Ludum Dare is a twice-yearly game jam where you have 48 hours to create a game completely from scratch. A theme is announced at the beginning, but most themes allow a wide range of game genres. There are two rule sets within Ludum Dare: the Compo and the Jam. The Compo is the hardcore version, where you have 48 hours to create the game and everything has to be created within this period, including all assets, sounds, music, etc. The Jam rules are looser: Groups can participate, they have 72 hours and can use some preexisting assets. This was my 8th time participating and I worked in the Compo category.

ShroomRoom, my entry for Ludum Dare 47, image by author.

Theme

In the week leading up to the event, I already thought about what type of game I wanted to make. Normally, I come up with a genre early and then adapt it to the theme. The main idea floating in my head was to make some kind of card game, which is a genre that I wanted to try for a while. And lately, I got into growing my own mushrooms, so I thought about making something mushroom related.

When the theme “Stuck in a loop” was announced, I wasn’t super excited at first, because it didn’t seem to fit any of my ideas. But after some brainstorming, I came up with a plan that I was happy with: A turn-based game against an AI opponent. Every turn the player draws random cards. Each card represents a mycelium tile and the tiles can be placed on the map at matching edges. When 4 tiles in a 2x2 pattern create a loop, a mushroom will sprout that provides additional energy, so more cards can be played in future turns. To win the game the player has to become the dominant mushroom species and defeat the black mold (the opponent).

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