I’m one of the first to try the new Riot Games card game Project K — rules, mechanics, how to play

Updated on December 14, 1:36 p.m. (GMT+8): Added new information on how to win the game from point seven to point eight.

Updated on December 14, 1:30 p.m. (GMT+8): Added more information on number of cards, battlefield rules and more from ONE Esports interview with game director Dave Guskin.

At TFT Macao Open 2024, Riot Games showcased their newest League of Legends universe game for the first time in-person, codenamed Project K. (Yes, like how they called it Project L before revealing 2XKO.)

I was one of the first to play in a media preview before doors opened to the public on December 13, 2024. Just like the trailer, we were seated in a group of four to experience Project K’s multiplayer card game element. It’s also possible to play 1v1 if you prefer a more competitive setup.

Game designer Jonathan Moormann explained the card game’s mechanics, rules, and objectives to our table and answered all our questions during our playtest. Here’s everything we know so far.

Project K objectives: how to win

First and foremost, how do you win in Project K, Riot Games’ physical card game? By being the first to score eight points.

On your playmat, you’ll notice there’s a counter on the left that goes from one to eight. You score points by fighting on the battlefield, winning, and retaining your position at your battlefields of choice. This is similar to Marvel Snap where you’re fighting for locations.

In Project K’s case, you don’t need to own more locations, you just need to be strategic about when and how you fight for them using champions or units so that you earn more points.

Gaining points is straightforward, but there are two special conditions for getting form point seven to point eight. To win in the final round, players must either:

1. Hold a location and receiving the final point, or
2. Conquer all three locations in one turn

This means that players have to at the very least hold onto one location and allow a chance for each player to knock them off, or set up a powerful enough combo to achieve all three locations in one turn.

Battlefields correspond to the number of players

Because we played four multiplayer, there are three battlefields in the middle for contest. They also have their own unique effects once occupied. We shuffled four battlefield cards, randomly picked three, and placed them in the middle.

In a 1v1 setup, only two battlefields will be at play.

When you build your deck, picking three battlefields to go along with it is part and parcel of strategy planning. In a best-of-three match, each player selects one unique battlefield from their deck to be in play. You’re not allowed to pick the same one twice.

Project K playmat

• Point counter numbered from one to eight
• Champion chip to track points on the counter
• Runes
• Champion
• Legend
• Main Deck
• Trash
• Base
• Battlefield

Project K Champions and Legends

There are 40 cards in a Project K deck, including the Legend card. You can only have a maximum of three copies of any card in a single deck. Every player starts with a Champion and Legend, pictured in the top row.

Project K game director Dave Guskin told ONE Esports that they settled on 40 cards after trying out different configurations, feeling this was “a good balance.” Going too small would feel restrictive while too large a deck would make you feel like you’re not drawing the cards you want.

Your Legend doesn’t change and cannot be taken away from you. It’s the defining trait of your deck. Each Legend, which are based off champions, possesses unique effects. In Jinx’s case, I can draw one card if I have one or less cards in my hand at the beginning of the turn.

Your Champion (in this case, also Jinx — they have to match) is a playable unit. It’s the only playable unit that’s faced up at the start of the game.

There’s nothing special other than the fact that you start with one on the board. Just like all other units, you’ll need the required runes to summon them into your base, and then the battlefield.

You can have more than one trademark champion card in your deck up to a maximum of three, so don’t worry if your first one dies in battle. There’s a chance to pull another into play when you draw a card at the start of your turn.

Note that each champion also has a signature spell that pairs with them. In Jinx’s case, her powerful spell card is called — spoilers — Super Mega Death Rocket. It deals five to a unit anywhere, staying true to her global ultimate range in League of Legends.

Project K rules: basic mechanics, how to play

What happens at the start of your turn?

At the start of every turn, take two rune cards (white pile) and one card from your main deck (dark blue). All your runes are reactivated too, so make sure to flip all horizontal ones to vertical.

From there, you can take as many actions as you want so long as you have resources to do so.

Runes are Project K’s resource

Your resource in Project K are runes, distinguished by the white card back on the left of your playmat. When you draw them, you place them in the “Runes” section that’s adjacent as shown in the image above.

Runes undergo two mechanics:

• Exhaust
• Return

Runes for each champion deck are colored. In this case, Jinx’s deck has purple and red runes. To play cards, you’ll need to exhaust the corresponding number of runes. First, ensure you have enough based on the number required as indicated on the left corner of the cards.

Once you do, you can exhaust them during your turn by turning them horizontally, similar to Magic the Gathering.

Notice the reverse/recycle symbol below the number cost of a unit? Those mean that when the card is played, the player has to return one of the energy runes of that specific type back into their rune pile. It’s essentially tax for using that unit.

Not every unit that can be summoned has them. In the bottom photograph, you’ll notice that Noxus Hopeful doesn’t have tax (absence of the reverse/recycle symbol), but Vi does.

How to summon champions and other units

1. Ensure you have the required number of runes
2. Exhaust runes
3. Place summoned unit into your base exhausted (horizontal placing)
4. On the next turn, they will be un-exhausted (turn them back vertically)
5. Return required rune of the specified color by placing it at the bottom of your rune pile (ie. pay tax)
6. You can then summon them on the battlefield to conquer or contest territory by fighting opposing units

How to fight on the battlefield in Project K

Now comes the number on the right next to the Riot Games fist bump. That’s your champion power. It tells you how much damage they deal and take.

The image below shows a battlefield contest between two summoned champions where players place their units adjacent to the battlefield of choice then do math.

While it’s straightforward that larger numbers kill off units with small numbers, it can get a bit more tricky when you have more than one unit defending a battlefield — the attacker chooses which units they wish to deal damage to, meaning you can spread out the damage or kill off one opponent.

At the same time, opponents can respond with spells if they possess any.

Note that you can field more than one champion or unit, so if you wish to reinforce your defense of a particular battlefield, you can put more eggs in that basket and expand your army there. Likewise you can summon multiple units as long as you have the resources to.

Just like many card games, as you progress into mid and late game, higher cost units and spells can be used. In Jinx’s deck, I had an eight cost Possession card that allowed me to take control of an opponent’s champion on the battlefield. That’s pretty cool.

What hardcore TCG players and non-TCG players can expect from Project K

Speaking to Dave after the trial test, I wanted to know what these two very different camps of players could expect going into Project K. He is, after all, the former Executive Producer of Legends of Runeterra and a former Magic the Gathering designer and pro player.

“One thing we’re excited about is supporting the kind of hardcore competitive TCG players with events in stores and tournaments and the ability to become the champion,” said Dave. “The game is very skill-testing, so there’s a lot to invest yourself in and get better at. If you love league characters or the League universe and you love TCGs, this is the perfect game.”

“If you love the league universe and you haven’t really played many card games or you’re mostly in other kinds of games — if you want to have an experience with people who also love this universe, this is a pretty easy game to learn comparatively. It’s not super simple, but it is, I think, learnable,” said Dave.

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