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A jam submission

MathloopView game page

Mathematical roguelike puzzle
Submitted by twodback — 21 hours, 13 minutes before the deadline
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Mathloop's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Creativity#38113.2863.286
Artwork#47402.8102.810
Audio#49222.5242.524
Enjoyment#52252.5712.571
Narrative#71541.7141.714

Ranked from 21 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game fit the theme?
You must reach the target—and possibly go beyond—but you also need to return to the loop's starting point, or face a penalty.

(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
"buttons_calculator" sound effects by CapsLok (Freesound) from https://pixabay.com
Flexi IBM VGA False Font by VileR from 1001fonts.com
Wheaton Font by Raymond Larabie from 1001fonts.com
Digital dream Font by Jakob Fischer from 1001fonts.com
Game Icons from kenney.nl
" Forum Controls" by qubodup from opengameart.org

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Comments

Submitted

Cool concept! I think that some sort of visual transition or indicator that rounds are passing or in progress could help make the gameplay loop easier to understand, though I know that might be at odds with the calculator aesthetic. Good work overall!

Submitted

Interesting concept. Is there always guarantee solution exists or no. but it’s nice you got points even when the solution isn’t perfect. So even if player has bad luck, they don’t fail totally. But I’m still curious if you looked into the math of it and if there is some prevention mechanismus, or it’s mathematically guaranteed solution always exists.

Developer(+1)

No, there’s no guaranteed solution. I wanted to put more emphasis on coin management. Coins aren’t just for upgrades; they’re also used during levels, creating a trade-off - like choosing between buying health potions or saving up for a shiny sword. They’re your ultimate fail-state too: if you hit -10 coins, it’s game over. And finally, your coin count after 9 levels can be used as a kind of high score system

Submitted

Managed to clear two rounds, but it's all a bit much for my tiny brain.

Submitted

Really cool concept! 

Submitted

The UI is a little confusing but good concept!

Submitted

Im sorry but i dont understand how to play.

The top section with the interactive buttons was the most confusing part for me in that i didnt know what to press next.

Developer (1 edit)

Damn, sorry to hear that. 

Each turn, you draw 3 numbers from your deck (the white buttons at the top). To confirm your turn, you’ll need to create 3 pairs of number + action. You can do this by pressing a number button first and then an action button—or the other way around. Action buttons are arranged in two rows below the white number buttons. You must choose one mathematical operation (+, −, ×, or ÷) for one number, and discard or return to your deck the other two. There are also bonus action buttons (+1 and −1 are unlocked from the start; others can be bought). These don’t interact with drawn numbers and can be pressed anytime. Once you’ve formed all 3 pairs, hit Confirm to move to the next turn, where 3 new numbers will be drawn.

Submitted(+1)

thank you for the explanation, i will try to read through it later today and re-rate your game.

(+1)

this is a really fun concept !!!

i did find the controls slightly frustrating (couldnt deselect things and sometimes it wasnt clear what i had selected till i clicked the other part) and i did go into negative money a couple times

also i found the decimal deduction a little harsh, since it essentially punishes using divide even tho its a standard operation like +-* (and also if i had, ex: 1.30, i lost 2 for decimals, even tho its equal to 1.3)

overall v fun and i would definitely consider playing a post jam version of this !!!!

Developer (1 edit)

Thanks for your comment! You can actually deselect using the Escape key on PC, or by tapping anywhere outside the buttons on mobile (word "target" is only safe bet though, almost every part of the screen is a button, some of them invisible). And yeah, I agree about the lack of indication for which button you've already pressed. 

Going into negative coins is okay; the game only ends once you hit -10.

You might be right about the decimal penalty (it's currently fixed at 3 coins). I was just worried that without it, players could rack up a high score by multiplying and then dividing roughly toward the loop's start, since enough divides push you toward values between 0 and 1, you'd end up pretty close to 2. Maybe it’s still a valid strat if you square some big numbers for free (with tokens), then divide your way back toward the loop’s start.

Submitted

i thought it was super cool how you used the calc interface i tried to go in without reading the rules and i actually did the first level and got to the shop after if you understand the basics you can actually play it well the pop ups helped a lot