Build a binary-choice game around one decision whose value changes later. In the fictional Signal Harbor, the first request asks whether to spend a little Trust and Charge on a diagnostic. The result matters two cards later, when the same ferry restart costs less Charge if the diagnostic is active.
Start with three fixed cards and a visible turn log. That gives you enough room to make an early cost, a tempting shortcut and a delayed payoff readable on the same screen.
Start with one delayed consequence
Devolver Digital’s official Reigns page credits Nerial and describes left-or-right decisions that affect competing interests. A useful principle for a small game is to keep the two options simple while letting their effects depend on the current state.
Signal Harbor applies that principle to an original setting and rule set. Both options remain visible before commitment. The player can use buttons or keyboard input. Keep those controls interchangeable by sending each one through the same decision handler.
Specify all three requests
Start at Trust 3 and Charge 3 with Diagnostic off. Apply the chosen deltas together and record the resulting counters. Any counter at zero or below ends the run immediately. If both stay above zero through the third card, the run succeeds only when both finish at 2 or more. Preserve negative results in the log so the player can see how far a choice overshot.
| Request | First option | Second option |
|---|---|---|
| Inspect wiring | Run. Trust −1, Charge −1. Turn Diagnostic on. | Defer. Keep both counters and the flag as they are. |
| Courtyard lights | Open. Trust +2, Charge −2. | Hold. Trust −1, Charge +1. |
| Ferry signal | Restart. Trust +2. Spend 3 Charge without Diagnostic or 1 with it. | Wait. Trust −1, Charge unchanged. |
The Hold option restores a point of Charge by design. Put that trade-off on the card itself so the player can plan around it. The fixture uses abstract resources in a fictional game.
On the final card, show the actual restart cost derived from the flag. In a test build, the log should state whether Diagnostic was active when the cost was calculated. The cost rule is the base cost minus 2 with Diagnostic, with a minimum cost of 1.
Replay the shutdown and the reserve miss
Each row starts from the same initial state. Pairs below are ordered Trust, Charge. Watch for two distinct failure states and give each a specific message.
| Choice path | After request one | After request two | After request three |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run → Hold → Restart | (2, 2), Diagnostic on | (1, 3) | (3, 2), success |
| Defer → Open → Restart | (3, 3), Diagnostic off | (5, 1) | (7, −2), shutdown |
| Defer → Hold → Restart | (3, 3), Diagnostic off | (2, 4) | (4, 1), reserve miss |
The successful route temporarily drops Trust to 1. An interface that flags every value below the final reserve as immediate failure would reject that valid path. Mark 2 as the end-of-run target and 0 as the shutdown boundary. This keeps the distinction visible before the player needs it.
Give AI an exact browser-game brief
Paste the fixture into a game builder as one small task. Ask for visible controls and a trace before adding artwork or random cards.
Build a fictional browser decision game called Signal Harbor.
Start Trust and Charge at 3 and set Diagnostic to off.
Present these three requests in order:
1. Inspect wiring: Run subtracts 1 Trust and 1 Charge and turns Diagnostic on. Defer changes nothing.
2. Courtyard lights: Open adds 2 Trust and subtracts 2 Charge. Hold subtracts 1 Trust and adds 1 Charge.
3. Ferry signal: Restart adds 2 Trust and spends the computed Charge cost. Wait subtracts 1 Trust and leaves Charge unchanged.
Use two labeled buttons. Route keyboard controls through the same handler.
Bind each input to the current request ID. Reject repeated or stale inputs. Apply both deltas once and log the option, counters, and Diagnostic flag.
With Diagnostic active, Restart costs max(1, base restart cost minus 2). Otherwise, Restart costs the base restart cost.
Check for a counter at zero or below after each choice.
After card three, require Trust and Charge to be at least 2 for success.
Lock choices at an ending. Reset restores the full initial state.
Start with base restart cost 3 and expose a control to change it.
From reset, Run / Hold / Restart must end at (3, 2), success.
Defer / Open / Restart must end at (7, -2), shutdown.
Defer / Hold / Restart must end at (4, 1), reserve miss.
With base cost 2, Defer / Hold / Restart must end at (4, 2), success.
Use original harbor art and readable, keyboard-accessible controls.Play the paths in the table in order. After each run, reset and check the first card, both counters and the flag. In a test build, submit the same request ID twice. The second event should leave the active card, counters and log unchanged.
Change the base cost and replay
Change only base restart cost from 3 to 2. Repeat Defer, Hold, Restart from reset. The first two states remain (3, 3) and (2, 4). The last state becomes (4, 2), so the previous reserve miss now succeeds.
Run, Hold, Restart still costs 1 on the last card because the minimum stays fixed. Defer, Open, Restart still shuts down, ending at Charge −1. This replay tells you exactly which route was made more forgiving. See the first-build guide for turning a small written fixture into a prompt you can iterate on.
Start building Signal Harbor in SEELE AI Game Maker. Begin with the state table and verify the three endings before expanding the deck.
Frequently asked questions
How many choices should I include in a first decision game?
Start with three fixed cards and two options per card. Give one early choice a consequence on the last card so you can check whether the player can follow it. Replay the same deck from reset before introducing shuffled cards or branching content.
How should I show a delayed effect to the player?
Put the immediate cost beside the option and keep the Diagnostic flag visible after selection. When the ferry request arrives, show the restart cost after the discount. A trace entry can show the flag and the final delta together for a clearer test.
Why separate shutdown from a missed reserve?
They happen at different points in the rules. Shutdown ends a run as soon as a counter reaches zero or below. A reserve miss is decided after the last card and can happen even when both counters stayed positive throughout the run.
What should I check before adding random cards?
Verify the fixed paths, the exact reset state, and the lock after an ending. Confirm that the same input is applied once even if the user triggers it twice. Then add a seeded shuffle so a reported path can still be replayed.
