Out of six attempts, I only actually played Rise and Ruin two times. Three of the attempts only gave me an empty lobby and no opponents to play. One of them had only one player that would not accept a challenge and would not speak to me, and the other two consisted of logging in, seeing two other players in the lobby and then quickly challenging one of the players to a duel before they could log out. The game is a simple collectible card game, but instead of a virtual game-mat or tabletop, you are represented by an actual avatar that fights turn-based style like a slow match of Mortal Kombat.

The very first fight I participated in ran pretty well, and since I am used to the slower pace of combat that turn-based represents I had no issues with the combat speed. Essentially, you attack by selecting certain attack cards (and sometimes modifier cards that give bonuses) and then hitting "attack".  To defend, you pick out a defense card and hit the button.

The characters come to life and go through the round of combat, which for low-end graphics look pretty awesome.   The animations are smooth, and while not the prettiest game in the world, it IS running in your browser. I used only a mouse, and the game seemed to have no use for other controls except for typing in the chat box. My TAB key did nothing, and arrow keys seemed to work sometimes and malfunction at others.

I'm sure these are bugs they might work out, or it could be the case that the developers only wanted the mouse to be the default controller. Also, the game only ran in IE, which disturbed me. I never use IE.

Like most card combat games, it is simple to play and hard to master. I only played two games before I hit another dry spell for opponents, but even within those two games, I caught a glimpse into a rather fun independent game that could easily wear away a few hours of your weekend.

In fact, I have a real love for independent games like this. If there is one thing the "Internetz" are good at, it's giving you access to all sorts of independent content and entertainment, and it's always nice to see a small outfit put together a fun product.

There is also a cash shop type set-up to buy booster packs and optional cards, but its standard collectible card game stuff. Still, buying additional cards and making a deck is a game in itself.

Granted, there is not much more to the game, and even the website sort-of says so: "That's it! Of course, the game gets a lot more complex as you learn the intricacies, strategy, etc., but this is enough to get you started. See you in battle! "

There is training to be done and other parts of the game to be explored, as far as I can tell, but they really need to go out and get themselves some bodies to test their game. I found it ironic that they are using "R and R" so much, as WAR does with "RvR," but as WAR found out with promised community quests and other activities, you need actual players or it does not work.

Rise and Ruin could definitely benefit from a solo game or two for training, something more than just a few text tutorials on the website. They might even consider having a volunteer or two logged on to play new players. They could probably do this easily considering how small their community is.

Overall, the game looks good and plays well enough. The game is easily accessible one handed gamers and motion impaired gamers.  In addition, there are no colorblind issues I was aware of, or a cheese for deaf gamers.  Giving this title in mostly accessible ranking.

Will it be more than a small browser based combat card game? No. Nevertheless, it is nice to see a small company working on a small project and delivering essentially, what they promised. So many small game companies promise so much more than what they are, and are often victims of their own self-created hype. I think that Rise and Ruin does not have that problem.

Go check it out, it's in open beta and can be found at http://riseandruin.com