How to Play

RinkRivals is a two-player hockey card game. Each player brings a deck of animal hockey players, puts them on the ice one at a time, and fights for the puck in dice battles. Every card has two abilities that can swing a battle.

Each turn ends in one battle. The winner pushes the puck one zone toward the other team's net. Win a battle while the puck is in the other team's safe zone and you score a goal. First to 3 goals wins.

A deck has exactly 20 cards: 12 Forwards (F), 6 Defense (D) and 2 Goalies (G), with no duplicates. Each card has a salary, and the deck must fit under the $500 salary cap, so you can't just take every superstar.

Your team has six spots on the ice: Left Wing, Center and Right Wing for Forwards, Left and Right Defense for Defense, and one Goalie spot. Starter decks are always available if you haven't built your own yet.

Each player starts with 5 cards in hand. Every turn has the same steps:

1. Draw: each player draws 1 card (from turn 2 on). Some abilities trigger at the start of a turn.
2. Play a card: both players pick a card and a matching spot at the same time. If you have a card in hand you must play one. Playing onto an occupied spot sends that player to the dressing room. With an empty hand you skip this step.
3. Faceoff: at the start of the game and after every goal, nobody has the puck. The Center cards' faceoff ratings decide who gets it, and a tie goes to a roll-off.
4. Pre-roll: each player may use one one-time ability or pass. Both choose in secret and the choices are revealed together.
5. Roll and battle: both players roll a d20 and the higher total wins (see Battle Resolution).
6. Puck: the winner moves the puck one zone toward the other team's net and takes possession.

The ice has 5 zones. They are always named from your side of the ice, and the puck starts at Center.

Where the puck is decides which of your players fight:

• Center: both teams' Forwards.
• Attacking (the puck is in your OZ or OSZ): your Forwards.
• Defending in your DZ: your two Defense.
• Defending in your DSZ: your two Defense and your Goalie.

Zones printed on abilities are also from the card owner's side: "+4 in DSZ" means while the puck is in its own team's safe zone.

• The higher total wins the battle.
• Automatic wins from abilities beat any total. If both players get one, the player with possession wins.
• Ties go to a roll-off: both roll again until someone rolls higher.
• Winning while the puck is in the other team's safe zone (OSZ) scores a goal. The puck goes back to Center for a faceoff.

Tap any card during a game to see exactly how its skill is calculated. After every battle you'll see both rolls and totals.

Every card has two abilities:

• A permanent ability is always on while the card is on the ice and the puck is in one of its zones.
• A one-time ability is used in the pre-roll step, in its zones, once. After that it's used up. A card that leaves the ice and comes back is a fresh card with its ability ready again.

Order: the player with possession resolves their one-time ability first, then the other player. Then permanent abilities trigger, possession side first, in spot order LW → C → RW → LD → RD → G. Order matters: one ability can remove the card another was about to target. If an ability's target is gone, it fizzles and isn't used up.

When a card says "of your choice" or "you may", the card's owner decides. The game pauses and asks them. The dressing room is where players go when they're sent off the ice. Some cards protect others from being targeted or removed.

Some cards collect counters:

• Logs (Beavers): gaining a log can make other Beavers gain logs too. Each card gains at most once per chain. Many Beaver abilities spend logs for big effects.
• Eggs (Birds): some birds get +1 skill for each egg on them. You can also spend 5 eggs to search your deck for a bird.
• Infections can land on any card. Some abilities send every infected card to the dressing room.

When a card leaves the ice it loses all its counters, bonuses and penalties.

• Score 3 goals to win.
• The clock: once both players have no cards left in their decks or hands, 10 more battles are played. If time runs out, the player with more goals wins.
• Shootout: if it's tied when time runs out, each player rolls a d20 plus the skill of their best Forward on the ice. The higher score wins, and a tie means you shoot again.
• Conceding: you can concede at any time from the game menu.
• Walking away: in online games, if your opponent has been gone for a few minutes while the game waits on them, you can claim the win.