Game play errors, part 2: drawing, looking and the General Error

Each game play error has a penalty and a remedy, and the two are separate questions: the penalty is how the error is recorded, the remedy is how the game is put right. Four of the errors that judges meet most often concern cards coming out of a deck.

Forgetting to Draw Cards has no penalty (TR 702.4). The remedy depends on time. If the missed draws can be determined and no more than a full round cycle has passed, the player draws the missing cards, and otherwise the players just continue (TR 702.4.a.1 and TR 702.4.a.2). The error is usually a disadvantage to the player who made it, so it can upgrade when forgetting was obviously advantageous, such as a player near burning out. Judges should upgrade only when the advantage is obvious, and when it is ambiguous they should not (TR 702.4.b, TR 702.1.d and TR 702.1.d.1). Burning out is what a draw from an empty Main Deck causes (rule 315.4.b.1).

Looking at Extra Cards is a Warning for looking at more cards than an effect allows, for example more than a Predict effect does (rule 437.1). While a player looks at cards from a deck, those cards join a private group. Extra cards count as Looking at Extra Cards once they have touched a new private or secret group, and if they have not, the error is Looking at Secret Information instead (TR 702.5, TR 702.5.a and TR 702.5.b). The remedy, if the error is caught while the player is still looking, is that the next opponent in turn order looks at the private group and chooses the extra cards to shuffle back into the randomized part of the deck. If it is caught later, the players continue (TR 702.5.c.1 and TR 702.5.c.2).

Drawing Extra Cards is also a Warning (a player draws 1 in the Draw Phase, rule 414.2.a), and only this error is recorded, even though drawing extra cards is also looking at them (TR 702.12 and TR 702.12.a). The remedy again depends on where the extra cards are. If they have not yet been added to a private set, they are shuffled into the Main Deck. If they have, and it is within the round cycle, the next opponent in turn order looks at the hand and chooses the right number of cards to shuffle in. If it is discovered later that a player holds too many cards, the remedy is applied when it is found: the hand check, not "continue playing" (TR 702.12.b.1, TR 702.12.b.3 and TR 702.12.b.4).

The General Error is the catch-all: it is a Warning for any other violation of the Rules of Riftbound, such as a Standard Move that is not allowed (rule 144.1). The remedy is a rewind if possible, and otherwise the players continue (TR 702.16, TR 702.16.a and TR 702.16.c). Errors of this sort are generally public, and every player is expected to be mindful of the game state (TR 702.16.b). The OPL (Organized Play Level) changes how harshly all of this is applied. At low OPL penalties are generally less harsh, rewinds can be applied even when the erroring player gains an information advantage, and a choice that the opponent would make is made at random by a judge when a rewind cannot avoid it (TR 702.1.c and TR 702.1.c.1).