Part of the Classic Arcade Line series, meant to introduce the second series, Helljumpers is my attempt to make a 180 card deckbuilder with a unique theme while paying homage to classic AM2 era Sega games like Burning Ranger or LA Guns. This game currently exist as a series of spreadsheets and a card template to spit out prototype cards rather quickly so I’m eager to give this one a shot when I finally get the time to make it.

 

Helljumpers is based on extremely high altitude fire and rescue in the future. That’s right, a deck-builder based on scifi fire fighting. Dear Publishers, line starts here. The game has a few unique mechanics insofar as all of the cards in your hand will go out on the table only they go either as a Rescue Team or a Budget Pile. Then, after the cards have been placed on the table, you may Invest in your company or undergo a Rescue Contract. Spending your budget is how you acquire new cards for your deck whereas undergoing a contract is how you gain victory points and expanded Budget Cards.

 

The contract system is, where I hope, this game shines as each Contract has three phases. Since you’ll be assembling a team, you’ll need 3 commanders to tackle the three hazard gates. The first is Danger and you’ll exhaust a character with Recklessness to bypass this gate. Next comes Instability which another commander with a high Instinct could bypass. Finally, there is Complexity whereas a character with Analysis Stats could be used. This is all necessary to reach the difficulty stat which the remaining team members are used to meet or exceed this stat to get the job done.

 

But what would a Fire Fighter game be without heroic deaths? Any character may be used twice in Contract but this comes at a cost. This Helljumper falls in the line of duty and exits your deck, being put under your memorial card.