SS Gauntlet

01. Overview

Starship Gauntlet is a deck-building roguelike set in deep space. You command a starship through a branching star chart of 10 rows, fighting enemies, shopping for ship modifications, and scavenging resources. Build your command deck, install ship mods, chain abilities for bonus damage, and defeat the final boss.

Victory: Defeat the boss at the end of the star chart.
Defeat: Your hull reaches 0 at any point. Permadeath — your save is deleted on death.

The game auto-saves before each star chart screen. You can continue a run from the start screen using one of 3 save slots.

02. Turn Structure

Each combat turn has four phases:

Planning Phase

Your hand is drawn from the draw pile. Drag cards in the order console to set execution order. Click a card to select it, then click an enemy to assign a target. Cards beyond your CC budget are greyed out and cannot be targeted. Press EXECUTE when ready.

Resolving Phase

Commands execute sequentially in the order you set. Damage, shields, and status effects apply immediately — later cards in the queue see updated state. Chain bonuses accumulate as consecutive same-tag cards resolve.

Enemy Phase

Each enemy acts in order based on their AI type. Enemies telegraph their intent (visible on their target card and radar blip when scanned). Ionized enemies may fail to act — see Status Effects.

End Turn

Remaining hand is discarded. Cooldown timers tick down (exhausted cards with cooldowns return to discard when ready). Corrosion (COR) deals damage. Ionized stacks decay by 1 on enemies. Player Ionized stacks that were present at the start of the turn also decay by 1 (Ionized freshly applied during the enemy phase is protected until next turn). Chain resets. A new turn begins.

03. Resources

04. Card Types

Every command card has a type that determines its chain tag and UI color:

Card types matter for two systems: Chain bonuses (same type in a row) and Tactical Diversity (3+ different types in one turn).

05. Deck Mechanics

Your deck cycles through four piles:

• Draw pile — Cards available to draw. Shuffled at start and on reshuffle.
• Hand — Cards drawn this turn. You play from here.
• Discard pile — Used cards go here after the turn.
• Exhaust pile — Permanently removed cards (unless they have a cooldown).

Draw & Reshuffle

At the start of each turn, cards are drawn from the draw pile into your hand. When the draw pile runs out, the discard pile is shuffled and becomes the new draw pile, then drawing continues.

Exhaust & Cooldown

Some powerful cards are exhausted after use — removed from the cycle. Cards with a cooldown (e.g., "CD 2") return to the discard pile after that many turns, ready to be drawn again.

06. Targeting

SS Gauntlet uses explicit card-first targeting:

1. Click a card in the order console to select it (amber highlight).
2. Click an enemy — either their target card in the tactical panel or their blip on the radar — to assign the target.
3. A spinning reticle icon appears on the card, confirming the assignment.

Click a selected card again to deselect it. Cards beyond the CC affordability cutoff cannot acquire targets — moving a card out of the affordable zone clears its target.

07. Status Effects

TL Target Lock

Applied to enemies via scanning commands. Many attack cards deal bonus damage when the target has TL, consuming the stacks in the process. TL is your primary damage amplifier — scan first, then strike.

ION Ionized

On enemies: Each Ionized stack gives the enemy a 20% chance to fail their action each turn (capped at 75% at 4+ stacks). On failure, the enemy skips their action but keeps their intent — they'll try again next turn. Ionized decays by 1 stack per turn.

On the player: Reduces CC by the number of Ionized stacks at the start of the turn (minimum 0 CC). Decays by 1 at end of turn, but Ionized freshly applied during the current enemy phase is protected until next turn. A dangerous debuff that limits your options.

COR Corrosion

Applied to enemies. At end of turn, COR strips shields first (1 shield per stack), then deals hull damage equal to remaining stacks. COR is persistent — it does not decay, making it powerful against high-shield enemies.

08. Chain Mechanic

Playing consecutive commands with the same chain tag targeting the same enemy builds a chain. The chain count determines your bonus tier:

Bonuses are percentage-based and round down: bonus = floor(base × percentage).

What Breaks the Chain

• Playing a card with a different chain tag resets the chain to 1.
• Playing a card with NONE tag (e.g., Crazy Ivan) breaks the chain entirely.
• Targeting a different enemy resets the chain.
• Self-targeting commands (shields, reactor) do not break target continuity.

Chain UI

The Chain Status indicator in the ship status panel shows 5 pips matching bonus tiers. During planning, it previews the peak chain in your affordable queue. During resolving, it shows the live chain state. Pips glow when a bonus tier is reached.

09. Tactical Diversity

Play 3 or more distinct card types in a single turn to earn +1 CC on your next turn. This bonus has a 2-turn cooldown (minimum 3 turns between earning bonuses).

The diversity indicator shows 3 pips that fill as you add distinct types to your plan. When all 3 light up, a "READY" label glows. Fizzled commands still count toward diversity.

10. Starting Deck

You begin each run with 10 command cards:

8 unique cards, 10 total (Brace Pattern ×3). A balanced mix of damage, defense, scanning, and tech. Every card costs 1 CC, fitting neatly into your 4 CC budget.

11. Reward Cards

After each combat victory, choose 1 of 3 offered cards (or skip). Rarity affects offer weight: common cards appear more often, rare cards less so.

Uncommon

Rare

12. Credits

Credits are the run currency, earned from victories and spent at shop nodes. You start each run with 0 credits.

Earning Credits

Spending Credits

Shop nodes (formerly dock stations) let you purchase ship modifications, add cards to your deck, and repair hull damage. Budget carefully — credits are limited and the best mods are expensive.

13. Ship Modifications

Ship modifications are permanent upgrades installed between combats. You can have one mod per category (5 categories). Installing a new mod in a category replaces the old one.

Hull Mods

Shield Mods

Reactor Mods

Weapons Mods

Systems Mods

14. Enemy Types

Each enemy has an AI type that determines their action probabilities each turn:

Standard AI

Elite & Boss AI

15. Encounters

Tier 1 — Standard

Tier 2 — Dangerous

Tier 3 — Hard

Elite Encounters

Elite nodes appear on rows 4 and 6 of the star chart. These are tougher than standard encounters but award 60 credits and a choice of 2 ship modifications.

Boss Encounters

The final node (row 9) is always a boss. Defeating the boss completes the run.

16. Star Chart

Each run generates a deterministic 10-row star chart with 28 nodes, branching from a single entry node to a single boss node. Your path through the chart is a series of choices — each row offers 1–4 nodes, and edges connect to reachable nodes in the next row.

Node Types

Chart Structure

The chart is seeded — same seed always produces the same layout.

17. Non-Combat Nodes

Shop Nodes

Dock stations now function as shops where you spend credits. Each shop offers:

• Ship modifications — browse and install mods (one per category). Installing a mod in an occupied category replaces the old one.
• Card purchases — add new command cards to your deck.
• Hull repairs — restore hull for credits.

Shops appear on rows 2, 6, and 8 of the star chart. Budget your credits carefully across these stops.

Events

Mining Sites

18. Tips & Strategy

Chain vs Diversity

Chaining same-type cards boosts damage/shields/status by up to 60–75%, but locks you into one type. Diversity gives +1 CC next turn for using 3+ types. Early game, diversity is easier to trigger with a mixed starter deck. Late game with specialized cards, deep chains can be devastating.

Corrosion Strategy

COR is one of the strongest mechanics against shielded enemies. It strips shields and deals hull damage every turn without decaying. Stack COR early with Nanite Particle Swarm, then add Corrosive Barrage for AOE corrosion. Corrosion Catalyst converts COR stacks into burst damage for the kill.

Ionized Control

Stack Ionized on the most dangerous enemy to disrupt their actions. At 4 stacks, they have a 75% chance to fail each turn. Pair Ion Lance and EMP Burst for rapid stacking. System Overload converts Ionized stacks into damage for a finisher.

Shield Management

Shields reset to 0 each combat, so build them up early with DEF cards. Brace Pattern chains give +25/40/60% bonus shields. Nelson's Gambit sacrifices your shields for +4 CC — use it before building shields, not after. Broadside converts shields to AOE damage — build high, then fire.

Target Priority

Kill the biggest threat first. Bombers stack debuffs that compound over time. Frigates hit hard once armed — disrupt or destroy before they fire. Shieldbearers are annoying but low damage — save them for last unless you have shield-stripping tools.

CC Economy

With 4 CC per turn, you can play four 1-cost cards or mix costs. Battle Focus and Overload Reactor generate extra CC (at a price). Nelson's Gambit gives 4 CC for your shields. Diversity bonus gives a free +1 CC next turn. Don't sleep on 0-cost cards — they're free chain builders.

Deck Size

More cards means less consistency — you see each card less often. Only add cards that synergize with your strategy. Skip the reward if none of the 3 options fit. A tight 12–14 card deck with a clear plan beats a bloated 20-card pile.

Credit Management

Credits are finite. Don't spend everything at the first shop — save for the best mods. Elite encounters are the best credit source (60 cr) and also give a free mod pick. Prioritize Auxiliary Reactor (+1 CC) if you can afford it early — the extra CC compounds over every remaining fight.

Elite Routing

Elite nodes (rows 4 and 6) are optional but highly rewarding. If your hull and deck are healthy, routing through elites for mod rewards can set you up for the boss. If you're hurting, take the safer combat or shop path instead.

19. Radar Visual Effects

The Threat Matrix radar is where all combat visuals happen — projectile trails, damage numbers, shield pulses, explosions, and status effects. Click a card name below to see its radar signature. Click an enemy blip on the radar to change the target.