Pentomancy

Pentomancy is a Sudoku-like puzzle game with light roguelike elements.

Rules

• The board is divided into twelve rooms, each consisting of 5 tiles (as well as four "walled-off" tiles).
• Each non-walled-off tile contains a monster with a level between 1 and 5. This level is shown on a small badge near the monster's sprite.
• Two monsters in the same room cannot have the same level, and two monsters that are orthogonally adjacent (even if in different rooms) cannot have the same level. (In particular, this implies that each room has exactly one monster of each level.)
• You, the player, also have a level, shown in the lower-right corner. You start at level 1.
• Most tiles start out shrouded by fog, so you don't know exactly which monster is on that tile.
• There are two actions you will use to interact with the puzzle: exploring unrevealed tiles and defeating revealed monsters.
  • Exploring a tile reveals the monster on that tile. If the revealed monster's level exceeds your own, the monster will defeat you, ending the game.
  • If a revealed monster's level is less than or equal to your own, you may defeat the monster. This reveals any adjacent tiles within the monster's room. (Revealing tiles this way does not count as exploring them, and higher-level monsters revealed this way will not defeat you.)
  • Some monsters have treasure, indicated by a gold level badge and a sparkly effect on their tile. Defeating one of these monsters will increase your level.
• You are also able to take notes on unrevealed tiles, to record the possible values that you have deduced for the monster's level.
• Reach Level 5 to clear the puzzle. (At this level, every remaining tile would be safe.)

Controls

• Desktop
  • Left-click an unrevealed tile to explore it.
  • Left-click a revealed tile to defeat the monster (if you are able to).
  • Right-click a revealed tile to bring up the notes menu. Toggling the buttons on this menu will take notes on the tile.
• Mobile
  • A button beneath the board shows two possible modes for the interface: "Exploring" mode and "Taking Notes" mode. Press this button to switch between the two modes.
  • In "Exploring" mode, tapping a tile will select it; tapping again to confirm will explore the tile (if unrevealed) or defeat the monster (if revealed). You are unable to select revealed tiles that have a monster too high-level to defeat.
  • In "Taking Notes" mode, tapping a tile will bring up the notes menu. Toggling the buttons on this menu will take notes on the tile.
  • In the "Options" menu, enabling the "Explore Button in Notes Menu" option will switch on an older version of the interface, which removes the mode button and places a magnifying-glass icon in the notes menu. Tapping this button will explore the tile.

Scoring

• Once you are confident in your ability to solve puzzles, you may find the game more interesting if you play for a high score.
• The scoring system works as follows:
  • Exploring a tile is worth 5 points.
  • Defeating a level-k monster is worth k points (but you will miss out on "explore" points for any tiles revealed in this manner).
  • Each time you gain a level, your score is doubled (after you receive points for defeating the monster that held the treasure you just obtained).
• In total, the score system rewards revealing tiles that can be deduced as safe, and encourages you to prioritize making those deductions when possible ahead of gaining information through defeating monsters.
• Any non-treasure monster that can be defeated without revealing any new tiles will automatically be defeated for you, as a quality-of-life feature.