A dice-rolling game that is equal parts strategy and luck

About

This game was made in 72 hours for the SA Game Jam 2024. The theme for this year's jam was Midnight Staircase, which is a game design pattern that you have probably not heard of, but are almost certainly familiar with. It is a repeating section of a game (like a level or round) that provides the player with an increasing reward, but also an increase in risk. Importantly, the player can choose to exit at any time, or to continue trying their luck. Some good examples are Blackjack or the TV gameshow Deal or No Deal.

After 2 hours of sitting on the couch staring out of the window, I came up with the concept of a very simple game about rolling dice. The player has to roll higher than a certain target number, and every round the target to beat rises a little, increasing the difficulty. The player earns money for rolling above the target, which can then be spent in a store to buy more dice or other upgrades.

The Midnight Staircase part comes in during the actual roll itself. The player is able to reroll some or all of their dice, or stick with their current roll. They are incentivised to roll higher to not only beat the round, but also to earn more money. However, the risk is that they could roll lower and potentially lose the game. It's an interesting gamble on the player's part.

Reception

Fortuno won 1st place in the jam! 🎉🏆