he world of RIFTS, as introduced 18 years ago in the role-playing game of that name, is marked by two factors: danger and diversity. Earth has become crisscrossed with key lines of magical power and pockmarked by gates into other dimensions. Demons, vampires and dinosaurs stalk the land while the Earthlings themselves, dabbling in hand-me-down science and newfound sorcery, have formed into factions engaged in constant warfare.
In the new RIFTS Collectible Card Game, players lead these factions to take over what's left of North America. Each player starts with one of nine faction cards, a deck (the size of which is dictated by the faction) and a hand (likewise). Most cards in the hand are drawn at random from the deck, but some are chosen before the game begins.
Some cards can generate resources. On each turn each player "rotates" cards to play other cards from their hand, with certain restrictions. "Base" cards, representing cities and other large installations, can only be played using resources generated by a faction card. Other cards can require resources with a specific attribute; for instance, a factional restriction such as "2 Pecos" means the resources must be generated by cards with the "Pecos Empire" attribute (so only the Pecos Empire or its allies can use it). Other limitations such as "Tech," "Magic" or "Techno-Wizard" prevent all-magic factions from controlling armies of giant robots unless they have some source of technological resources.
One type of card, the Unit, is rated for Attack, Counter-Attack and Damage Capacity as well as special abilities (almost all units have them). During the combat phase, a player can order Units to attack another player. When this is done, the defender takes damage equal to the attacking units' Attack, while the attacking units take damage equal to the defenders' Counter-Attack. Counter-Attack points equal to an attacking units Damage Capacity kill that unit, whereas Attack points kill defending Units or Bases or can be "Decked," meaning the defender discards that many cards from their deck or hand.
When a player's deck runs out of cards they are out of the game. The last player standing wins.
A techno-sorcerous slugfest
Players of CCGs will find much familiar in the RIFTS The Collectible Card Game, which is reminiscent of both the giant-robot CCG Battletech and the granddaddy, Magic: The Gathering. There are enough differences, though, to make it more than worthwhile.
The use of "attributed" resources, while not unique to RIFTS, is handled better than in most games. This makes deck construction easier, leads to interesting tension during play (if you have only one source of Techno-Wizard resources, you'd better protect it) and keeps gameplay close to the RIFTS version of "reality."
The combat rules are another strength. Treating Attack and Counter-Attack as totals and giving the defender the job of distributing them obviates a lot of tedious rules and decisions which load down other games. And the ability to Deck damage means that a player with a slow start can maintain their small fighting force rather than seeing it wiped out by some quickly built attacking horde.
In fact, several rules seem to have the purpose of preventing runaway victory by a player who gets lucky early. Among these are the "Command and Control" rule, which penalizes a player with more than five units in play. Getting lots of units out early is still an advantage, just not such a huge one that the other players can't recover.
Other aspects of the game are solid. The artwork is essentially comic-book level, and so while not as beautiful as that in a few CCGs, it remains clear, colorful and plentiful. The rulebook is clearly laid out, complete and easy to read (8 1/2 x 11, unlike the usual CCG card-sized rulebook).
There are very few flaws. A few cards have powers that require explanation from the rulebook rather than being printed on the cards themselves, and the prefab Starter Decks contain more duplicate cards than I'd like. Compared to other CCGs, the game lacks the complexity of Magic and the multiplayer strategy of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, but to change these would be to compromise the concept: a free-wheeling dealing out of damage which should entertain anyone interested in the RIFTS universe or just in pitting Jets against Dragons.
Decking damage turns out to be one of the most interesting aspects of the game, in that it's up to the defender to choose between chopping off his hand and slowly slitting his throat. While most CCGs present this choice to some extent, the "everybody blocks, choose who takes damage" mechanic makes it considerably starker here.
— Bob
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