Independent product · Game design
STAX
A push-your-luck game built around choices players can hold, time and use against one another.
Visit projectProblem
Fast push-your-luck games can leave players watching probability rather than making meaningful choices.Solution
Held power cards, visible risk and shorter scoring made every draw a meaningful choice.Impact
A 62-card family game with faster rounds, legible tension and enough agency for repeat play.The problem
Push-your-luck games create tension, but players can end up watching probability happen to them. STAX keeps the speed while giving players meaningful choices.
The solution
Shield, Destroy, Lock, Steal and Swap cards stay in a player’s hand until they choose to use them. Holding a power creates timing, bluffing and interaction without requiring a thick rulebook.
One set of rules across every mode
Deck construction, legal actions, turn flow and scoring live in shared TypeScript modules. Local play, bots, multiplayer and simulations therefore use the same rules.
The evidence
The 62-card deck makes higher numbers more dangerous by including more copies. Players can bank a modest score, push for a run bonus or risk losing the round to a duplicate.
Simulate the balance; protect the multiplayer state
Automated games test card frequencies, bonuses and powers across thousands of turns. Online rooms keep the game state on the server, preventing two screens from resolving a draw differently. The same product ships on iOS through Capacitor.
Faster rounds matter
The game races to 100 rather than 200. Shorter sessions keep children engaged and make a rematch easy.
The impact
Family testing kept the rules honest: turns had to move, choices had to be understood quickly and the tension had to work for adults and children at the same table.
The result