Adored this game. Captivating, fun, quick, easy to learn, and you really feel like you can master it somehow. I do wonder if the cards are truly random or if the Vamps have preferences. Wonder that about the "+X" specials too - got caught in some of them. Great design, as in "cool looking" and that the vampires are actually horryfing. Also really like the pun in the title.
The arrow hint token is confusing me. I had a 3, > on the left and < on the right. The left card wound up being a 7, the right was a 5. If both numbers were higher, what are the orientation of the arrows representing?
Thank you, What’s confusing me more is when the symbols go vertical, but I get it now. I was also reading the equation backward at times, I thought it was supposed be read with the unknown number first every time for some reason.
I've once again stumbled onto this game. Three years ago, I left a bitter, vaguely passive-aggressive comment, and I feel like this game deserves a slightly better review, one less clogged with salt.
Aesthetically, this game is stellar. Clearly, a lot of care and effort has been put into the way that its elements look and feel, from the butter-smooth tweens and slides in all its GUI to the smaller details, like the way that hint tiles are thrown into the air from the stake's impact. One touch I particularly appreciated was the grayscale, bit-crushed vampire portraits; they exude uncanny, inhuman menace in a way that works perfectly for the tone.
I deeply admire the visual style on display here, which makes the gameplay they serve so much more disappointing. The core issue, I think, is that the elements of risk create boredom, rather than excitement. The omnipresent threat of completely wiping your save file severely discourages risky play, especially in the last few levels. For all the prompting the game does to "double down," the temptation of taking a 50/50 on the stake after seven draws, or on a risky hint card, or on the direct verbal invitation of your undead dealer, my response was always some variation of the sentiment "no, that's a stupid and self-destructive idea, why would I risk all of my progress for a few extra millilitres?"
Without that high-roller's thrill, what risk is left only serves to create frustration. I find it especially aggrevating that rounds can be lost before even using a single hint card, especially against Orlok, who I swear ends more than half of all rounds like this before they've even begun.
So, those are my thoughts. Full disclosure, I have not finished this game: I very quickly grew bored of the cycle of "duel Zver 5 times for a blood safety buffer, duel Orlok to lose it all on three one-turn rounds, repeat." It's a game I really want to enjoy for its sheer visual style alone, but the gameplay just lets it down for me. I dunno, maybe I'm just too risk-averse to really enjoy gambling, whether the fake PICO-8 game kind or otherwise.
+ can be used on a card that hasn't yet been flipped. it tells you a minimum number for the card. so 9+ could be 9 or vampire (which has a value of 10), 5+ could be any number higher than 5, and 2+ could be any number.
<> is used on a card that has been flipped over, and tells you if the surrounding cards are lower or higher.
the square will select an area of 4 cards, one of which is the vampire card. any cards outside of the area are safe to flip.
I keep coming back to this game, ever since I first saw it on the Game Jam 3 years ago. Honestly hooked on it. The execution is simple yet captivating enough to keep you going. Easily one of the best games on this website. Major kudos to the dev.
This was a delight to play! I normally don't mesh with this sort of game, but the information was portrayed well enough that I was able to get into the groove of things very quickly.
Clever how you (I'm guessing) predicted that people would lean hard on the 2x2 token strategy, so you punished it hard. That said, figuring that out made the final opponent much more predictable, so I think it might've helped at the end.
It was interesting to see how some of the tradeoffs you had to make to boost the difficulty, like the vampire placement on the entire board, or how you place the 2x2 token over the most unrevealed cards, ended up making it easier in other ways.
I think that actually ended up making the game more compelling. I keep coming back to this; great job!
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Adored this game. Captivating, fun, quick, easy to learn, and you really feel like you can master it somehow. I do wonder if the cards are truly random or if the Vamps have preferences. Wonder that about the "+X" specials too - got caught in some of them. Great design, as in "cool looking" and that the vampires are actually horryfing. Also really like the pun in the title.
hm. first level was fun, but logical thinking does it. later levels its just luck? so not so fun
The arrow hint token is confusing me. I had a 3, > on the left and < on the right. The left card wound up being a 7, the right was a 5. If both numbers were higher, what are the orientation of the arrows representing?
It's a mathematical symbol represeting which one is greater. The point is in the direction of the smaller number, so 7>3<5
Thank you, What’s confusing me more is when the symbols go vertical, but I get it now. I was also reading the equation backward at times, I thought it was supposed be read with the unknown number first every time for some reason.
Is there a way to play this with actual cards?
I did it I beat the game and oh my god there are streaks...
do you have the p8 file? i want this on my emulator!
You can get it from lexaloffle.com
was the price of passing doubled?
infuriatingly beautiful.
Pretty nice game, sir. I enjoyed
Really polished game, wish they did a tutorial though
I've once again stumbled onto this game. Three years ago, I left a bitter, vaguely passive-aggressive comment, and I feel like this game deserves a slightly better review, one less clogged with salt.
Aesthetically, this game is stellar. Clearly, a lot of care and effort has been put into the way that its elements look and feel, from the butter-smooth tweens and slides in all its GUI to the smaller details, like the way that hint tiles are thrown into the air from the stake's impact. One touch I particularly appreciated was the grayscale, bit-crushed vampire portraits; they exude uncanny, inhuman menace in a way that works perfectly for the tone.
I deeply admire the visual style on display here, which makes the gameplay they serve so much more disappointing. The core issue, I think, is that the elements of risk create boredom, rather than excitement. The omnipresent threat of completely wiping your save file severely discourages risky play, especially in the last few levels. For all the prompting the game does to "double down," the temptation of taking a 50/50 on the stake after seven draws, or on a risky hint card, or on the direct verbal invitation of your undead dealer, my response was always some variation of the sentiment "no, that's a stupid and self-destructive idea, why would I risk all of my progress for a few extra millilitres?"
Without that high-roller's thrill, what risk is left only serves to create frustration. I find it especially aggrevating that rounds can be lost before even using a single hint card, especially against Orlok, who I swear ends more than half of all rounds like this before they've even begun.
So, those are my thoughts. Full disclosure, I have not finished this game: I very quickly grew bored of the cycle of "duel Zver 5 times for a blood safety buffer, duel Orlok to lose it all on three one-turn rounds, repeat." It's a game I really want to enjoy for its sheer visual style alone, but the gameplay just lets it down for me. I dunno, maybe I'm just too risk-averse to really enjoy gambling, whether the fake PICO-8 game kind or otherwise.
this was too good i don't think i'll ever recover
im still confused, how do the hint tokens work?
+ can be used on a card that hasn't yet been flipped. it tells you a minimum number for the card. so 9+ could be 9 or vampire (which has a value of 10), 5+ could be any number higher than 5, and 2+ could be any number.
<> is used on a card that has been flipped over, and tells you if the surrounding cards are lower or higher.
the square will select an area of 4 cards, one of which is the vampire card. any cards outside of the area are safe to flip.
I keep coming back to this game, ever since I first saw it on the Game Jam 3 years ago. Honestly hooked on it. The execution is simple yet captivating enough to keep you going. Easily one of the best games on this website. Major kudos to the dev.
Love this game. Will there be a download for this game in the future?
every time i got a 9+ it was a 9 :l
When they offer you double or nothing... that's the devil talking. Never take up the offer hahaha
...
I have been drained of all my blood
Feel ya bruv 😭😭
Using math you can actually check that it is not worth it
This was a delight to play! I normally don't mesh with this sort of game, but the information was portrayed well enough that I was able to get into the groove of things very quickly.
Clever how you (I'm guessing) predicted that people would lean hard on the 2x2 token strategy, so you punished it hard. That said, figuring that out made the final opponent much more predictable, so I think it might've helped at the end.
It was interesting to see how some of the tradeoffs you had to make to boost the difficulty, like the vampire placement on the entire board, or how you place the 2x2 token over the most unrevealed cards, ended up making it easier in other ways.
I think that actually ended up making the game more compelling. I keep coming back to this; great job!
Thank you! This is some lovely feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
It doesn't require a lot of strategy, but gambling is addictive so here we are ;)
great stuff !