support for your next turn?
Gain Riftforce by destroying the elements of your opponent and by controlling locations along the Rift. Only then will you ascend and win the game.
Discovering new synergies between the different guilds, clever gameplay combos and the deeper layers of strategy will keep you coming back to enjoy the game again and again.
Riftforce Playthrough & Review
Images
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
References (from this video)
- High replayability due to variable guild combinations
- Compelling gameplay with interesting choices and lack of information
- Momentum swings create exciting gameplay
- Plays quickly (around 30 minutes)
- The physical implementation of the lane system can be clumsy.
- Card battling with guilds
- Arboretum
- Corrosion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck building — Players draft guilds, each with unique abilities, which form their personal deck for the game.
- drafting — Players draft guilds at the start of the game to build their unique decks.
- hand management — The reviewer mentions "there's a lot of hand management too because the cards you keep determine what you're gonna play to activate the stuff that's out there."
- Lane System — The game uses a lane system where cards battle in specific lanes, with potential impact on adjacent lanes.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's just not something that i think like is a must own for everyone
- but for me uh the games i've played so far just kind of felt a little bit flat
- i do like it quite a bit i think it's a really good design especially as this kind of like family weight game that plays within an hour
- The biggest and I mean I should say the only criticism I can come up with and I mentioned with you is personally I don't I I would have found a different way to differentiate the lanes and then just laying down the cards I find that the a little bit clumsy sometimes the cards are moving
- it's always a fairly quick game and it does quite a bit of like unique and novel novel stuff
- this is an asynchronous game in the sense that one person is going to be the creature and everyone else is going to be basically trying to survive
- i'm going to give it a play but and i i'm not going to give an asterisk because i feel like every time we're doing these on my own risk on this one i'm going to give it a play but i will say that as you play it consider how often you think you'll get this to the table with four plus
References (from this video)
- fast game with quick rounds and clear scoring
- good variety due to draft setup and multiple factions
- balanced asymmetry offers interesting choices
- potential for expansions with new summoners and elementals
- learning curve with interactions can be steep for first-timers
- some factions feel stronger or weaker depending on combination
- setup and shuffle can be fiddly or clunky in live play
- no built-in first-time-player setup in the base game (discussion of a potential set would help)
- Elemental factions vying for control and points through region dominance
- Two-player head-to-head battle across elemental islands using summoned elementals
- abstract, strategic with light thematic framing
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players place elementals to gain presence and score control of board regions.
- Card play with numbers/symbols — On a turn, you may play up to three cards that share a numeric value or an elemental symbol.
- Check and draw — Check control of areas to gain points, then draw up to seven cards (if you have space).
- drafting — Each player selects four factions to form their starting deck via a draft sequence.
- Movement and drag mechanics — Certain elementals pull or push opponents’ units, affecting placement and damage.
- Summoners and elemental abilities — Each elemental card has an associated summoner ability that triggers when played or activated.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a two-player game where we're going head to head
- it's very simple game, it's very quick
- I really enjoy Rift Force
- I would recommend giving it a go
References (from this video)
- Engaging thematic vibe and accessible rules
- playful competitive tension
- May require multiple plays to grasp deeper strategy
- alliances of four elemental teams
- elemental battleground
- theme-forward homage to elemental power
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- team-building / deck integration — players assemble a four-element team with unique decks
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we're giving away 50 games
- it's worldwide
- remember you can enter in every video
- the box is really heavy