Strife: Shadows & Steam

About this board game

Strife: Shadows & Steam is a two-player strategy card game for 2 players that plays in around 60 minutes. Set in a changing Astaria where steam-powered technology rises alongside the magic of old, it challenges you to outmaneuver your opponent in a struggle for victory points.

Each player has the same hand of ten champions and simultaneously plays them to fight over key locations throughout Aerim. These locations are worth varying amounts of victory points, making every battle part of a larger contest of timing, positioning, and tactical judgment.

Every champion offers two distinct abilities that shape the flow of play:

• Battle abilities trigger during battles and help create powerful combinations.
• Legacy abilities can be used only while a champion is on top of the legacy pile, influencing what comes next.

Because your opponent’s options are always known, success depends on reading the developing situation and deciding how each champion will serve both the current battle and the next one. The unique combo-creating gameplay creates an intricate latticework of choices, where a champion’s future legacy may matter as much as its immediate strength.

The Fatestone adds a distinctive layer to tied battles. It begins at value one, and the player holding its die loses all ties. That player may pass the stone to the opponent to claim a victory in the tie, but each pass raises the Fatestone’s value by one. At the end of the game, its holder adds the final value to their score.

A stand-alone sequel to Strife: Legacy of the Eternals, Strife: Shadows & Steam introduces new characters and abilities while remaining fully compatible with the original game. Face champions from different ages in a strategic contest where every known option can still hide a difficult decision.