FILE FILE CK-03
Core Mechanics
Five systems carry the whole game: squad drafting, action points, the save-before-you-lose objective, terrain & traps, and intel.
“Took me seven deaths to get it: this is not a tower defense, it is an escort job. The moment campers are asleep is the moment you actually won the turn.”
Camp Layout
▲ Rivers are only crossable at bridges; mountains are impassable — approach routes are fixed by terrain
Four-Counselor Squad
- ▸Before each level you draft 4 counselors from the roster (confirmed on the select screen: "Select Four Counselors").
- ▸The roster has 9 slots: 3 starters + 6 unlockables, each with a unique ability.
- ▸Abilities define roles: Dave herds and escorts, Wyatt runs trap attrition — drafting your squad means choosing the level's game plan.
- ▸Horror archetypes are the power formula: the original game's design philosophy ("the jock runs faster, the kissing couple manipulates monsters") carries into this remake.
Turns & Action Points
- ▸Turn-based flow: counselors act one by one, with remaining action points shown on the STAFF panel.
- ▸The three core commands (confirmed by official screenshots): Gather, Trap, Pass.
- ▸Pass is not a waste — once your defense is shaped, holding position is often optimal.
- ▸After your counselors act, all monsters resolve simultaneously: plan for the board as it will look AFTER they move.
Objectives & Medals
- ▸Level objective (confirmed on the level-select screen): save 5 / 10 / 20 campers before losing 10 — the three medal tiers.
- ▸"Saving" means escorting campers back to their beds and cabins — not killing every monster.
- ▸The loss quota is 10: it is both a floor and a resource — sometimes outer-ring campers must buy order for the core.
- ▸Endless Summer mode: after the 30 levels, chase an endless wave high score.
Terrain & Traps
- ▸Confirmed terrain intel: Mountains are impassable to all units; rivers are crossable only at bridges.
- ▸Bridges are natural chokepoints: monsters are forced across single-file — the premium trap-line location.
- ▸Cabins are strategic resupply points: Wyatt restocks all his traps by visiting a cabin or a burned-down cabin.
- ▸Procedurally generated maps: rivers, woods and camp shapes differ every run. Memorizing layouts fails; understanding terrain principles works.
Vision & Intel
- ▸The minimap (top right) shows the global situation in real time — read it before every turn; it is free intelligence.
- ▸Clicking terrain or monsters reveals intel tooltips (e.g. "Mountain: impassable", "Toxic Horror: moves randomly").
- ▸The top timeline bar shows turn order and threat states (skull / first-aid icons) — judge who is in most danger this turn.
- ▸Randomly-moving monsters cannot be predicted, but they can be exploited: seed traps across the fan of tiles they might wander through.
Turn Flow in Action
▲ The STAFF panel: Gather / Trap / Pass with visible action pips — Pass is often the optimal play