A civilization game that fits in ten minutes
Age of Rivals takes the usual long-form civilization build — economy, military, culture, defense — and compresses it into a card game you can finish in about ten minutes. You draft cards, play them, and try to keep those four areas balanced while reading what your opponent is doing. The card pool runs past 200 cards with their own special abilities, from great pyramids and war elephants to spies and merchants, and there are 12 unique characters to play as. One game you might lean hard into war machines, the next into artistic achievement and burglary. The game was inspired by board games like 7 Wonders and Dominion and by CCGs like Hearthstone, so expect drafting and card combos rather than a long build-up phase.
Playing together
You can play offline or online without an account for single-player and local multiplayer, and online play with ranked matchmaking, private friend matches, alliances, daily missions, and monthly tournaments needs a free account registration. Remote Play Together is supported, so one person can host and others join in from their own setup. The design targets two players going at it in ten minutes, and the focus is on outthinking the other person in the moment rather than grinding. Card exchanges between players are part of the rules, which keeps each match different and stops one deck from becoming dominant.
What to know before starting
Deckbuilding here is deliberately minimal — you have only limited control over your deck, which pushes variety and tactical decisions over pre-match preparation. Cards unlock at a steady pace, you never receive duplicates you don't need, and there are no in-app purchases. There are also single-player challenge levels if you want to learn the systems before facing people. Come in expecting quick rounds where the winner is the one who balances city, military, and economy best and spots the right counter to the opponent's plan.