Encounter: The Lost Cards

As fate would have it, you’ve stumbled upon this game. Might as well give it a try. Who knows what you might encounter… ayyy. Get it? Encounter is the name of the game. When I said, “who knows what you might encounter,” it was a play on words.

Encounter: The Lost Cards is a solo, turn-based roguelike where Tarot cards drive the journey. Each card represents an event—an enemy, a stranger, a blessing, a curse—and your run becomes a chain of choices that shape how far you make it.

There’s no traditional world map. Instead, you travel through a deck of encounters, learning how to read risks, build momentum, and survive whatever fate deals next.

Your adventure starts with a single crate. What’s inside? Something useful… or something that forces a painful tradeoff. Either way, you’ll meet oddballs, outlaws, and outright disasters—sometimes in the worst possible order.

A run is a sequence of cards. Every draw is a situation to solve: fight, bargain, gamble, retreat, or take a hit now to avoid something worse later.

Turn-based combat with action economy. Every move consumes energy or other resources. Winning isn’t about spamming attacks—it’s about timing, sequencing, and using your gear intelligently.

Adapt or die. The same card can be helpful early and lethal later on. Build your stats, equipment, and deck so you can turn bad draws into survivable outcomes.

Resource management is the real boss. Everything is limited: rare items break, inventory space is tight, and food runs out. Each pickup is a commitment—taking one thing usually means giving up another.

Managing resources is only the beginning; chaining actions together for strong combos is where the deeper strategy shows up.