Turn-based
Learning paths through this topic
Build a kill streak that keeps going only if you keep up the pace
A score multiplier that rises with each quick kill should drop when the player slows down. If the time allowed stays the same, it is a gentle reward; if it shrinks, it is a challenge. This entry shows how to count the streak, when it breaks, and what the screen should show.
Push an enemy back and let it hit a wall or fall into the water
Shoving is a fun tool in an open map, but the details bite: what if something stands behind, what if the edge of the map comes, does the fall end the push? This entry fixes the order of checks and the extra damage for hitting something.
Build a three-hit combo that needs good timing, not button mashing
Mashing the attack button should not give the same result as pressing it at the right moment. This entry sets up a chain of three blows where each one can only follow in a short window, and where a late press starts over instead of failing silently.
Track hurt arms and legs, and let the excess damage reach the torso
Called shots and injured limbs add a lot of survival flavour, but a leg that can take only so much has to do something with the rest of the blow. This entry shows hit locations, a spill rule, what a crippled leg does to your speed and which hits end the game.
Show one damage number for a shotgun blast instead of nine
Every pellet pops up its own little number and the screen turns to confetti. Adding them up is easy, but the way you decide which hits belong together decides whether the number appears on time or never at all during long fire.
Make mud and snow cost extra movement without trapping anyone
Slow ground is a classic way to make terrain matter, but a tile that costs more than a character's whole move can never be entered, and a half-spent move that allows a big step is exploitable. This entry settles the rule for the leftover points.
End a fight when the sun rises and the night monsters flee
Some enemies only live in the dark. When morning comes in the middle of a fight, who is left, who leaves and what counts as a win? This entry gives a clean ending for mixed groups and for the unlucky moment when the last hero falls at sunrise.
Change the light when dusk arrives during a long fight
Fights take game time, and in a survival game the sun keeps moving while you swing. Lights, visibility and monster behaviour should change at the right moment, even when a long rest jumps over several days. This entry explains how to catch every crossing exactly once.
Let a loud fight pull in nearby monsters, one group at a time
In an open world nobody fights alone: the noise of a fight should bring the neighbours. Too simple and every monster on the map arrives at once, too strict and noise never matters. This entry shows a noise rule that fades and arrives with a delay.
Make a sword hit each enemy once per swing, unless it should hit more
The blade stays inside an enemy for several frames, so one swing deals the damage three or four times. Fixing that is easy, but then moves meant to hit several times stop working. This entry handles both cases with one small record.
Let a good meal give a lasting bonus without wasting a worse one
Cooking for a bonus is a core pleasure of survival, but what if you eat a second dish while the first still works? Stacking everything breaks the game, and silently eating a worse dish with no effect feels like a robbery. This entry sets the rule and who loses what.
Let small scratches not break a long action, but a heavy blow does
Setting a bone, lighting a fire or building a wall takes a few turns, and being hit should sometimes stop it. Stopping on any damage makes long actions useless, and never stopping makes them free. This entry picks a middle path that players can read.