Riftwalker: A Storm Hollow Card Game
Riftwalker: A Storm Hollow Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components and Overview
Number of Players: 2-4 Play Time: 30-45 mins
Components:
- 15 Element Cards (double sided with indication on front of which element is on back)
- 52 Rift Cards
- 4 Reference Cards
- 4 Score Pile Cards
Overview: Using a grid of magical elements, players explore and shift rifts to invoke their magical powers. Making a line of an element triggers a magic burst that can burst a rift and add it to a player's score pile. Once one player has scored enough rifts, each other player gets one last turn. Then, the game ends and the player with the highest score wins.
Set Up
Shuffle the element cards and deal out 9 of them in a 3X3 grid to form the element grid. Place the remaining 6 cards to the side to form the element deck.
Give each player a Reference and "Score Pile" card. A player's score pile card is set to the side of the player. It is where that player will place rifts they have burst.
Shuffle the rift cards and deal 3 to each player. Place the remaining rift cards to the side to form the rift deck.
Element Grid
Element Deck
Rift Deck
Reference Card
Explored Rifts Area
Scored (Burst) Rifts
Hand of Rift Cards
Rift Cards
A. Element: The element required to explore, shift, or burst this rift.
B. Power: The power you may choose to activate when you explore or shift this rift.
C. Special Text: Text present on some rift cards that describes other special effects the card has or how the card scores bonus points.
D. Points: Shows the point value the rift is currently worth. Starts with no points and then gains points every time it is shifted.
E. Bonus Points: Shows how many bonus points are added to the value of the rift at the end of the game. Extra information is given about these points in the special text of the rift.
Play
Each turn has 4 steps:
- Element
- Rift
- Burst
- Refresh
1. Element Step
On this step you draw power from an element to use on the rift step. When you do this, it will change the element grid in some way. There are two ways to draw power from an element.
Flip: You can use up a source of an element that is available in the world. Choose a face-up element on the grid and flip it over to use that element.
Place: You can draw more of an element into the world. Take the top card from the element deck and choose one of its two sides to use. Place the element you want to use face-up onto the grid in a spot of your choice. It replaces one of the cards already on the grid. Discard the replaced card to the bottom of the element deck.
Required Steps. They're Elemental! You MUST take the element step each turn (unless a power says otherwise). And you MUST draw back up to 3 cards if you have less than that on the refresh step. However, the rift step and burst step may be skipped if you wish.
2. Rift Step
Now that you have the power of an element, you may use it on a rift that matches that element. There are two ways to use it: Explore or Shift. Whenever you explore or shift a rift in this manner, you may choose to activate its power.
Explore Rift: Choose a rift in your hand that matches the element you are using. Put it into play in your explored rifts area. You may choose to activate its power. Rifts are played sideways so that the rift name is right side up and no points are showing in the upper left corner.
Shift Rift: Shift one of your explored rifts that matches the element you are using by turning it clockwise to increase the point value. Then, you may choose to activate its power. Rifts that have been shifted 2 times (usually making them worth 7 points) cannot be shifted any more.
Unless a power says otherwise, you cannot choose to activate a rift's power if you cannot explore or shift that rift.
3. Burst Step
On this step, you may burst one rift, gaining points for it. You cannot burst more than one rift unless a power says otherwise. To burst a rift, check the grid to see if there are three of the same element connected to each other in a straight line. They can be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal, just like tic-tac-toe.
If a line of an element exists, you may burst one of your rifts of that element. The rift must have been shifted at least once so that it is worth points. Remove the rift from your explored rifts area and set it aside in your score pile. Make sure you keep it in the same orientation so that current point value of the rift is still on top. This will indicate how many points the rift is worth at the end of the game.
4. Refresh Step
As the final step, you may discard any number of cards from your hand to the bottom of the rift deck and then draw back up to three cards.
To the Bottom of the Deck! There is never a discard pile. Anytime you discard a rift card from your hand, your explored rifts, or your score pile, it is discarded face-down to the bottom of the rift deck.
Ending the Game and Scoring
The game end is triggered when, at the end of a player's turn, there are no cards left in the rift deck OR that player has scored enough rifts to trigger the end of the game. Each other player gets one last turn and then the scores are added up. The number of rifts needed to end the game depends on the number of players.
- 2 players: 7 rifts
- 3 players: 6 rifts
- 4 players: 5 rifts
Odd End Games! If you use a power that causes an opponent to burst enough rifts, that opponent still does not trigger the end game until the end of that opponent's turn. Also, discarding cards back into the empty draw pile does not extend the game.
Each rift in a player's score pile is worth points based on how far the rift was shifted when it burst. Players add up the value of all rifts in their score piles and any bonus points those rifts provide. The player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the player who burst the most rifts wins. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the highest total value amongst explored rifts wins.
Bonus Points
Some rifts are worth bonus points. The number of bonus points a rift provides depends on how much it was shifted before it is scored. Its bonus point value is shown next to the rift's point value. Bonus points are only added to a rift's worth at the end of the game.
Power Clarifications
Power Words: Some rift powers refer to different ways to manipulate the element grid.
- Flip: Choose any face-up element on the grid and flip it over.
- Place: Take the top card of the element deck. Choose EITHER side as face-up and place it anywhere on the element grid. This will replace a current element card, which is discarded to the bottom of the element deck.
- Grow: Choose an element on the grid which is currently face-down and turn it face-up. For example, to grow life you would choose a card that currently had life on the back of it and turn it over so that life is now face-up on the grid.
- Swap: Choose a face-up element on the grid and swap it with any other card on the grid. The two cards exchange places on the grid.
Burst Step Powers: There are powers that will burst a rift on your burst step. If you use one of these powers to burst a rift, that counts as your one burst for the turn. You cannot burst a rift with a power and then also burst a rift with a line of the correct element on the grid.
Triggering Rift Powers: Rift powers only trigger other rift powers if the card says so. Each rift card has a power. A rift's power activates when you draw power from an element (on the element step) and use it to explore or shift that rift (on the rift step). Rift powers that explore or shift other rifts do NOT activate the powers of those rifts unless they specifically say otherwise.
Cards Beneath Rifts: Cards beneath rifts are not in play. Some powers place rift cards beneath other rifts (often for bonus points). Sometimes they are placed face-up (so other players can know what they are) and sometimes they are placed face-down. Either way, these cards are not in play and cannot be affected by rift powers unless a card specifically says otherwise. If a rift is discarded or returned to a player's hand, all cards beneath it are discarded.
Bonus Points: Bonus points are only added at the end of the game. If a power affects rifts that are worth 3 or 7 points, bonus points do not prevent that power from being used on a rift. The only rifts that cannot be affected by these powers are the 3 Venture rift cards and the Shadowlands rift card (since they are never worth 3 or 7 points).
Rifts That Activate Other Rift's Powers: If a card activates another rift's power, it is actually activating that rift, not just copying the power. For example, if you use Rolling Dunes to shift and activate the power of Burn Memory, the burned cards are still placed under Burn Memory (not Rolling Dunes). If you activate an opponent's power, the "You" in the power text refers to you, the player currently taking a turn. So if you used False Story Echoes to activate an opponent's Burn Memory, you would have to burn your own explored rifts (not your opponent's) and put them under the Burn Memory card.