DELVE: A Solo Map Drawing Game

DELVE: A Solo Map Drawing Game is a map drawing game that puts you in control of a dwarven hold as you discover the horrors that lurk below. This 44 page zine has everything you need to generate natural formations, forgotten ruins, enemies, wyrd magics, and ancient monstrosities. It has a simple turn-based combat system, rules for building your hold and optional challenges for a harder experience.

Inspired by games like Dwarf Fortress and Dungeon Keeper, DELVE aims to capture that feeling of building and protecting a fortress in an unforgiving subterranean world.

All you need to play is, a pencil, paper (preferably 1" grid), and a deck of playing cards.

The Under-King has put out a bounty to all the holds demanding a Void Crystal, a rare and powerful gem found only in the deepest caverns.

Each round your dwarves will mine another square of the grid, you draw a card from your deck of playing cards and see what they found. Hearts ♥ and Diamonds ♦ are resources and trade goods that you'll use for building and hiring units while Clubs ♣ and Spades ♠ are natural formations and forgotten ruins. From ancient libraries to goblin lairs, these subterranean locales will become part of your hold's unique layout and may provide unexpected benefits. Or you might just unleash a horde of ravenous insects in which case, you'll need to fight.

Combat in DELVE is designed to allow for forward planning and strategic thinking without weighing you down with book-keeping. Enemies follow a tower-defense style path towards your hold's entrance while you move your units in simple turn-based tactical combat. Utilise traps, ranged attacks, and special units to face deadly foes or record your hold's epic demise.

DELVE will also be supported with ongoing updates and expansions which bring new features such as farming, trading, the Cave Sea, and more. Or you can check out RISE (a dungeon building variant which tasks you with keeping your mutinious minions happy) or UMBRA (a sci-fi variant with challenges you with colonising strange alien planets)