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Dev Update: Introducing Memoraak

· updated · Pazaak Cantina

Alex here. I’ve been deep in development lately, and today I finally get to share something I’ve been quietly building in the background: a brand-new game mode called Memoraak.

If you enjoy memory challenges or quick daily runs and want something new, I think you’re going to like this one.

How Memoraak works

Memoraak is a solo, score-attack, memory-driven challenge mode built around clean, deterministic rules.

The goal

  • Bank the highest turn score you can without busting. The highest turn score is 20.
  • A bust means your total goes over 20, and that turn ends with 0 points.
  • It’s push-your-luck by design: stop early for guaranteed points, or keep flipping and risk losing everything.

Game start: the reveal

  • Three random cards flip face-up at the start.
  • You get a moment to memorize them.
  • Then they flip back down. Hopefully you have a decent memory!

Turn flow

  • Choose a face-down card to flip.
  • Your total increases by the flipped card’s value.
  • Decide whether to bank or keep flipping.
  • Bank points based on your total, or bust (21+) and earn 0 for that turn.
  • After a bust, all cards flipped during that turn become available again next turn (except Unstable cards, which can be lost).
  • You have unlimited turns and unlimited time.

Scoring

Your turn total decides how many points you earn when you bank:

Total Points
15–16 1
17–19 2
20 3 (perfect)
20 with an Unstable card in play 4
21+ (bust) 0

So 15–16 is safe but low-value, 17–19 is the sweet spot, 20 is the goal, and anything over 20 is a bust.

Unstable cards

Some cards are marked Unstable, and they have special interactions:

  • If you make a perfect 20 with an Unstable card involved, you get a bonus point, so the maximum is 4.
  • If you bust while an Unstable card is revealed, that card is unavailable for the rest of the run.

Pro tip: the memory marker

You have one memory marker to mark the back of a card and help you remember its value. Long-press a card to mark it. The marker comes back when you turn that card over, or long-press it again to remove it.

Daily Memoraak

Daily Memoraak is a special version of Memoraak where:

  • You get one attempt per day.
  • Everyone gets the same card layout.
  • It resets at midnight UTC.
  • Busts count against you: every bust is deducted from your posted leaderboard score.

It’s a quick, fair way to compare scores with friends and other players.

Why this mode exists

Memoraak is designed for fast runs and repeat attempts: something you can jump into for a few minutes, learn from, and immediately try again. Also, it’s good for the brain to test that memory every now and then!

A new game mode was the most-voted feature in our first Feature Poll, so hopefully this is fun for those of you looking for something new.

Thanks for reading, and as always, keep the feedback coming.