Each player has two timers (unofficially referred to as the Buffer and the Timer). The buffer depletes itself while a player is taking their turn. When a player's Buffer hits 0 seconds, then their Timer will start depleting. When a Timer reaches 0 seconds remaining, the player whose time reached 0 loses. While the Buffer refills on every turn, the Timer does not.
Time in each mode[]
In each mode, there are varying Buffers and Timers, and they can change depending on other factors as well. For example, in Practice, the first two moves give both players less time, while in Ranked and Blitz, those two moves give players additional time. In addition, players get a longer Timer playing against AI.
| Practice | Ranked | Blitz | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | 1:00 | 0:30 | 0:15 |
| Buffer (Early) | 0:45 | 0:45 | 0:30 |
| Timer | 5:00 | 4:00 | 2:00 |
| Timer (Vs. AI) | 10:00 | ??? | ??? |
For Infernal and Hell AI, the Buffer and Timer are doubled compared to normal AI.
Note, however, that if the timer is low enough, time (up to 10 seconds) will be added to it on the start of your next move. In Friendly matches, time is added to your timer at the start of each move.
Friendly matches have the same timing as Practice matches, unless Blitz Tokens are used.
If you cannot make any moves, you will time out and lose. Due to this, being able to freeze and/or petrify all of your opponent's pieces also results in their loss. In the Tutorial you cannot time out even hitting 0. AIs cannot time out when they hit 0, so certain armies made by the AI and positions that would otherwise be stalemate will force you to surrender.