Riftforce

The Game

Riftforce is a 2-player card game which is light yet strategic. Let me state up front that I can’t quite get into the fantasy mage story so my description won’t be accurate. The game lore says that the earth has cracked open and it is leaking energy. You are mages fighting to control five locations along the crack. There are 9 types of fighters in the game. At the start of every game you will take turns drafting fighter types. You will eventually form your card deck with four fighter types. Your opponent will have four types different from yours. During the game you deploy fighters to control locations and attack enemies. You score points for dominating locations and killing enemies. First to score 12 points wins. 

Each fighter type has cards numbered 5, 6 and 7. There are more 5’s and fewer 7’s. All fighters of the same type have the same ability. Only their values, which represent life points, differ. You have a hand of 7 cards. On your turn you may play cards, activate cards, or draw cards. It’s simple. When playing cards, you may play up to three cards of the same type or the same number, to up to three adjacent locations. When activating cards, you may activate up to three cards of the same type or number, at any location. The card abilities are mostly related to attacking enemies at the same location. Some cards have higher attack values than others. Some cards can move about. Some cards attack enemies other than the main defender (frontliner). Refilling your hand is not automatic. It’s a specific action you choose to perform. When you take this action, you also check whether you control any location and you score points for this. Controlling a location means having fighters there while the opponent does not have any. 

You start every game by drafting fighter types

That's the crack in the middle. You play cards on opposing sides. 

This fighter type might not be strong, but it is mobile and also can help you score points directly. 

This fire type has a powerful attack. 

You normally deal damage to the opponent frontliner. They accumulate damage tokens until the number reaches their health value. Then they die, and you score a point. 

The Play

You often have a dilemma between choosing number or type. You want to maximise your turn, so ideally you can play or activate three cards, but you don't always have three cards of the same number or type. Sometimes one particular fighter is positioned to make a great move, but if you activate it, you can't activate any other fighters of the same type or number. Aaah... juicy decisions. 

You hope to play the more robust 7's on your frontline, so that they last longer. However there are fewer 7's in your deck, and you may not always be able to wait for three 7's to deploy them all together in one move. Again, difficult decisions. 

You have only four fighter types, but there are plenty of clever tactics you can pull. There is a tricky balance of scoring points from killing enemies and scoring points from controlling locations. You are always under pressure to move fast, because if you let your opponent control too many locations, they will quickly rack up the points. 

By spreading out thinly, I am at risk of my fighters getting killed by Jetta's focused attacks. However when spread out and being able to control multiple locations, I can quickly score points and rush for 12 points. 

The earth (brown) fighter type can be very powerful. In the fourth column Jetta had four fighters, and it would not be easy to defeat them all. However the earth fighter dealt damage to every enemy in a column. When Jetta had so many of his fighters all lined up, it was perfect for my earth fighters. The meta level game is important. By knowing what fighter types your opponent has, you adjust how you play. 

The Thoughts

I had not heard of Riftforce before playing it. Or probably I had, but I had forgotten. The theme and format are pretty much forgettable to me. However once I played the game, I realised how clever it is. This is one of the most enjoyable discoveries I've had lately. I looked up the game and found out it was a recommended game under the 2021 Kennerspiel des Jahres awards, and also a 2021 Golden Geek Best 2-Player Game nominee. I had completely ignored it because of the theme and the general premise. I'm glad Jetta suggested the game. If you have not tried it, do give it a go. This game deserves much praise.