Oxbow Deckbuilder
River card roguelite
Game information
- Category
- Board & Card
- Controls
- Touch, mouse, keyboard
- Languages
- 20 languages
- Price
- Free
About Oxbow Deckbuilder
Something at the mouth of the river is drinking it dry. You push a flat-bottomed boat off from the headwaters and fight your way down through the drowned fen to the salt flats, where the tide itself has a mouth.
A single-player deckbuilder in three river acts: fight with a hand of cards, take one of three new cards after each win, beat a boss per act.
How to play Oxbow Deckbuilder
Pick Hale or Wren and travel down a branching river map, choosing each fork: fights, elites, unknown events, markets, camps, chests and a boss at the end of each of the three acts. In a fight you draw 5 cards and have 3 energy a turn. Every card shows its cost in the top corner; Attacks deal damage, Skills give Guard or apply effects, Powers stay for the rest of the fight. Enemies show what they will do next above their heads, with the damage already counted, so you can Guard against a big hit or strike first. Guard blocks damage until the start of your next turn. Tap a card to see what its keywords mean, tap again or tap an enemy to play it, or drag it onto the target. End turn asks once more when you still have cards you can play. After each fight you take one of three cards or skip; elites also drop relics that change the rules, and bosses offer a choice of powerful boss relics. At camps you rest to heal or temper a card to upgrade it. Your run is saved after every move: close the page and it continues where you left it. Every run earns experience for the character you played and unlocks new cards and relics; beating the first boss unlocks Wren, and winning a run unlocks Undertow, a stack of ten harder rules. The daily run is the same river and character for everyone. Keys: 1 to 9 pick a card, arrows pick a target, Enter plays, E ends the turn, D opens your deck.
Controls
- Touch
- Tap a card to see what it does, tap it again or tap an enemy to play it, or drag it straight onto its target; the map and menus use the same taps.
- Mouse
- Click a card to select it, then click an enemy or the End Turn button, or drag a card onto its target in one motion.
- Keyboard
- Keys 1 to 9 pick a card, the arrow keys pick a target, Enter plays the selected card, E ends the turn, and D opens your deck.
Features
Two fighters, two styles
Play Hale, who leans on Guard and Might, or Wren, unlocked once you beat the first boss, who fights with Venom and Thorns instead.
Three acts, one boss each
The river runs from the Headwaters through the Drowned Fen to the Salt Mouth, branching into fights, elites, markets, camps, chests and events before a boss ends each act.
Undertow hard mode
Win a run once and Undertow unlocks: ten modifiers that stack one on top of the last, from enemies hitting harder to smaller heals after a boss.
Daily challenge
Once a day everyone gets the same river and the same character, and your run is scored and timed against everyone else who played it.
Twenty goals to chase
Separate goals track things like a hit for 30 or more, a win with eight relics, or beating a boss with each character, checked automatically as you play.
Progress saved on its own
Every move is saved to your browser as you play. No account exists; a sync code moves your progress, unlocked cards and daily streak to another device.
Tips
- Read the intents before you play anything: a turn where nobody attacks is a turn to spend all your energy on damage or Powers.
- Skip card rewards that do not fit your deck; a lean deck draws its best cards more often than a thick one.
- Exposed makes an enemy take 50% more from every attack hit, so apply it before your big hits, not after.
- Take elites when your HP is high and a camp is ahead on the same branch; their relics are what carry a run into the third act.
- Venom ignores Guard and ticks every turn, so against a boss with thick Guard a Venom deck wins the long fight.
Frequently asked questions
How do you win a run?
Beat the boss waiting at the end of each of the three acts, from the Headwaters down through the Drowned Fen to the Salt Mouth. Winning with either character unlocks Undertow, the hard mode.
Is there a difficulty setting?
No easy or normal toggle. Every enemy shows its next move above its head before it acts, so a fight is about reading that and building your deck around it, not a difficulty slider.
What does Undertow, the hard mode, change?
Winning a run unlocks it one step at a time, up to ten stacked rules: enemies deal more damage, elites and bosses carry more HP, you start with a Doubt curse, resting heals less, and more.
Does the game save your progress?
Yes. Every move is saved to your browser automatically, no account needed. A sync code carries your unlocks, cards and daily streak over to a phone or another browser.
Can you play Oxbow Deckbuilder on a phone?
Yes. It runs in portrait or landscape, and every card is played with a tap or a drag onto its target, the same as a click and drag on desktop.
Is there a daily challenge?
Yes. Once a day, everyone plays the same river with the same character, and the run is timed and scored against everyone else's daily attempt.
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