Darkwaar23 - Patch

Paint three cells inside the ring. The patch strikes once.

grid adjacency deterministic-combat

Play

Posted Oct 7, 2026 by Mathieu Ledru

Darkwaar is an experiment in creating and publishing small playable ideas regularly.

Today's puzzle

Today's Darkwaar is Patch.

The board is five columns by seven rows. The Heart sits in the center, inside a ring. You paint up to three connected cells, and that patch resolves as one number.

How to play

  • Paint inside the ring. Three cells, joined by their edges. The Heart cell cannot be painted
  • The number on the patch is its power, and the power is the cell count
  • Resolve. Every enemy inside the ring and next to the patch takes that power once
  • Those painted cells also block the step that follows. A bar can close a path. A gap can leave one
  • Outside the ring, an enemy walks toward the Heart. Inside, it steps closer, or strikes if it already stands next to the Heart
  • An arrow shows the next cell. A red ring marks a hit. A mark on the Heart means a strike is coming
  • The waves are one, one, two, two, three, then a quiet turn
  • The Heart starts at 4. Win when the script is finished and the board is empty. Lose at 0
  • Again restores the script

Play on itch.io

Play Patch in the browser: https://darkwoodcom.itch.io/darkwaar23

Screenshots

The ring, the Heart, and the first enemy

Three cells, one number, and the step that cell will block

A column of three, a strike on the Heart, and the next enemies already walking in

The core

Paint. Block. Resolve.

The number is only how many cells you painted. The shape decides the rest. A cell next to an enemy is a hit. The same cell, standing on the square that enemy would cross, is a wall for that one step. Three cells can do both.

Spending all three does not change the rule. It spends the patch. The decision is which three, and which step you refuse to leave open.

Development note

Thirty-five cells. One number. The painted cells are the terrain for one step.

More Darkwaar

Darkwaar30 - Anglecut
Caught by the gaze.
grid stealth vision

Darkwaar29 - Terrace
Fixed camera. Raise the bridge. Reach the terrace.
grid elevation isometric

Darkwaar27 - Pigment
One die. The color it lands.
grid die color