The bag is the deck
Drafting a shape adds it to future draws. Weight upgrades alter probability without pretending randomness disappeared.
PROJECT / NORTH STAR
Build the bag. Break the curse.
Saved locally
FALLING-BLOCK DECK-BUILDER / 1–2 PLAYERS
Every piece is a card.
Every gap is a bet.
Descend through a roguelike foundry by drafting strange polyominoes, bending the odds of your shape bag, and sending blocks directly into cursed enemies before their spells twist your board.
CURSECASTER HEALTH42
FORGED COMBO×4+31 ATTACK
Ugly pieces make clever players
Tiny fillers rescue bad wells. Five-cell monsters create explosive clears but make the bag harder to pilot.
The enemy curses, not stacks
Enemy avatars have health and telegraphed spells. Your attention stays on surviving and mastering your own evolving board.
THE 45-SECOND HEARTBEAT
Place. Clear. Pressure. Adapt.
- 01Read the queue
Plan around the next three weighted draws.
- 02Forge the stack
Place for clean clears or risk a combo setup.
- 03Send & earn
Every occupied block sent pays $1 and pressures the rival.
- 04Draft or augment
Reweight the bag or save money for block upgrades.
OPEN DESIGN QUESTION
When does a weird shape feel earned?
Test the Plus, Pixel, and U-piece separately before combining them in one run.
PLAYABLE PROOF / DESCENT 01
Break the Scrap Oracle.
Build on an expanded 12 × 22 board. Every sent block deals one health damage and earns $1 while the Oracle periodically warps your run with telegraphed curses.
CURRENT BUILDPVE · SOLO + RELAY DUO
ROUND 1LINES 0SENT 0COMBO ×0MONEY $0
CURSE EFFECTCLEAR
FORGE CODEX / VOLUME I
The book of shapes.
Not a collectible grid—a research catalogue. Every silhouette records its job, liability, and the question that earns it a place in the bag.
VOLUMEI21 / 21 ENTRIES
FORGE CODEX / VOLUME II
The book of upgrades.
Twenty hypotheses for changing draws, geometry, income, curse answers, and partner conversation. Pin only what deserves the next implementation slot.
VOLUMEII20 / 20 ENTRIES
PVE DESCENT / 20–30 MINUTES
Descend through the Hexworks.
Choose encounters by curse family and reward. Every enemy is an avatar with health and an incantation pattern; no competing board demands your attention.
Draft a shape
Add a new polyomino at low initial weight. Strong identity, growing variance.
Typical offer: 0.45 weightBend probability
Raise a trusted piece or suppress an awkward family. Transparent odds are always visible.
Typical offer: ±25–40%Thin the bag
Pay money to remove one shape entirely. Powerful consistency at a real economy cost.
Typical cost: $120CURSE GRAMMAR / ENCOUNTER VARIETY
Enemies distort your plan, not simulate another player.
Crooked Draw
SHAPEForces a hostile wonky shape into the queue.
Lead Weight
TEMPODoubles gravity for two placements.
Rotation Seal
CONTROLLocks rotation for the active piece.
Fogged Forecast
READHides the preview for two placements.
RUN ECONOMY
Performance funds adaptation.
| Source | Reward | Purpose | Guardrail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block sent | $1 + 1 enemy health damage | Unify offense and earnings | Every clear sends at least four |
| Curse survived | $5 at encounter end | Reward adapting under pressure | Shown in the payout breakdown |
| Shape augment | $75–$180 | Specialize a block family | Interesting behavior before raw damage |
| Forge node | Augment, retire, widen, or ward | Build identity | Purchases compete for one wallet |
| Boss | Blueprint unlock | Meta progression | Unlocks options, not raw stats |
BALANCE / WEIGHTED BAG
See the odds before you trust them.
Tune an example run bag, inspect exact draw probability, and simulate a hundred pieces.
BAG WEIGHTS
Relative draw weight
THEORETICAL DISTRIBUTION
Every draw, disclosed
SEEDED SAMPLE
Ready to draw
The sample uses a repeatable seed so a balance change can be compared honestly.
RULES / PRODUCTION MODEL
One stack, readable consequences.
These are the standing rules for the first vertical slice. Anything else stays outside the build until a test earns it.
BAG
Weighted independent draws
Every unlocked piece has a visible relative weight. Three-piece preview protects planning; no hidden pity system in the first test.
ATTACK
Sent blocks are damage
Every block sent removes one enemy health and pays $1. The opponent has no simulated board until an optional late PvP mode.
CURSES
Pressure is telegraphed
Enemy avatars cast timed shape, gravity, rotation, and preview curses. The next incantation is always named in advance.
CO-OP
Relay ownership
Partners alternate pieces, share one queue and stack, and earn a team combo only through consecutive clears. Hold begins locked for the whole team.
META
Blueprints expand possibility
Boss wins unlock shapes and cursecasters for future runs. Permanent bonuses never increase damage or starting health.
FAILURE
Top-out ends the fight
A lost fight returns to the last forge with one bag reweight. It should teach a correction without erasing the entire run.
FIRST-PROOF NUMBERS
PvE combat contract
| Action | Base output | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clear 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 | 4 / 10 / 18 / 30 blocks | Every clear advances health damage and money |
| Sent block | 1 damage + $1 | One readable number drives both combat and economy |
| Wonky clear | +3 sent blocks | Small identity reward, not automatic superiority |
| Combo continuation | +2 per chain step | Creates an attack rhythm across placements |
| Standard incantation | Every 11 seconds | Enough time to read and adapt |
| Board | 12 × 22 cells | More room for mutations and co-op planning |
| Hold | Locked · $90 upgrade | Makes a familiar safety tool part of progression |
EDITABLE SCOPE
Feature board
Every feature carries a proof statement. Move the evidence, not just the card.
PLAYTEST LAB / CONTROLLED RUNS
Test one thing at a time.
Load a repeatable setup, watch behavior instead of teaching, then record the decision. These five experiments are the shortest path to a friend-ready MVP.
SESSION PROTOCOL
Keep a friend test under 25 minutes.
- 01Say only the goal and controls printed on screen.
- 02Run one preset without changing the rules mid-fight.
- 03Ask what they planned—not whether it was “fun.”
- 04Record keep, tune, remove, or retest before discussing new ideas.
SESSION MEMORY
Evidence and decisions
MVP / FRIEND TEST GATE
One clear finish line.
The current priority is not more content. It is a stable two-fight run that three friends can play, understand, and give structured feedback on.
MVP READINESS58%7 / 12
CURRENT TARGET
Friend Playtest Build 01
Solo and local relay · two encounters · three functioning upgrades · first audio pass · structured session log.
DEFINITION OF READY
Interactive checklist
PRIORITY GUARDRAIL
When a new idea arrives, ask one question.
Does this unblock the next friend playtest or answer an open experiment?
If yes, place it in Now. If not, capture it on the Feature board and keep moving. Side quests are welcome; they just should not quietly replace the milestone.
PRODUCTION DOCS
Keep the build explainable.
STANDING PROMPT
Protect the differentiator.
Build the smallest proof that changing a falling-block bag creates understandable strategy. Keep probability visible, curse pressure telegraphed, and team ownership unambiguous. Expand only after players deliberately draft for a plan.