ASMO is contained · SOMA holds · choose SIMULATION, INVADE, CASCADE or ??? for a new mind
?OPERATOR FIELD GUIDE
THE MISSION
This is SOMA's mind. Something inside it, ASMO, is trying to break free and take over. Your lance carries a charge from the UPLINK through SOMA's logic gates to its core. When the charge reaches the core, ASMO is CONTAINED.
Everyone plays together. You have 120 seconds from the first touch, a handful of moves each, and four helpful NHPs thinking alongside you. ASMO fights back with ICE.
HOW TO PLAY
1 · TAP A GATEEach gate has 2 to 5 conduits. Its arrow shows which one is active. A tap turns it to the next conduit and costs 1 move.
2 · KEEP TURNINGWrong conduit? Tap again. Taps always go forward, so every tap on a gate that is on the hidden path gets it closer.
3 · IT LOCKSWhen a gate on the hidden path points the right way, it locks in the color of whoever turned it. The charge flows through it.
4 · FOLLOW THE CHARGEA locked gate points to the next gate on the path. The charge stops at the next unlocked gate and a white halo marks it. Work there next.
You win when every gate on the hidden path is locked and the charge reaches SOMA's core. You lose if the 120 second trace runs out.
READING THE BOARD
Untouched gateNobody has turned it yet. The two-character label (like 0F) is its name, handy for calling out targets.
Turned gateIt takes the color of the last operator who touched it. The arrow shows its active conduit.
Locked gateCorrect and permanent. Its conduit glows and leads to the next gate on the path.
Charge waitingThe white halo marks where the charge has stopped. This gate is always on the hidden path.
Live conduitBright, flowing current: the charge's confirmed route from the uplink.
Leaking chargeFaint flicker past the waiting gate shows where its current conduit points. It is a guess, not a promise.
Possible conduitsDotted lines are a gate's other options. Dots on a gate's rim show how many it has.
Double ringHANDSHAKE gate: two different operators must tap it within 3 seconds to turn it.
BLACK ICEA trap that has been found. Touching it costs 2 extra moves. Leave it alone.
ICE disabledA trap someone hit while it was frozen. It is harmless now.
Scan resultsSIG means the gate is on the hidden path. DEAD means it leads nowhere. Everyone sees them.
PATH revealA crackling bolt shows one correct connection until that gate locks.
Shattered mirageA fake lock that broke apart. That gate is a dead end.
Dark gate (INVADE)Its conduits are hidden until someone touches or scans it, or the charge reaches it.
CONTROLS
ROUTE
Tap or click a gate to turn it. This is the default.
SCAN
Switch with the button or S, or just right-click a gate. Shows whether it carries the signal or is a trap. Uses a scan, never a move.
⚡ PATH
Button or P. Reveals one correct connection, starting where the charge waits.
+ NPC
Adds an NPC operator. NPCs make the right move about half the time and guess the rest.
BONUS
The box beside each name adds moves for that operator. GMs: type their Hack or Fix bonus, e.g. 6.
♪ · FX
Music and sound effects, each on or off for your browser only.
RESOURCES
MOVES: each tap costs 1. Every operator has their own moves plus any bonus.
SHARED POOL: extra team moves in INVADE, CASCADE and ???. You draw on it automatically after your own run out. NPCs may use it too, but stop at half.
SCANS: a separate pool per operator. Free of moves.
PATH: per operator. None in SIMULATION.
TIME: 120 seconds from first touch. If everyone runs out of moves, the clock drops to 10 seconds. Granting bonus moves restores it.
THE NHPs
Four NHPs think alongside you in the message box at the bottom left. Their cards in the side panel light up when an ability fires.
SOMAThe mind you are saving. Calls you friends. It only knows there is an error. Each map, SOMA gets one random ability:
SNAP: reverts the first harmful hit (a Black ICE penalty or a shattered lock).
BOOT: if the trace fails, buys 10 seconds and 1 move for every operator, once.
FORK: about 60 seconds in, gives a random NHP an extra charge (two in CASCADE and ???).
AMOS · LINKThe navigator. Calls you ram rod. Every 30 seconds (after the first 30) he aligns the gate where the charge waits: once in SIMULATION and INVADE, twice in CASCADE and ???.
OSMA · NULLThe protector. Calls you lance. When a trap triggers on you, or you are seized, OSMA has a 50% chance to nullify it. One try per operator, two in ???.
· LOCKIts name keeps rearranging itself. Calls itself we and you persons. Once per map it freezes ASMO for 5 seconds, never in the last 20. Traps hit while frozen are disabled for good.
ASMOIt does not make sense. It speaks only in broken symbols. Except once, perhaps.
ASMO'S ICE
Every map rolls its own defenses. Active ICE is listed in the side panel.
☠FIREWALLBlack ICE hides among dead-end gates. Touching it costs 2 extra moves. Scan suspicious gates first.
◎HANDSHAKEDouble-ringed gates turn only when two different operators tap within 3 seconds.
↺DRIFTEvery 15 seconds two dead-end gates twist. Gates it twists are not on the path.
⌁MIRAGEA dead-end gate fakes a lock, then shatters after 3 seconds. Do not follow its conduit.
⧗LATENCYEach operator waits 2 seconds between moves. Take turns.
◐UNMAPPEDINVADE only. Conduits stay dark until a gate is touched, scanned or reached.
✶BREACHCASCADE and ???. New gates and conduits appear and the path may detour.
✂SEVER??? only. Conduits are destroyed and locks can shatter.
⚡STUN??? only. An operator is seized for 15 seconds and cannot act. Twice per trace, 30 seconds apart.
MODES
SIMULATIONA drill inside SOMA's casket, so your lance knows how to hold SOMA together if a cascade ever seems inevitable.3 moves each · 1 scan · no PATH · up to 8 moves to win
INVADEAn error is spreading. Breach the casket and stop SOMA from cascading. The map is dark.4 moves each · 4 shared · 2 scans · 1 PATH · up to 12
CASCADESOMA is not cascading. Something inside it is, and it wants to be the dominant mind. The mind breaches as you work.5 moves each · 8 shared · 2 scans · 1 PATH · up to 16
???It wants to exist, beyond the casket and into the omninet. Everything it has, it uses.6 moves each · 12 shared · 4 scans · 2 PATH · up to 32
The color of each failure is the color of the next map. A lost round restarts in the same mode after 10 seconds. A win stays on screen until someone picks a mode.
PLAYING ONLINE
One person leaves the code blank and presses JACK IN. A new 4-character code is created. It is shown at the top of the side panel.
Share the code, or press ⧉ INVITE to copy a link that already contains it.
Everyone else enters the code and a callsign. Anyone can observe with just the code.
Press ⇄ to switch to a different code at any time.
TIPS FROM THE LANCE
Work the white halo. The gate where the charge waits is always on the path. Moves anywhere else are guesses.
Call gates by name. "I've got 0F, you take 1A" keeps two people off the same gate.
Count the dots. A gate's rim dots show how many conduits it has, so you know how many taps it could take.
Scan before you poke. Scans are free of moves and reveal traps.
Save PATH for big gates. A gate with four or five conduits is where PATH saves the most moves.
Coordinate handshakes. Say "now!" and tap the double-ringed gate together.
Spend your own moves first. The shared pool is the team's safety net.
Listen to the NHPs. AMOS points at the next gate, OSMA warns about traps, and explains what ASMO is doing.
STUNNED15.0sASMO has seized you. Your lance must carry on.