The shutter clicks. The grid develops again.
Fission Mirror Grid is a turn-based roguelike that merges grid tactics, deckbuilding, and facing puzzles. A mirror-smith forged a cursed mirror to hold his love; an archaeologist unearthed it centuries later; a photographer trapped his soul inside a film camera—four travelers meet inside the Mirror Grid, a labyrinth of stolen memories, and fight by dragging negative-style skill cards across the board.
On a 16×6 battlefield you drag cards onto cells, reshape ranges with movement and card dyeing, and sequence Start, Instant, and End timings within the same turn. Fights aim for a tight 8-turn pace—every step and every facing change can flip the outcome.
16×6 mirror grid: drag to cast, move, preview
• Drag cards from the film-strip hand onto cells; each card shows range preview and sprocket-readable stats (damage, block, cost, heal)
• Facing drives forward shapes (single, line, cone, rectangle); other patterns include around-self, any cell, and self-only
• First 2 tiles moved each turn are free; further moves cost 1 Exposure each. Walking and dye-driven steps do not rotate facing—you need turn cards or dye settings for that
• Enemies telegraph intent; tiles can hold ongoing effects—right-click for intel
Card dyeing: turn and step before or after effects
Many cards add a facing turn or 1-tile move before or after they resolve, set via the dye ring (cool compass colors for facing, warm colors for movement). Builds are about dye, reposition, then cast: the same card hits different cells depending on how you dye it.
Start, Instant, End
All three timings are played during your action phase; resolution timing differs:
• Instant (red) — resolves immediately on play: main damage, movement, control
• Start (gold) — played now, resolves at next turn start: setup buffs, auras, energy and shield refresh
• End (blue) — played now, resolves at this turn end (before discard): delayed burst, counters, cleanup
A typical turn: lay Start cards for next turn, spend Instant cards for damage and positioning, then close with End. Energy-cap buffs usually kick in at next turn start to prevent one-turn spikes.
Exposure energy and hand flow
• Turn start: resolve queued Start effects, then face-up draw (about half your energy cap, rounded up; no blind pick) into the film hand; relics may add extra draws
• Action: play cards, move, turn—spend Exposure
• Turn end: resolve End effects; if hand size exceeds the keep limit (about half your energy cap, rounded down), choose which extras to discard—the rest stay in hand (not a full hand wipe)
• Energy cap shifts in battle (hard cap 3 to 15), changing both draw and keep limits
Deckbuilding: 35–40 cards, about 100 cards and 30 relics
• Run decks target 35–40 cards; copy limits: 2 per common, rare, or epic, 1 legendary
• About 100 designed cards plus character-exclusive picks and 30 relics—damage, block, control, rule-benders
• Rewards, shops, and events reshape your deck each run
Branching mirror routes
Full game: 54 floors (3 acts × 18) with combats, elites, events, shops, and act bosses at floors 18, 36, and 54. Spend Exposure Shards and pick routes—trade-offs between path, resources, and deck plan, not just bigger numbers.
Four camera travelers
All four are selectable from the start, each with a unique starter relic, exclusive cards, and canister color:
• Shutter Prisoner (hero, compact 35mm) — soul sealed in a camera. Film-roll loop: spend full rolls to release sealed memories, then empty rolls; Memory Imprint Shop on his route refills with negatives (no finished cards for sale)
• Mirror Smith (brass box camera) — the mirror's ancient maker. Blanks, block, mirror copy
• Archaeologist (half-frame silver) — modern scholar pulled into the grid. Rubbings, parsing, rewind—control and mechanic breaks
• Mirror Lord (heroine, warped mirror body) — the mirror's host. Reflection, memory devour, spatial fracture
Cross-era encounters, character-specific events, and mirror hazard zones weave one narrative line.
Light meta: expand pools, not stats
Meta progression unlocks card and relic reward pools and a gallery—no permanent attack or HP inflation. Deeper runs and total wins widen what you can roll; each run still starts from a character kit and fresh choices inside the grid.
Film-strip UI
Negative-style cards, sprocket stat chips, canister deck and discard counts, horizontal film hand—battle info you can read at a glance. Click the canister to browse deck and discard piles (read-only).
For you if…
• You want roguelike deckbuilders with real grid positioning, facing, and range geometry
• You enjoy sequencing dye, movement, and timing layers under pressure
• You like darkroom film
