Apocalypse.io

It is a top-down, competitive card-collecting game where players try to survive a zombie apocalypse while managing their resources, open card packs, and enjoy this fast-paced card game.

In this game, players open card packs to collect resources for survival. The players can trade cards between them in order to improve their resources, but the players are competing to survive the longest. Each players card pack holds different amounts of resources, so the players will not have the same capabilities. This is to guide the player into strategic trades.

Open card packs -> combine cards together -> use new card -> trade with other player->open more packs

Gameplay Manual

Objective: Survive through round 5 by trading with your opponent, fighting monsters, and not starving. 

Rules:

1. You can not exceed your maximum allotted actions.
2. “Guys” cannot be traded
3. You cannot lie about a trade (no card tricks allowed)
4. You cannot hide your cards
5. Each guy can only attack one enemy at a time, multiple guys can attack the same enemy.
6.  Each enemy can only attack one guy at a time, multiple enemies can attack the same guy.

Setup:

1. Make individual stacks of every card type.
2. Create two stack (these are the deck for each player)
   1. Player 1 Stack:
      1. 16 Wood
      2. 4 Stone 
      3. 3 Berry Bushes
      4. 2 Apples
      5. 3 Soils
      6. 3 Seeds
   2. Player 2 Stack
      1. 16 Stone
      2. 4 Wood
      3. 3 Berry Bushes
      4. 2 Apples
      5. 3 Soils
      6. 3 Seeds
3. Place one extra Berry Bush for each player in hand at the start of the first round
4. Each player starts with one Normal Guy  
5. Pick out some type of game piece that can keep track of how many times a berry bush was used. (we use bamboo pieces from the game Takenoko, but as seen in the video you can just use scrap paper as well in a pinch)

Mechanic:

1. Each player
2. A “card pack” consists of five cards
   1. The first card pack must include 1 berry bush
3. You do not use an action or equip a spear or armor
4. Things that use 1 action to perform
   1. Crafting a card
   2. Harvesting plants
5. If a guy harvests a berry bush, he gets a berry
   1. The player can harvest a berry bush twice
6. Gain gold by killing an enemy (the amount of gold is specified on the enemy’s card)
7. Fight by choosing which guys you want to attack.
   1. If your guy has attack equal to or greater than the enemy’s health, kill the enemy
   2. If your guy has an attack that is less than the enemy’s health, the enemy takes that amount of damage. Then, the enemy will attack your guy and take off health equal to the enemy’s attack. 
   3. Repeat the fighting until all the enemy you attacked is dead or you do not have any more attacking guys
8. If you gain a guy, gain two actions that round

Gameplay:

1. Each player opens up a card pack (draw 5 cards)
2. Players have the option to use their gold to buy a card pack (3 gold)
3. Action Round
   1. For each guy you control, you get 2 actions
   2. One action can be used by interacting cards, 
      1. Crafting a card
      2. Harvesting plants

1. Trading Round
   1. Players have the chance to trade cards with each other 
   2. Players are not forced to trade, but it is highly encouraged
2. Event Phase
   1. Players will have to fight against incoming enemies
3. Meal Timer
   1. Players will use their food items to sustain their guys (1 food per guy)
   2. If you can’t feed a guy, he leaves you.
4. End state
   1. If one player loses all their guys, they lose and the other player wins
   2. If both players have no guys, no one wins
   3. After 5 rounds, whoever still has guys left, wins
   4. If both players survive the most coins wins

Events

1. Round 1: 1 zombie attacks 
2. Round 2: 2 zombie attack
3. Round 3: 1 wolf attack
4. Round 4: 2 wolves attack
5. Round 5: 1 armored zombie and 2 zombies attack

• Is it representative of the core loop you wanted?

Yes this game is very representative of the core game loop because it is basically the core game loop in physical form.

• Did it give you an answer to the question you posed, and if so, what is the answer?
• Remember the answer can be negative (i.e.: "this idea is not fun") and the prototype can still be a success!

It did answer our question facilitating trade between players as a core mechanic of resource management, but our prototype ultimately was unable to encourage players to manage both players resources simultaneously.  The players did not feel a need to communicate about trades before the trade step, so they did not really manage materials between them.

• How would you change it, if at all?

I would change the game so that you could trade at anytime. I think that would allow players more freedom when trading, so they would be more actively talking about materials.

• Where would you take the idea next?

I would take this game to a digital version where we could have the card packs digitally and change the action numbers into timers. I would also add more complexity when it came to crafting items and events.