FIRST_RUN.md step 3 to go live.Every card is a concept-specific configuration of one mechanic family. Cards are data; families are engine code. A card is playable as soon as its family·mode is implemented.
plot_arc · literature · sequencer.linear
Concept: Plot structure
Player does: Place scenes along exposition → rising action → climax → resolution
Breaks: The climax is the ending
The climax is the turning point of highest tension, and the resolution afterward is what closes the story.
character_motive · literature · investigator.perspective
Concept: Characterization & motive
Player does: Match actions and quotes to each character's motive
Breaks: Characters always say what they mean
Characterization is built from actions and subtext as much as dialogue, so what a character says is not always what they mean.
device_hunter · literature · sorter.type_match
Concept: Literary devices
Player does: Tag each passage's device as it scrolls past
Breaks: Every comparison is a metaphor
A simile compares with "like" or "as" while a metaphor asserts one thing is another, so not every comparison is a metaphor.
theme_evidence · literature · investigator.argument
Concept: Theme
Player does: Support a theme claim with passages from the text
Breaks: The theme is the topic
A theme is the insight the work makes about its topic, not the topic itself.
unreliable_narrator · literature · investigator.source_eval
Concept: Narrative reliability
Player does: Flag where the narrator's account conflicts with the facts
Breaks: The narrator is the author
A narrator is a constructed voice the author creates, whose account can conflict with the author's own view or the facts of the story.
setting_map · literature · mapper.map
Concept: Setting
Player does: Place key events on the story's map
Breaks: Setting is just backdrop
Setting shapes plot and character choices, functioning as more than a passive backdrop.
Which socket each family mounts on in each genre (LIBRARY §5). The boss socket is always allowed. Hosts built tonight: dungeon, mystery, platformer.
| Family | Dungeon crawler boss: boss | Investigation adventure boss: accusation | Side-view obstacle course boss: boss | Grid puzzle / escape room boss: boss | Management sim boss: crisis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truth Finder | chest / boss Treasure chests; the one bearing the false claim is a mimic | cross_exam / accusation One witness's claim contradicts the facts; object to the lie | gate / boss Three doors; the one with the false claim collapses | tile_board / boss Remove the odd tile to release the chain | event_card / crisis Advisors' claims; the false one tanks a stat |
| Sequencer | door / boss Glyph door pressed in process order | corkboard / accusation Rebuild the timeline on the corkboard | gap / boss Bridge planks in order; the wrong order leaves a gap | conveyor / boss Order the parcels on the conveyor | research_node / crisis Tech tree order |
| Tuner | door / boss Vault rings, catapult, or alchemy dials spinning on the function | lab / accusation Calibrate the instrument; set the lighthouse sweep | moving_platform / gate / boss Saw wheels, launch pads, a balloon that only lifts when tuned | lock / beam_board / boss Dial locks and gear trains | policy_dial / production_line / crisis Machine settings on the production line |
| Mapper | altar / enemy / boss Rune line on the altar floor, or an archery range on a number line | conversation / accusation At the auction, bid the right magnitude; pin the map | gap / boss The floor is a number line; land on the value | tile_board / boss Place the tile at its position on the axis | market / crisis Place goods on the price line |
| Sorter | enemy / boss Type-matched weapons; category-keyed doors | evidence / accusation File claims into case folders | gate / boss Only matching-category platforms are solid | goal_pad / boss Push crates onto category pads | market / crisis Route goods to districts |
| Linker | enemy / boss Chain lightning between pairs | corkboard / accusation String the board | pickup / boss Grapple anchors | pipe_board / boss Flow-style pairing | research_node / crisis Supply links |
| Investigator | door / boss Rooms are hypotheses; clues seal their doors | accusation / corkboard Pin clues, eliminate suspects, accuse | gate / boss Clues seal the doors of eliminated hypotheses | tile_board / boss Logic grid | event_card / crisis Policy debate with evidence |
| Function World | altar / boss Rune track whose floor height is f(x) | lab / accusation Sensor readings converging on a timestamp | gap / boss The terrain is y = f(x); the missing tile | tile_board / boss Track tiles that follow f | market / crisis Price curve over time |
| Balance | altar / boss Alchemy scale; spilled atoms become slimes | archive / accusation The ledger is off by one entry | switch / boss Seesaw bridge | lock / boss Cancel terms, DragonBox-style | ledger / crisis Balance budgets and flows |
| Simulator | enemy / boss Ecology rooms, reactor waves | lab / accusation Keep the patient stable overnight | moving_platform / boss Population or glucose lifts | beam_board / boss Place species so all are fed | crisis / policy_dial Run the economy or ecosystem |
| Builder | forge / boss Craft a molecule, circuit, or golem program | lab / accusation Build the compound or circuit | switch / boss Wire the elevator; word-block bridge | tile_board / boss Valence grid, Lightbot | production_line / crisis Lay out the factory |
| Transformer | forge / boss Crafting-bench machines | lab / accusation Decode the letter or cipher | pickup / gate / boss Power-up machine, cipher platforms | conveyor / pipe_board / boss Route through machines | production_line / crisis Processing chain |
| Accumulator | forge / boss Fill the reservoir to forge the key | archive / accusation Rebuild totals from rate logs | gap / boss Fill the pit; velocity ghost | conveyor / boss Fill tanks | production_line / crisis Output over time |
| Recall | enemy / boss Spells are flashcards, cooldowns are spacing | conversation / accusation Riddle-keeper interrogation | pickup / boss Type the term to double-jump | tile_board / boss Timed word tiles | research_node / crisis Quick recall boosts research |