Holding Back the Water
Water is both lifeline and disaster; keep it where it belongs.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Spatial · Risk · Planning
No.019Timberborn01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Read flow and levels
- 02Build dams or open gates
- 03Store for dry spells
- 04Prevent overflow
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
Drought in three days, reservoir at 1.2 m, farms downstream.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
Raise the dam one level and close the downstream gate.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
Level reaches 2 m, but an upstream field floods and four crops are lost.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
Release water in stages once the drought hits.
How it plays
Water flows across terrain by fluid rules, and dams, gates and pumps steer where it goes and how high it rises. Too little storage fails in drought; too much floods buildings or crops.
What the player weighs
- Store more for drought or less for safety
- Invest in waterworks or production
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Timberborn
Rivers periodically dry up and some versions add contaminated badtides, so players hold water with dams, levees, floodgates and tanks.
Oxygen Not Included
Liquids flow and pool through the colony, so players manage water with pumps, pipes and layout to avoid flooding and recycle polluted water.
The difference worth noticing
Timberborn treats water level as a seasonal survival resource; Oxygen Not Included treats it as closed-loop engineering.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Irrigation reach depends on water height: higher dams water more fields, but before drought you choose how much goes to crops versus drinking.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Load-Bearing Builds
To build taller and wider, first answer one question: will it hold?
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Place a piece
- 02Read the support signal
- 03Add pillars or better material
- 04Expand or collapse
Roads and Entrances
A building isn't open until a road reaches its door.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Plan a building spot
- 02Connect a road
- 03Check flow and jams
- 04Reroute or widen
What Counts as a Room
Four walls are not always a room; meet the rules and it starts working.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Enclose a space
- 02Add required furniture
- 03The game checks the room
- 04Gain a function or resident