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@@xx@@ @@\ @@' '@@ @@xx@@ @@\ /@' @@' '@@ @@
@@@/ @@ @@ @@ @@@/ @@ \@. @@ @@ @@
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@@ .@@/ @@. .@@ @@ @@ \@\ /@/ @@. .@@ @@. .
/@@ @@@@@@' '@@@@@@' /@@ @@\ '@@@@@@@' '@@@@@@' '@@@@@@@@/
_ _ +----------------------------------------------+ . _._
/@\ |@| | | / \ / ' \
/@O@\ / O \ | Developers: John Eternal and Hundred Rabbits | < O > \ O /
\_"_/ \."./ | | \"/ \"/
= _=_ | Platforms: web, Famicom/NES, PICO-8 | = =
/@@@\ /@@@\ | | /@@@\ /@@@\
+----------------------------------------------+
FAQ written by /dev/urandom https://devurandom.xyz/
May 17th, 2021
.===================.
|-------------------|
| Table of Contents |
| |
| [INT] Intro |
| [RUL] Rules |
| [HNT] Hints |
| [CRD] Credits |
| |
'-------------------"
-=[INT]=- Intro ==============================================================
Donsol is a dungeon-crawler game that can be played using a deck of cards.
This document will cover both the original card game and the video game
versions.
-=[RUL]=- Rules ==============================================================
The game is played with a standard deck of 54 cards. The player shuffles the
deck and lays the first four cards on the play area.
.-----. .-----. .-----. .-----. .-----. - - -
|XXXXX| |3s | |7d | |Jc | |Ah | | |
|XXXXX| | * | | * * | | _ | | =_= | |waste|
|XXXXX| | * * | |* * *| | (@) | | \#/ | | |
|XXXXX| | | | * * | | ^ | | ~ | | |
'=====' `~~~~~' `~~~~~' `~~~~~' `~~~~~' ~ ~ ~
The player can pick one of these four cards. What happens later depends on the
card. Alternatively, the player sometimes can "run away": put the cards back in
the deck and reshuffle it, getting a new set of four cards on the play area.
The goal of the game is to place every card in the waste area.
-*- Picking a card
If a player picks one of the four cards, the outcome depends on what the card's
suit and value are.
/\ /\ .--------------------------------------.
/ \ /\/\ SPADES AND CLUBS: Monsters | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10| J| Q| K| A|
\/\/ \/\/ | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|13|15|17|
_||_ _||_ `--------------------------------------'
When picked, the player and the monster battle. The player loses health
corresponding to its value -- see the table in the top right. If the player
survives the battle, the monster dies and its card is placed in the waste area.
Otherwise the game is over.
The player starts the game with 21 health points, and can't go above 21.
/\ .--------------------------------------.
/ \ DIAMONDS: Shields | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10| J| Q| K| A|
\ / | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|11|11|11|
\/ `--------------------------------------'
When picked, the player equips the shield (and tosses away any shield they had
before). The shield reduces all damage taken by its value. However, the shield
can only take damage from monsters in decreasing order of value. If, for
example, the player is attacked by a jack and then a king, then the shield
breaks and the player receives the full damage from the king's attack. The
shield card goes into the waste area when equipped.
/\/\ .--------------------------------------.
| | HEARTS: Potions | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10| J| Q| K| A|
\ / | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|11|11|11|
\/ `--------------------------------------'
When picked, the player consumes the potion and restores the amount of health
according to its value, up to a maximum of 21. However, if the player decides
to use two or more potions in a row (without picking any non-potion cards in
between), then the later potion is wasted with no effect. The potion card goes
into the waste area when equipped.
*\/* *\/*
,--. JOKERS: Donsols ,--.
|''| VALUE: 21 |''|
\__/ \__/
The two joker cards are Donsols -- the strongest monsters in the game. When
picked, they operate like the spade and club monster cards. However, they are
valued at 21, which means the Donsols will always kill the player if they don't
have a shield, or if their shield has taken damage before.
.---------------------.
| @ ___ ___ | Running away
| .-/. |__ \/ | | | from rooms
| -' \ |__ /\ | | | in the dungeon
| | |
`---------------------'
If the player decides to run away from a room, then the remaining cards in it
are shuffled back into the deck, and four new cards are taken from it.
The player's ability to run away is determined by the difficulty level of the
game.
EASY: The player can run away if they haven't ran away from the previous room,
or if the play area has no monster cards.
NORMAL: The player can run away if they haven't ran away from the previous
room.
HARD: The player can run away if the play area has no monster cards.
EXPERT: The player can't run away at all.
In addition, the player can _always_ run away from the first room in the game,
before any cards have been picked, as many times as possible.
-*- Next room
When all four cards in the play area are put into waste, or when the player
runs away, the player now takes another four cards from the deck (or less, if
the deck doesn't have 4 cards left) and places them into the play area, and the
game continues.
If there are no cards in either the deck or the play area, the player wins the
game.
-=[VID]=- Video Game Version =================================================
Donsol was also available as an Electron-based web app, and is now available a
Famicom/NES ROM file and (unofficially) a PICO-8 game. These versions implement
the same rules, but differ in display:
* The card deck has a special design for Donsols (jokers).
* Your health is always displayed as "HP".
* On the web and PICO-8 versions, your defense is displayed as "DP". If your
shield is brand-new, it will only display its defense value. If it's been
damaged, it will display the maximum attack it can handle.
* On the Famicom/NES version, your defense is displayed as "SP", followed by
the defense value on the right. If your shield is damaged, it will show a
card rank right after "SP", which is the rank of the last card that damaged
the shield.
* The number of cards you've put to waste is displayed as "XP".
On the Famicom/NES version, left/right selects the card, A picks the selected
card, and B runs away from the room, if this is possible.
On the web and PICO-8 version, left/right selects the card, up/down lets you
select the "Run" option, and the O button lets you pick the card or run away,
depending on what's selected.
[!] On the Famicom/NES version, the option of endlessly running away before you
picked your first card is not available.
-=[HNT]=- Hints ==============================================================
* If the play area has shield or potion cards that you don't need right now,
running away is better than using these cards for no reason.
* Try remembering which cards are left in the deck. This might help you figure
out how safe or dangerous the next rooms are going to be.
-=[CRD]=- Credits ============================================================
FAQ written and formatted by /dev/urandom
Original game by John Eternal
==============================================================================
