Adapt Survival
Overview
Adapt is a strategic survival card game for 2–6 players where you compete to collect hidden relics while managing island challenges, resource scarcity, and social deduction with your "friends." Balance risk vs. reward as you explore, hunt, scavenge, and decide when to betray others for victory.
Created with Joshua Long (Full Sail University classmates) during my Game Design degree in 2014. Perfect for game nights—quick to learn, high replayability.
My Role & Contributions
As co‑designer, owned core mechanics, card balancing, and playtesting iteration:
Designed card systems for exploration, hunting, resource management, and betrayal mechanics.
Created ~50 unique cards balancing risk/reward (e.g., fanny pack mitigates misadventures).
Led multiple playtest sessions (20+ rounds), iterating on relic hiding, challenge difficulty, and social deduction cues based on player feedback.
Balanced economy so safe play competes with aggressive relic hunting.
How to Play (Quick Rules)
Setup: Deal cards; shuffle relic deck.
Turn: Draw challenge → Play supplies or take risk → Explore/hunt/steal.
Goal: Collect 3 relics first (hidden in hand).
Twist: Others see "hiding" behaviors; betrayal cards flip alliances.
Playtime: 30–45 min | Players: 2–6
Why It Works
Adapt proves survival games thrive on tight systems + player psychology. The fanny pack "safety net" lets casual players participate while hardcore players push relic grabs. Playtesting revealed perfect betrayal timing—too early breaks groups, too late feels unfair.
Skills Demonstrated: Systems design, balancing, playtesting iteration, social deduction mechanics. Directly applicable to level pacing, encounter design, and Blueprint prototyping in my professional Unreal/Unity work.