An eternal conflict for the land of Ironwood rages between two factions: the steadfast and industrious Ironclad, colonists of the iron mountains, and the fierce Woodwalkers, swift and deadly shadows of the forests. Both factions fight for ultimate control of the land, due to its greatest treasure: the Larimor Crystals — a mysterious substance that holds immense energy within.

The Ironclad extract the essence of the crystals and harness their energy to power their machines and mechanical inventions. If they succeed, their giant forges will flood the land with endless armies and impose absolute dominion over Ironwood.

The Woodwalkers use the raw magical power of the crystals to discover and reclaim three ancient totems from secret ritual locations hidden in the mountains. When gathered, their combined strength will summon the Guardian, the ancient protector of the forests, to eradicate the Ironclad once and for all.

Ironwood is a lightweight rules, highly asymmetric, tactical card game for 1-2 players. In each round, players take turns playing 3 cards from their faction, using them for their unique actions. These include moving units, initiating battles, mining crystals, providing temporary passive boosts, and much more.

When a battle breaks out, the same cards are used for their military values, in a simultaneous bid to gain battle bonuses, to inflict or prevent losses, and to enhance their units' Dominion value to win the conflict.