RAZRYV
"A battle for six Realms. One hidden objective. Two players."
RAZRYV is a strategy and bluffing game for two players, set in a dark fantasy world. Players control ancient creatures, unleash events in the realms, and pursue secret objectives — all while trying to guess what the opponent is planning.
Victory does not come from destroying the opponent, but from quietly taking the board on your own hidden terms. The match is won by whoever first completes their Secret Objective — or both are defeated by the Event deck.
How to use this manual
Read the sections in order for a first match. Use the side index for quick lookups. Section 06 — Turn Order is the heart of the manual: master it and the rest falls into place.
The Board
The board represents the world of RAZRYV, divided into six Realms and two Cells. Each realm has five spaces for creatures. Spells are also placed in the realm, but they do not take up a space and do not count toward the limit of 5.
The six realms are: Forest, Mountain, Deep Sea, Cavern, Swamp and Desert — each with 5 spaces. Each space holds one creature — from any player or from the Event. Event Creatures take up spaces like any other: a realm with 3 player creatures and 2 Event Creatures is full and no creature can enter until a space is freed. Spells do not take up space — they do not count toward the realm's limit of 5. Besides the realms, there are two Cells — one for each player (North and South). Creatures are born in the Cell and wait there before being released into the realms.
Secret Objectives
At the start of the match, each player receives an Objective card kept secret. This card defines the exact victory condition — without completing the Objective, the match cannot be won.
The first player to declare victory on their own turn — revealing their Objective card — wins. The strategy is to progress toward your Objective while trying to infer and block your opponent's. If nobody completes their Objective by round 25, whoever is further along wins.
Example Objective
Every Objective mixes three fronts: Event Creatures destroyed, opponent creatures sent to the Cell by attack, and having 1 to 3 of your creatures in one Realm — the three always add up to 7. The card beside requires destroying 4 Event Creatures, sending 1 opponent creature to the Cell, and keeping 2 creatures in the Swamp, all at the same time. In cooperative modes only missions against Events appear.
Hidden Information
Your Objective is secret until it is completed. The position of creatures on the board reveals intentions — use that to your advantage.
Player Cards
Each player's deck is made of two card types: Creatures and Spells. A Spell can be immediate, stay visible, or enter hidden.
Creatures
They have Energy and Strength. They enter through the Cell (or by Ritual) and control the realms. Without creatures in a realm, you cannot place Spells there.
Spells
They enter a realm where you have creatures. A Spell can resolve at once and be destroyed, stay visible with a continuous effect, or enter hidden for you to activate later. See section 07.
The power of hidden Spells
A hidden Spell on the field exerts constant psychological pressure. Your opponent does not know what is there — and you can activate as many as you like on your turn. Use this to create combos, surprise with multiple effects in a single turn, or simply bluff with an irrelevant Spell. Bluffing is a legitimate tool in RAZRYV.
Setup
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1Shuffle the decks Shuffle all the decks — players', Objectives', and Events' — and place them face down.
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2Decide Player 1 Each player draws cards from the top of their deck until a creature is revealed. Add that creature's Energy and Strength. The player with the lowest result is Player 1 and acts first. In case of a tie, repeat the process.
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3Choose the Starting Event Realm The players agree on which Realm will receive the first Event. In case of disagreement, the first realm is the Forest. A marker should follow the Event cycle, advancing clockwise: Forest → Mountain → Deep Sea → Cavern → Swamp → Desert → and starts over.
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4Deal the starting cards Each player draws 5 cards from the top of their deck.
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5Receive a Secret Objective Each player receives an Objective card and keeps it hidden — it cannot be revealed until it is completed.
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6Track Life Each player starts with 100 Life. It only drops when their Cell is attacked (see Combat); whoever reaches 0 loses the battle.
Turn Order
Each round always follows the same sequence of four phases. Understanding this structure is essential to mastering RAZRYV. Use the buttons to explore each phase.
Summary sequence
Event → Player 1 → Player 2 → Advance realm → repeat until the end
Player Turn
The turn follows five steps. Step 1 is always first and step 5 always last. Steps 2, 3 and 4 are optional and can be done in any order among themselves — their sequence is up to the player each turn. Click each step to expand.
Limits per turn
Each play below can be made once per turn, and the limits are independent — using one does not prevent the others:
- ① Hand → Cell: one creature from the hand sent to the Cell.
- ② Cell ↔ field: one swap between the Cell and a Realm — releasing a creature from the Cell or pulling back a creature from the field (the two share the same limit).
- ③ Ritual: one Ritual to summon a creature straight onto the field.
- ④ Spell from the hand: one Spell from the hand, activated at once or placed face down.
Activating Spells that are already on the field (face down) spends no limit — you can activate as many as you like in the same turn. Some cards grant extra plays; the card text says when.
There is no fixed order between plays: you can attack, then place a face-down Spell, release a creature from the Cell and send another from the hand to the Cell — in any sequence you like, as long as you respect the limits.
At the start of the turn, the player draws 1 card from their own deck. The Energy of creatures on the field does not change that amount.
In this step the player can make the plays below, each at most once per turn:
- Imprison — from the hand to the Cell (limit ①): place a creature from the hand directly into the Cell, starting the one-round waiting period.
- Release — from the Cell to a Realm (limit ②): a creature that waited a full round in the Cell — Event, Player 1's turn and Player 2's turn — can go to any realm with an available space.
- Imprison again — from a Realm to the Cell (limit ②): a creature already on the field can be pulled back into the Cell, restarting the waiting period. This action triggers Realm Destruction if it is the player's last creature in that realm.
Important: sending a creature from the hand to the Cell (①) is independent of the Cell ↔ field swap (②), of the Ritual in step 3 (③) and of the Spell in step 4 (④). Release and Imprison again share the same limit ②: one swap between the Cell and the field per turn.
Ritual is mandatory to summon creatures with Energy 9 or higher — they cannot enter through the ordinary Cell path. Ritual means offering creatures already established in play:
- Select the creature from your hand that you want to summon.
- Ritual your creatures in realms (not in the Cell) whose total Energy is equal to or greater than the new creature's Energy.
- Energy cards in your hand (Energy Shards, Ritual Pulse, The Atoner...) also count as Energy in the ritual — you can summon using only them, offering no creature at all. These cards never leave your hand any other way.
- The new creature enters directly into the realm of your choice, without passing through the Cell.
- The offered creatures are destroyed.
The Ritual has its own limit (③): one per turn, independent of sending a creature to the Cell in step 2. Creatures with Energy up to 8 enter through the Cell normally.
The player places one Spell from the hand (limit ④) in any realm where they have at least one creature — with no creature of yours in the Realm, the Spell cannot enter. This step is independent of steps 2 and 3.
- Immediate Spell: effect at once on entering the field. It is destroyed after resolution.
- Visible Spell: enters the field with an immediate or continuous effect and stays for as long as it lasts.
- Hidden Spell: any Spell can be placed face down (Place) instead of being activated right away; it enters face down. On your turn, you may activate as many hidden Spells as you like, including in different realms — the effects apply immediately and may last one or more turns, according to the card text. Activating Spells that are already on the field spends no limit.
When creatures leave a realm
If the player loses all their creatures in a realm — for any reason, including voluntary imprisonment — that player's cards in that realm are handled like this: Hidden Spells return to the hand. Visible Spells, regardless of the effect's state, are permanently destroyed. Event cards and Event Creatures remain.
At any moment of their turn, the player may choose one of these options:
- Pass: end the turn without combat. Always allowed.
- Attack the opponent: declare a player vs. player attack in a realm where both have creatures. Resolved by the Strength attribute.
- Attack an Event Creature: attack a hostile creature on the board. Both players may cooperate, adding up the Strength of creatures in the same realm.
Attacking is always optional. Not attacking can be the smartest play — especially if combat exposes creatures to unnecessary risks.
Realm Event
At the start of each round, either player may reveal the top card of the Event Deck and place it in the current realm. The event is resolved immediately — its effects affect both players equally.
Event Creatures
A hostile creature is placed in the realm. It stays until defeated. It takes up a space and is an active threat. It attacks every time the Event arrives in its realm — on entering and again each time the compass comes back to the realm: it targets the player creature with the highest Strength in the realm that is still lower than its own — the strongest one it can defeat; the attacked creature goes to its owner's Cell. If several tie at that Strength, it attacks all of them. With more than one Event Creature in the realm, all of them attack, one after another, in a chain reaction. It also attacks when a card effect pulls it into a realm (such as Forgotten Call or Call of the Predator): the moment it arrives, it targets the strongest creature there that is weaker than it.
Event Spells
They can resolve at once and be destroyed, or stay in the realm with a continuous effect until it ends or they are destroyed. They can move creatures, destroy cards, or change the state of the realm.
How to resolve an Event
1. Draw the top card of the Event Deck.
2. Place it face up in the current realm.
3. The compass has arrived in the realm. If the revealed card is an Event Creature, it attacks first, on entering (if its text says “When it enters the field”, the entry is only the card's effect, with no attack). Then every Event Creature already there attacks, one after another, from the highest Strength to the lowest (tie: the one that entered first). Each one targets the player creature with the highest Strength that is still lower than its own at that moment; the attacked creature goes to its owner's Cell. If several creatures tie at that Strength, all of them are attacked. It is a chain reaction: each attack changes the next one's target. Creatures in other realms are not affected, and Strength equal to or greater than the Event Creature's is not attacked.
4. Read and apply its effect immediately.
5. Immediate Spells are destroyed after resolution. Event Creatures remain in the realm until defeated in combat. Spells that remain in the realm stay until the effect ends or they are destroyed by a game effect.
Creatures, Imprisonment and Release
Creatures are the backbone of RAZRYV. They control realms, enable the use of cards, and fight combats. Every creature starts in the Cell before entering the board.
A creature's life cycle
1. Entering the Cell
The creature is placed from the hand into the player's Cell.
2. Waiting one round
At least one full round in the Cell before being released. A round consists of: Event + Player 1's turn + Player 2's turn.
3. Release into a Realm
It goes to any realm with an available space.
4. Staying
It stays in the realm until defeated (returns to the Cell) or offered (destroyed).
Each creature has two fundamental attributes:
Strength
Determines the outcome of combat. The creature with the greater Strength wins — see section 11 for the full rules.
Energy
Defines the cost of summoning via Ritual and determines how many cards the player draws per turn — see section 07.
Rituals
Creatures with Energy 9 or higher cannot enter through the Cell. The only way is Ritual — offering creatures already in play to summon a more powerful one.
Show the card you want to summon. Its Energy is the cost of the ritual.
Choose your creatures in realms (not in the Cell) whose total Energy is equal to or greater than the cost.
The offered creatures are destroyed — permanently removed from the match.
The creature enters directly into any realm with an available space, without passing through the Cell.
Ritual is permanent
Offered creatures do not come back. Weigh the cost — losing established creatures can expose your realms or compromise your Objective.
Combat
Combat can take place at any moment of your turn and is always optional — except when forced by a card effect. The creature with the greater Strength wins.
Declared when both have creatures in the same realm. It is always 1 creature vs. 1 creature — unless a card effect says otherwise. The loser returns to the Cell — it is not destroyed. On a tie, nobody leaves the field.
Each player individually declares whether they want to take part — a single one may attack alone. Participants add up the Strength of all their creatures in that specific realm. If the total Strength exceeds the Event Creature's, it is destroyed. On a loss, the participating creatures return to their respective Cells; on a tie, nobody leaves the field. The Event Creature never returns to the Cell — it is permanently destroyed when defeated in combat.
Cell Attack and Life
Each player starts the match with 100 Life. When the opponent has no creature on the field (in any realm) but has creatures in the Cell, any creature of yours on the field — from any realm and with any Strength, even 0 — can attack their Cell. The opponent loses 10 Life per imprisoned creature: with 3 in the Cell, −30. It is one Cell attack per turn, with a single creature, and the only attack of the turn: it can only be made if none of your creatures attacked this turn, and after it you attack nothing else — no creature, no Event Creature — even with five creatures on the field. It allows no co-op. In rounds 1 and 2 the Cell cannot be attacked: this way whoever opens the match cannot strike the other's Cell before they get a turn to release their first creature. The imprisoned creatures stay in the Cell. Whoever brings the opponent's Life to zero wins the battle at once. Hiding your creatures in the Cell and just passing while waiting for the end of the 25 rounds protects nobody: whoever does not hold the field loses Life.
Forced Attacks
Arrival attack: every Event Creature attacks the player creature with the highest Strength in its own realm that is still lower than its own — the strongest one it can defeat. The Event cuts down whoever is unbalancing the table, not the weak: an Event Creature with Strength 60 in a realm with creatures of 55 and 12 attacks the 55. The attack happens when it enters the field, when the Event compass arrives in its realm and when it is pulled into the realm by a card effect (Forgotten Call, Call of the Predator, Forced Removal, Walking Ruin, Nyhaas, Dragard): it attacks right away, without waiting for the compass to come around again. On arrival, all the Event Creatures in the realm attack, one at a time, from the highest Strength to the lowest, and each one recalculates its target when it attacks: if the previous one sent its target to the Cell, the next one targets the new strongest creature below its own Strength. If several tie at that Strength, all the tied creatures are attacked, one at a time. The losers go to their owner's Cell. Creatures that cannot be targeted or are immune to Events are not attacked, but still count when the target is chosen: if the chosen creature is protected, no one is attacked — the attack does not pass to the next one. On a tie, only the tied creatures without protection are attacked. Other Event Creatures are never attacked. The Event Creature that just entered attacks after the ones already in the realm, before the card's own effect; if its text says “When it enters the field”, the entry is only the card's effect and it starts attacking from the next arrival. A forced summon (defeat reward) does not count as the compass arriving: only the summoned creature attacks, on entering.
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| When it attacks | When it enters the field; when the Event compass arrives in its realm; and when a card effect pulls it into a realm (it attacks right away, without waiting for the compass to come around again). |
| Who is the target | The player creature with the highest Strength in its own realm that is still lower than its own (the strongest one it can defeat), with Strength counted at the moment of the attack (effects included). |
| Condition | Creatures with Strength equal to or higher than its own are never targeted. If none is weaker, no one is attacked. |
| Tie at the target's Strength | It attacks all the tied creatures, one at a time. |
| Several Event Creatures in the realm | All of them attack, from the highest Strength to the lowest (tie in Strength: the one that entered first). Each one recalculates its target when it attacks: a chain reaction. |
| Protected creature | A creature that cannot be targeted or is immune to Events counts when the target is chosen, but is not attacked. If only it holds that Strength, no one is attacked (the attack does not pass to the next one). |
| Who loses | The attacked creature goes to its owner's Cell. |
| Exception | An Event Creature whose text says “When it enters the field”: on entering, only the card's effect applies, with no attack (on later compass visits it attacks normally). A forced summon from a defeat reward does not count as the compass arriving. |
Some card effects force an Event Creature to attack. The same combat rules apply — but if the Event Creature loses, it is destroyed.
Realm Destruction
This rule is only triggered when a player loses their last creature in a realm — by combat, event effect, voluntary imprisonment, or any other reason. As long as at least one of the player's creatures remains in that realm, nothing happens. Event creatures and cards remain intact.
Realm Destruction
Hidden Spells return to the hand. Visible Spells, regardless of the effect's state, are permanently destroyed.
Losing creatures in a realm is not just a temporary positional disadvantage. Visible Spells in progress are lost forever — with no recovery.
What is destroyed
Visible Spells with active or persistent effects — permanently destroyed.
What is not affected
The opponent's creatures and cards in the same realm. The player's cards and creatures in other realms. Events placed in the realm.
Strategic implication
Hidden Spells are recoverable — Visible Spells are lost forever. Never leave creatures vulnerable in realms where you have invested continuous effects.
End of the Match
The match ends in one of four ways: individual victory, Life at zero, collective annihilation or the 25-round limit.
A player may check their Objective at any time. To declare victory, they must do so on their own turn — revealing the Objective card as proof. Declarations outside their own turn are invalid.
Each player has 100 Life. Whoever brings the opponent's Life to zero by attacking their Cell (10 per imprisoned creature, when they have no creature on the field; one Cell attack per turn, from round 3 on) wins the battle and the match ends at once. Whoever had already completed their Objective remains the winner.
The players acknowledge that completing their Objectives has become impossible. Annihilation can be declared by consensus — or the players can continue until total collapse: the impossibility of defeating the Event Creatures or exhaustion of their own deck. A player may also give up individually, letting the other continue alone. When both declare, nobody wins: the Event deck wins.
A match lasts at most 25 rounds, and the table must be told when 5 remain. When round 25 ends, both players reveal their Objective and compare, Objective by Objective, how much each completed — the percentage of each requirement, not the number of pieces. Whoever is further along wins; if tied, both players are annihilated: nobody wins and the Event deck wins. Whoever had already completed their Objective remains the winner. This guarantees the match ends even if one side does not play.
∴ The Realms have resisted for centuries. You have one match. ∴
Bargaining and Diplomacy
In RAZRYV, words are weapons too. At any moment — including during the opponent's turn — players may negotiate deals, propose trades, and form temporary alliances. There is no referee. There is no contract. There is no guarantee.
Survival above rivalry
Sufficiently powerful Events threaten both players at the same time. An intense conflict between the two can wear down creatures and resources at the wrong moment, opening the way to an Event victory. Recognizing that threat and temporarily setting the rivalry aside is a legitimate play and, at times, the only way out.
The Golden Rule
Any bargain can be broken. Betraying an agreement violates no rule — it is part of the politics of the Realms. The game does not punish betrayal; the opponent does, on the next play.
Bargaining Examples
Alliance against the Event
Faced with an Event Creature of overwhelming Strength, the two players build a chain of cards: Player 1 activates a Spell that lowers the Event's Strength this turn, and Player 2 commits to summoning a creature strong enough for a coordinated attack. But nothing stops one of them from changing their mind.
Trading positions
A player may propose moving creatures based on a condition, in exchange for cooperation in Event attacks — or even for not being attacked for set turns.
Note
Bargains change no rule of the game, do not suspend turns, and do not create formal pauses. They act only on the decisions each player may — or may not — choose to make within the rules. An agreement obliges no action: it only guides intentions. The game continues at its normal pace, and an agreement exists only as long as both sides choose to honor it.
Cards in hand can never be revealed during a negotiation — except when a card effect explicitly requires it.