How to play Prism Riot

The rules fit on one card: match the energy or the symbol, and be the first to shed your hand. Everything else is a twist on that.

Updated September 25, 2026

The basics in six steps

1. Deal seven cards to each player and turn the top card of the deck face up.
2. On your turn, play one card that matches the active energy (colour) or the symbol on the top card. Wild PRISM cards play on anything.
3. Action cards change the game: FLIP reverses play, FREEZE skips the next player, +2 and +4 make them draw, SHIELD blocks an attack, SWAP trades hands.
4. Can't play? Draw one card and your turn passes.
5. Every card you play charges your Riot Meter; at 100% burst to shed two number cards of the active energy at once.
6. The first player to shed every card wins and scores the points left in everyone else's hands.

Matching, with an example

The top card is a Surge 5. You may play any Surge card (the Surge 9) or any 5. Once the Surge 9 is down, the next player may play any Surge card or any 9 — the Volt 9 changes the energy to Volt. The PRISM wild can be played at any point and its player names the next energy.

The four energies

Flare ▲ (red), Surge ● (blue), Volt ◆ (yellow) and Void ■ (violet). Every card carries its symbol as well as its colour, so the game is fully playable with any type of colour blindness.

Action and wild cards

See every card and its exact effect on the card meanings page. Short version: FLIP, FREEZE, +2, SHIELD and SWAP come in each energy; PRISM and +4 are wild.

The Riot Meter

Each card you play adds charge — 7 for a number (more in a combo), 18 for an action. Play three or more cards in a row without drawing and your combo climbs, which charges faster and scores a bonus. At 100% the RIOT BURST button appears: it removes up to two number cards of the active energy (three in Riot Rush) and passes the turn.

Rule packs

• Merciless: +6, +10, PURGE, FREEZE ALL, REV +4, ROULETTE and the 25-card mercy rule.
• Eclipse: ECLIPSE flips the table; action cards become their harsher dark twins.
• Eruption: the draw pile erupts 0–4 cards; BLAST and ALL BLAST erupt your rivals.
• House rules: Jump-In, Last Card Call, Doubles, 7-0, stacking and more.

Scoring

Numbers are worth face value, actions 20, Merciless actions 30 and wilds 50 (+10 is 60). The winner of a round scores everything left in the other hands. See how scoring works or keep score for a real table with the score calculator.