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Runebound Grimoire: Tactics Engine

Count it down. Then fire.

Cards

Premium

Pick a sector on the map. In a fight you move along five sectors of the ring; cards have a reach. A routine with a lower T-number than the last runs on count; the same or higher overrides. Count three down to T-0 to fire.

An archivist in a white pressure suit with a glowing tablet on the curved deck of a buried orbital station's hab ring, the blue edge of the world in a long viewport above, racks of violet data crystal, a countdown board reading 3 2 1 0, and the violet beam of the mass driver striking a haywire android and a sentinel turret.

A buried orbital station

Runebound Grimoire: Tactics Engine

Count it down. Then fire.

About Runebound Grimoire: Tactics Engine

Runebound Grimoire: Tactics Engine is a solo deckbuilder set in an orbital station that fell out of the sky, slowly, and was buried in the dust of the world it once watched. Its hab ring still turns. Its machines still keep their rounds, and its memory, a grimoire of routines written in crystal, still runs. You are its last archivist, with a pressure suit, a tablet of ten routines, seventy-two health and eight decks to descend to the Core Grimoire that keeps the whole station awake.

Every fight is played on five sectors of the curved hab ring. You start in sector 0; the machines hold the others. Distance is the whole game: an arc cutter reaches only the next sector, a sonar ping three, a railgun the length of the ring, and a machine whose attack cannot reach you drifts one sector closer instead, unless it is a turret bolted to the deck. Here it is you who moves: thrusters, mag boots and EVA leaps carry you from pad to pad, never through a machine, toward the one you want and away from the one you do not.

Every routine carries a T-number, T-3 to T-0, and the order you run them in decides what they do. Run a routine on count, first in a turn or with a lower T-number than the last, and it does its nominal effect. Run one with the same T-number or a higher one and it overrides, and does its second effect, which is never just a weaker copy: an Arc Cutter that would strike instead shields you, a Railgun leaves its target open, a Reboot that would load two more routines gives you charge. Count three routines down to T-0 and the mass driver fires: the board over the ring blazes 3, 2, 1, 0, and a violet beam runs the length of the ring through every machine on it.

Between fights you take a routine or salvage, patch yourself up in a med bay, or read an archive and decide what to keep. Each descent is a fresh station from a seed, and the daily challenge gives everyone the same one. The game saves where you leave it, in this browser only.

How to play

  1. Pick a sector on the map. Each fight is played on five sectors of the hab ring: you start in sector 0 and the machines hold sectors 1 to 4, each showing its next move above it.
  2. A routine that strikes one machine has a reach, shown in its corner as R: the sectors between you and the machine must be no more than that. A machine whose attack cannot reach you drifts one sector closer instead, unless it is bolted to the deck.
  3. You move, the machines mostly stay: Thruster Burst, Mag Boots and EVA Leap carry you along the ring, never through a machine, and some overrides make you fall back.
  4. Every routine carries a T-number from T-3 to T-0. Run it on count, first in a turn or with a lower T-number than the last, and it does its nominal effect. Run it with the same or a higher T-number and it overrides: its second effect. Count three routines or more down to T-0 and the mass driver fires: 7 to every machine, once a turn.
  5. You have three charge a turn. Between fights take a routine or salvage, patch yourself up in a med bay, or read an archive. Beat the Core Grimoire on the last deck.

Controls

  • Run a routine — Tap it, or press its number 1 to 9; then tap a machine, or press its number, when a target is asked for
  • Let the ring turn (end your turn) — The button, E, Ⓧ
  • Cancel a routine you picked — Escape, Ⓑ
  • Choose a sector, a reward or an option — Tap it, or press 1 to 9; S skips a reward
  • Move between buttons — Arrow keys, Tab, D-pad; Space or Enter or Ⓐ presses
  • Pause — P, Escape or Start

Frequently asked questions

When does a routine override?

When its T-number is the same as the last routine you ran this turn, or higher. A lower T-number runs on count. The first routine of every turn runs on count, which makes T-3 routines good openers and poor follow-ups.

How do I fire the mass driver?

Run at least three routines on count in one turn, falling, ending on a T-0: for example T-2, T-1, T-0, or T-3, T-1, T-0. The driver deals 7 to every machine on the ring, once a turn. The line above your routines keeps the count.

What is reach?

How many sectors away a routine or a machine can hit. A routine with no machine in reach is dimmed and says why; a machine with nobody in reach drifts closer, unless it is bolted to the deck.

Why can I not move?

You cannot move through a machine or off the ends of the ring. Kill or wait out the machine in the way, or fall back with an override.

Does it save my run?

Yes, in this browser only: the map, your grimoire, your salvage and the fight you are in, every sector and this turn's count included. Your unfinished run, best score and badges are never uploaded.

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