i don't get how to play this. i got to the third guy, and there are no hints on the cards. the first 3 random cards i chose were all vampires. now i have -120. what do i do?
I’m really enjoying this game. I’d suggest that it’s perfect for porting to the Play Date. Would be a great addition there. Just the kind of “pick up and play for a bit” game that would do well there. Kudos!
Amazing Game! Any chance of this coming to a .p8 file for handhelds? If not, I get it, it would be easier to sell it on Steam if there's not free versions floating around.
There are 9 cards on the board, 2-9 and then the Vampire card. There's only one copy of each of those cards, for example, there won't be more than one Vampire card. Hope that helps!
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.
Ah, my good friend--while EACH ROUND is itself luck, the GAME is very much not. You must CREATE your own luck--that is what the tokens are for.
The key to realize is that PASSING A GAME gives you YOUR CURRENT STAKES - 2. SO PASSING A GAME AFTER FLIPPING THE SECOND CARD IS NET ZERO. You do not play hands until you stake the vampire or flip it--you play until the outcome is sufficiently certain or uncertain, then act accordingly.
Once the square hint is unlocked, the most common outcome should be passing after flipping 5 or 6 cards(6 cards being if a careful use of the >< hint shows that a card is safe).
>< and square are good at telling you if cards are safe. If + shows a number and you know you have everything of that number or higher on the board? That's found your vampire.
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.
If you had a group of cards 1-9, or 2-9 plus a special/Vampire card, it's possible! But then there would be no hint cards, just luck :) You could play that version with multiple people and everyone takes a turn flipping a card, possibly giving each other hints, etc. Could be a fun party game!
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.
I've been playing this game on and off for over a week now and I seriously can't get above 400ml for these reasons. For some reason, it feels like 1/3 of the rounds I play, even the "easy" ones, the first or second card I flip turns out to be the Vampire card. I would love to finish the game but it feels like at this rate it'll take me at least a month and I think I may get bored before then.
The trick, I find, is to always gun straight for the square. Use the square and arrows to carve out safe space and don't be afraid to pass. Pass literally every game if you need to. You can only lose up to 5 stakes by passing, and that's by literally passing before even flipping any cards yourself. You start with 1 flipped and lose 2 effective flipped by passing, so you lose 1 stake.
+ 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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Goated fun game but a bit short
las vegas is NOT like this
i've been playing for 2 hoursuhh... i think i got a free win
Remarkably simple but good poker game.
i don't get how to play this. i got to the third guy, and there are no hints on the cards. the first 3 random cards i chose were all vampires. now i have -120. what do i do?
just beat it now. seems i had really bad luck. really gotta pass most turns and wait for the right moment to reap in big points
Just to help newcomers: The vampire card is worth 10. So a "+9" means that the card is a 9 or a vampire
But a 9 could also be safe and a 5 or unmarked card could also be the vampire.
Source: 90% of the rounds I lost. Either first card I clicked was the vampire, or the seemingly "safe" pick was the vampire.
I beat the game, then I saw streak: 1! and I froze in fear. Good game
awesome！
Great game. Very simple yet addictive. Outstanding visuals, very pleasing for PICO-8.
Had a blast beating this game.
after a year of failure, I have finally beat this game
I’m really enjoying this game. I’d suggest that it’s perfect for porting to the Play Date. Would be a great addition there. Just the kind of “pick up and play for a bit” game that would do well there. Kudos!
this is super cool!
really cool game, and the fact that u made it in pico 8 is awesome
I got addicted to playing this in my free time lol :p
Amazing Game! Any chance of this coming to a .p8 file for handhelds? If not, I get it, it would be easier to sell it on Steam if there's not free versions floating around.
I'm loving this little game (and your other games!) Your art is so good, too! You've made a PICO-8 fan out of me. :)
Now i also what to zamorit chevyachka
"There is always only one copy in each card on the board." - I don't understand what this means. someone help?
There are 9 cards on the board, 2-9 and then the Vampire card. There's only one copy of each of those cards, for example, there won't be more than one Vampire card. Hope that helps!
I spent the most time on the penultimate level. After which, it is a smooth sailing finishing the game.
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
Ah, my good friend--while EACH ROUND is itself luck, the GAME is very much not. You must CREATE your own luck--that is what the tokens are for.
The key to realize is that PASSING A GAME gives you YOUR CURRENT STAKES - 2. SO PASSING A GAME AFTER FLIPPING THE SECOND CARD IS NET ZERO. You do not play hands until you stake the vampire or flip it--you play until the outcome is sufficiently certain or uncertain, then act accordingly.
Once the square hint is unlocked, the most common outcome should be passing after flipping 5 or 6 cards(6 cards being if a careful use of the >< hint shows that a card is safe).
>< and square are good at telling you if cards are safe. If + shows a number and you know you have everything of that number or higher on the board? That's found your vampire.
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?
If you had a group of cards 1-9, or 2-9 plus a special/Vampire card, it's possible! But then there would be no hint cards, just luck :) You could play that version with multiple people and everyone takes a turn flipping a card, possibly giving each other hints, etc. Could be a fun party game!
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.
I agree. This game honestly sucks
I've been playing this game on and off for over a week now and I seriously can't get above 400ml for these reasons. For some reason, it feels like 1/3 of the rounds I play, even the "easy" ones, the first or second card I flip turns out to be the Vampire card. I would love to finish the game but it feels like at this rate it'll take me at least a month and I think I may get bored before then.
The trick, I find, is to always gun straight for the square. Use the square and arrows to carve out safe space and don't be afraid to pass. Pass literally every game if you need to. You can only lose up to 5 stakes by passing, and that's by literally passing before even flipping any cards yourself. You start with 1 flipped and lose 2 effective flipped by passing, so you lose 1 stake.
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 !