Rival Knights

Rival Knights is a 3D jousting game with a medieval setting. The player's character participates in a tournament organized by the king to become Champion of the Dragon and win the King's Chest. By entering, the character wants to win the money to pay back the debts of his lord and prevent Lord Cunnings from taking his lord's land. The main game mode consists of five leagues, unlocked gradually, that each contain five champions that need to be defeated. Each league is presented as a level path, sometimes with branches, based on different game modes. There are practice games, regular encounters, king of the hill as a short tournament, campaign battles against a champion, one chance battles for a large reward with no option to replay them, sponsored battles where better equipment is provided for a single event etc.

Online multiplayer consists of time limited events. There is the Festival of the Hunt played against friends and foes, and the Echelon Tournament as a series of matches against players worldwide with a grand prize for the best performances. Multiplayer is asynchronous and players are matched according to their tiers and statistics. After completing a match, a certain amount of time is provided for the opponent and then the results are compared.

The game uses two types of currencies, gold coins (basic) and gemstones (premium), that are earned during events. Gemstones are available as in-app purchases. They can be used to improve the character by buying and upgrading new helmets, armour, horses, lances and emblems. Gemstones can be used to skip the waiting times for upgrades to complete. Emblems are only an aesthetical upgrade. Players can choose between different emblems and colours to decorate the banner flag they carry. Equipment has a certain weight and it has to be kept under the horse's limit. The game uses a energy/stamina system with red royal seals for the main mode and blue social seals for the online multiplayer events. The seals can be refilled quickly by spending gemstones.

A joust is based on four phases. First the player can optionally select a defensive, offensive and/or speed boost in exchange for gemstones. Next, a timer counts down and by timing correctly a perfect start with a speed boost can be triggered. As the horses run towards each other, the speed can be increased by correctly timing as a marker moves up a curved meter. By tapping or clicking when it passes a 'perfect' or 'good' zone, the speed is increased. This meter is repeated multiple times before attacking. The final phase is about knocking off the opponent. The game zooms in and shows the lance for a few seconds while still moving. It needs to be dragged over the opponent and needs to get as close as possible to the weak spot for maximum damage. The center of the weak spot leads to a perfect attack. During the event icons near the top of the screen use three colours to show how the character is doing against the opponent (red, white and green). An opponent needs to be defeated in at least two categories to win. The performances are also greatly influenced by the starting equipment. After completing a joust the results are shown and rewards are provided.