itch.io

Thanks for your reply!

Have you tried the ingame tutorial in the main screen? 

It's possible the tutorial could be a little short. What do you miss? I'd like to improve using your feedback. Thanks!

I've been trying out the game (protogaia), and I start in a sort of village. Before I even have a chance to figure out how to play—that is, to see what the controls are and so on—suddenly several hostile characters come at me and kill me.

If I try to get away from them to gather resources and start crafting, they come at me at high speed and kill me again, and I lose everything I’m carrying.

At first, it seems a little counterintuitive to me to show up in a place where the first thing I want to do is check the controls and explore my surroundings. Take this as constructive criticism—most games don't throw enemies at you right away.

Maybe I just had bad luck with my world seed or something, but this isn't a pleasant experience. Any advice on how to get rid of these guys right away so I can explore in peace?

I've also had the misfortune of sometimes right-clicking and accidentally opening a submenu, which takes me out of the game. I understand that this isn't actually a problem with the game itself—it's just a browser issue :)

Thanks!! I'm gonna try Protogaia demo this week. And as soon as I play it I will share my opinion ^^
Thanks again for upload a demo!

Thank you so much for your kind words! 🧹🃏

Yes, absolutely! We have quite a few exciting ideas for the future of Escobita! What started as a traditional Spanish card game is gradually growing into something much bigger.

🎮 New game modes

One of our biggest plans is a roguelike-inspired mode, potentially combining elements from games like Balatro with our own ideas and twists on traditional card gameplay.

We're still exploring different concepts, so the final result might be quite different, or even a hybrid of several styles!

🧮 Learning through playing

Another direction we're particularly excited about is the educational potential of Escobita.
Since the classic game revolves around making combinations that add up to 15, it naturally encourages mental arithmetic.

In the future, we'd love to experiment with different number targets, additional mathematical operations, and perhaps even special modes designed to help children improve their maths skills while having fun.

The idea is simple: learning without feeling like you're studying!

👀 Transparency and learning from your opponents

Something we've already included in Escobita is the option to reveal the AI opponents' cards.
We believe in being transparent about how the game works. This feature lets players see that the AI isn't secretly being given an unfair advantage.

But it also has an educational purpose: by seeing your opponents' cards, you can better understand their possible moves, anticipate their strategies, and learn to think a few steps ahead.
It's an optional feature, of course, so players who prefer the traditional experience can keep everything hidden!

🧠 An AI that helps you become a better player

Escobita already has its own AI system, but our ambitions go beyond simply creating challenging opponents.
We're developing the foundations for an AI that could eventually analyze your moves, suggest alternative plays, and explain why a different decision might have been better.

Imagine finishing a hand and being able to ask: "What could I have done differently?"
The technical foundations are already there, although the AI still needs further training and development before it can provide useful strategic explanations.

With voluntary player participation and feedback, we'd love to improve this system over time.
Our long-term goal is not just an AI you can play against, but one you can actually learn from.

🎨 Customization and historical card decks

We're also passionate about the visual and cultural side of traditional playing cards.
Escobita already offers different customization options, and we're planning to expand them with more decks, themed designs, and visual styles.

We're also exploring a more educational and historical side of the project: showcasing traditional playing cards, their artwork, and the stories behind them.
For example, we've been working with imagery inspired by beautiful historical Spanish decks, including a Comas deck dating from around 1900.
Some of these old designs are genuine little works of art, and we'd love to help more people discover and appreciate them!

Any historical material we eventually share or distribute will, of course, depend on the appropriate rights and permissions.

🚀 What's next?

For now, our main priority is making the classic Escoba experience as polished, stable, accessible, and enjoyable as possible.
But we see Escobita as a long-term project, with plenty of room to grow through new game modes, educational features, smarter AI, and a celebration of traditional card-playing culture.

Thank you again for your interest! And if you get a chance to try Escobita, I'd genuinely love to hear your feedback and suggestions! 😊

Hey!

I've tried a few of your games, and I wanted to share some thoughts with you!

Stealer: I really like the concept! Visually, it's very well executed, and I found it quite entertaining.

Countdown: Another interesting idea, although I have to admit that these kinds of games make me way too nervous! Haha.

Protogaia: This is actually the one I was most interested in trying, but unfortunately I couldn't. Have you considered releasing a limited demo? I'm a big fan of this type of game. In fact, one of the next games I'm looking forward to checking out is Graveyard Keeper 2. I absolutely loved the first one!

Rust Orbit 3D: I jumped straight into this one, but my browser almost exploded! Haha. Seriously though, performance was extremely poor, and even the smallest spaceship movements were incredibly slow.

For reference, my PC has an i7-8700K, 48 GB of RAM, and an RTX 3060 Ti with 8 GB of VRAM. It's getting a bit old, so perhaps that's part of the problem, but I thought you might appreciate the feedback.

Now, regarding what you said about AI and game development, I'd like to share my perspective.

I'm also a solo indie developer, and at 46 years old, I'm not exactly a teenager anymore! I genuinely believe that AI is, above all, a set of tools that we can use to help us create things.

I use AI extensively in my own project, both for programming and creating visual assets, among other things.

I completely understand why some programmers, artists, and developers see AI as a threat. And to be fair, I think some of those concerns are justified. But in my humble opinion, these technologies are tools, and learning how to work with them is becoming an increasingly valuable skill. There's also something that people who haven't actually worked with AI agents might not realize: using AI doesn't mean the work magically gets done for you.

I can easily spend between 7 and 14 hours a day developing my game. And that's WITH AI helping me.
You're still the one directing the project. You have to know what you want, make decisions, explain your requirements, guide the agents, and constantly review what they're doing. And believe me, it's not always a walk in the park!

AI agents make mistakes. Sometimes they break perfectly working code while trying to fix something else. Sometimes they solve problems brilliantly, and other times they create three new problems while fixing one!

You have to review their work, debug issues, clean up code, rethink implementations, anticipate potential problems, test everything, and make countless decisions along the way. There's nothing particularly magical about that process. It's still a tremendous amount of work, just with a different set of tools.

My programming knowledge is actually fairly basic compared to that of a professional software developer. But I know what I want to build, how I want it to work, and what kind of experience I want to create.

And I honestly believe that having a clear vision, being willing to learn, and having the determination to see a project through are incredibly important.

AI helps me turn that vision into something real, but it doesn't replace the vision itself, or the effort required to get there.

So you definitely have my support. I think it's great that you're pursuing game development seriously, regardless of age, background, or the tools you choose to use.

And one last thing I'd like to thank you for: including Spanish translations in some of your games! I'm from Spain, and although I can understand English reasonably well, my English is far from perfect. I really appreciate being able to read instructions, menus, and other game content in my native language. I know localization takes time and effort, especially for solo developers.

Even if a translation isn't absolutely perfect, being able to understand most of the game in Spanish already makes a huge difference to me.

I can manage in English, of course, but given the choice, I'll always prefer Spanish!
Anyway, I just wanted to share my impressions and offer a bit of encouragement from one solo indie developer to another.

Keep going, and best of luck with your games!

PD: Sorry for such a long comment! I got a bit carried away, haha! :D

Really interesting and enjoyable game! I had a good time playing it. :)

As a native Spanish speaker with fairly limited English, I had no trouble understanding how to play. That said, adding some basic Spanish localization in the future would definitely be a nice touch!

The game also looks great visually. It's appealing right from the start.

My only small suggestion comes from being the kind of player who tries to explore absolutely everything.

I tried wandering beyond the visible area, but I quickly lost my sense of direction. I even managed to find a speck of dust out there! Haha.

I don't think a game like this necessarily needs a minimap, but perhaps a small directional arrow pointing back towards the main area, or some kind of indicator showing which direction you're heading, would be really helpful.

Overall, great work! I genuinely enjoyed it. Keep it up! :)

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm a solo indie developer working on Escobita, a free digital version of the traditional Spanish card game Escoba. I'm looking for honest feedback, especially from people who have never played it before!

🃏 How does it work?

The main idea is simple: make 15!

On your turn, play a card from your hand and combine it with one or more cards on the table. If their values add up to exactly 15, you capture them.

For example: 1 + 5 + 9 = 15.

If the set of cards you’ve selected leaves the table empty, you’ll have scored a ‘Sweep’ (Escoba)!

Don't worry if you're unfamiliar with Spanish cards. The game includes an option to display each card's value, plus a basic interactive tutorial to help you get started.

You can play against AI opponents, choose different table layouts, and customize the table backgrounds and card backs.

🎮 Play the beta

Windows — Free download, no account required to play.

👉 https://escobitagame.itch.io/escobita

Available in English, Spanish, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese.

💬 What I'd love feedback on

1. First impressions: Does the game look inviting? Is the interface easy to understand?
2. Learning the rules: If you've never played Escoba, does the interactive tutorial help you understand how to make 15?
3. Gameplay: Are selecting cards, making moves and following the AI opponents' turns intuitive?
4. Fun factor: Would you play another match? If not, what would you change?

Even 5–10 minutes of testing would be really helpful. If you encounter a bug or something confusing, please let me know what happened.

Escobita is still in beta, so constructive criticism is very welcome. I'm especially interested in what new players find difficult or unclear.
Escobita is an ongoing project, and I'm actively working on improving its visuals, interface, animations, and overall gameplay experience. I'm aware there's still plenty of room for improvement, and that's exactly why your feedback matters. Even small suggestions can help shape future updates!

Thanks for giving it a try! 🧹

Escobita 0.1.0 Beta — Make 15. Sweep the table. 🧹

Play cards. Make 15. Clear the table. Score an Escoba.

Escobita is a modern adaptation of Escoba, the traditional card game played with a Spanish/Italian deck.

The rule at its heart is simple: play one card from your hand and capture cards from the table whose value, together with yours, adds up to 15. If your capture clears the table completely, you've made an Escoba.

Simple to learn. Much less simple when you start deciding which cards to leave behind. :)

What you do

- Make 15. Find combinations between your cards and the table to capture as much as you can.

- Sweep the table. Clear every card from the table in a capture to score an Escoba.

- Think ahead. Sometimes the best move isn't the biggest capture. What you leave on the table matters too.

- Play against different AI levels. Choose how challenging you want the match to be.

- Play with 2, 3 or 4 players. The current Beta supports different table sizes with AI opponents.

- Make it yours. Choose between different avatars, card backs and game tables.

About this Beta

This is the first public Beta of Escobita.

The project originally started as a prototype in early 2025, was abandoned, and came back to life at the end of June 2026. After almost three months of development, I think it's finally time to stop playing it only myself and let other people break it. :)

The current Beta includes an interactive tutorial, several AI difficulty levels, landscape and portrait interfaces, and support for Spanish, English, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese.

Local multiplayer is also being developed, but it is not something I consider finished yet.

The game is currently available for Windows. The Beta is free, with an optional donation if you want to support development.

Known issues / Beta status

This is still a Beta, so bugs and rough edges are expected.

I'm particularly interested in anything that feels confusing rather than just obviously broken: AI decisions that seem strange, unclear feedback after a move, UI elements that don't feel right, or rules that aren't explained well enough.

If you try Escobita, please tell me what happened. Even a short comment saying what you liked, disliked or found confusing is useful.

Play Escobita 0.1.0 Beta on itch.io:
https://escobitagame.itch.io/escobita

Thanks for taking a look. 🧹