The Cave

How to Play The Cave

🎯 Your Goal

As Dr. Elisabeth Blackwood, collect 20 tokens (archaeological evidence) while maintaining your academic credibility (stability). Once you have 20 tokens, make one final block pull to attempt publication.

📖 Game Flow (Important!)

1. Roll 1d6 to determine how many cards to draw this turn
2. Draw that many cards - they appear visually above your journal
3. Click any card to see its prompt - resolve cards in any order you choose
4. Each card may require:
   • Rolling 1d6 (for binary outcomes: 1-3 negative, 4-6 positive)
   • Rolling 2d6 (to "Interpret" findings: 2-5 Disturbing, 6-8 Ambiguous, 9-12 Significant)
   • Pulling blocks (risking your credibility)
   • Making choices between options
5. Mark cards as resolved when you're done with them (they'll be dimmed)
6. Record your findings in your journal
7. Repeat - start a new turn by rolling 1d6 again

🏛️ The Tower Mechanic (Your Reputation)

Your academic credibility is represented by a tower that starts at 100 stability points. When you pull a block:

• The game rolls a number of virtual dice equal to your current stability
• Each die that fails removes 1 stability point
• Risk escalates as stability drops:
  • 51-100: Normal risk (1 in 6 chance per die)
  • 21-50: High risk (2 in 6 chance per die)
  • 1-20: CRITICAL risk (3 in 6 chance per die)
• When stability reaches 0, your reputation is ruined and the game ends

This creates genuine tension - you never know when the tower will fall!

🎴 The Four Suits

• ♠️ Spades - The Cave's Secrets: Discoveries and mysterious findings
• ♥️ Hearts - Academic Relations: Peers, rivals, and professional challenges
• ♦️ Diamonds - Resources and Methodology: Tools, techniques, and practical concerns
• ♣️ Clubs - Mental Strain: Psychological pressure and reality questioning

🎮 Core Mechanics

• Drawing Cards: Each card represents an event or discovery
• Academic Credibility (Tower): Starts at 100. At 0, your reputation is ruined
• Evidence Tokens: Collect 20 to publish your findings

📝 Getting Started

1. Write your first journal entry describing your arrival at the cave
2. Click "Roll 1d6 for Number of Cards" to start your first turn
3. Draw the indicated number of cards - they'll appear visually above your journal
4. Click any card to see its prompt and resolve it
5. Resolve each card (in any order), clicking "Done with This Card" when finished
6. Record your findings and reactions in your journal
7. Start a new turn by rolling 1d6 again

🏁 Endings

• Victory: Reach 20 tokens and survive the final block pull
• Tower Falls: Credibility reaches 0 - academic disgrace
• Evidence Destroyed: All tokens lost - archaeological disaster

The game auto-saves your progress. Journal entries are saved automatically to your browser.

Card Reference Guide

Use this reference while writing your journal entries to understand what each card represents.