Prompt Refinery · beta — has not cleared the world-class gate · PLY
UPTIME
Turn raw silicon into servers, wire your servers into a network, and win the contracts that pay for it — before the supply chain runs dry. 3–4 players (2p variant included) · 25–30 min · ages 10+ · 54 cards.
Components
Supply Deck (26 cards): raw materials (Silicon, Copper, Polymer, Rare-Earth) plus 2 Twist cards. Build Deck (28 cards): Components, Computers, Network cards, Contracts, and 2 Patch (wild) cards. No board, no tokens, no dice.
Setup (under 2 minutes)
Shuffle the Supply Deck; deal each player 4 cards as a starting hand. Place the rest as a face-down draw pile. Shuffle the Build Deck; reveal the top 4 cards face-up as the Build Row, which always refills to 4 after a claim. Youngest player goes first, play passes clockwise.
Goal
Build the most valuable tech stack — Computers, Networks, and Cloud Contracts — before the decks run out.
A turn
On your turn, do exactly one of these four things:
Draw — take the top 2 cards of the Supply Deck into your hand.
Requisition — pay the printed cost of one Build Row card and take it.
Bid — open the once-around auction on a Contract card in the Build Row.
Pass — draw the top 1 card of the Supply Deck. Always legal, even with an empty hand or an empty Build Row — this is the safety valve that guarantees no turn is ever a dead end.
Requisition costs
A Component (CPU, RAM, Storage, Motherboard, PSU, Case) costs the 2 raw materials printed on its card. A Computer costs discarding 3 different Component types from your tableau, and resolves its printed one-time ability. A Network card (Cable / Router) costs discarding 3 raw materials and requires already owning 2+ Computers.
A Patch card may substitute for 1 required raw material or 1 required Component type on any Requisition, or — instead of Requisitioning — be played face-up on a Build Row card toReserve it: no one else may claim that card until it comes back around to your next turn.
The 4 Computers are not identical
Workstation — on claim, draw 1 free raw material of your choice.
Blade — on claim, return 1 unwanted Component to the bottom of the Build Deck, then draw 1 raw material.
Tower — on claim, your next Network Requisition costs 1 fewer raw material (minimum 1).
Mainframe — on claim, counts as 2 Computers toward the Cloud Milestone (scoring unaffected).
Bidding (once-around auction)
To open bidding on a Contract you must already own 1+ Computer. Going clockwise exactly once, each other player raises by discarding raw materials from hand (1 material = 1 bid point) or passes. If no one outbids you, you win at your opening bid; the winner discards their bid materials to the supply and keeps the Contract face-down until final scoring.
Twist cards
Power Surge — take 2 free raw materials of your choice, then continue your turn normally. Supply Shortage — the Build Row does not refill after the next claim by anyone. Both resolve immediately when drawn.
How it ends
The game ends, finishing the current round so everyone gets equal turns, the moment either is true: the Build Deck can't be refilled after a claim, or any player has claimed 2 Computers and 1 Contract (a Cloud Milestone). Both decks are finite, so the game always ends.
Scoring
Computer: 5 points each. Cable: 2 points. Router: 2 points per Computer attached (max 6). Network points cap at 8 per player. Contract: printed value (4–7). Every 3 leftover raw materials: 1 point. Highest total wins.
Tie-break, in order: most Computers built, then most Contracts won, then fewest Draw/Pass actions taken all game, then the tied player earliest in turn order. This always produces exactly one winner.
Edge-case FAQ
Draw and Pass never have a cost or prerequisite, so there is no turn where a player has zero legal actions. An empty Supply Deck just makes Draw give fewer cards; Pass still works and simply does nothing that turn. A Reserved Build Row card just plays with one fewer open slot until it clears. Building a Computer spends its Components permanently — that's why a Computer (5 points) is worth more than 3 loose Components (0 points): the game rewards converting, not hoarding.
2-player variant
Deal 5 starting cards instead of 4. After each real player's claim, also discard the top Build Deck card face-up unclaimed, so the deck still thins fast enough for a ~25-minute game.
9-up sheets — 54 cards, cut with the crop marks, one back sheet for all cards.
Shareable intro: https://game-design-pi.vercel.app/uptime/