Blow Up the Cover
If the enemy is well hidden, blow up the wall; the battlefield keeps changing.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Spatial · Planning · Risk
No.140XCOM 201The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Find the cover they rely on
- 02Destroy it with explosives
- 03Enemy is exposed
- 04Follow up the attack
↻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
Two enemies hide behind a car at 25% hit chance each; you have one grenade.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
The player throws the grenade at the car.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
The car is destroyed; both lose cover and take 3 damage, raising hit chance to 70%.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
Teammates open fire, but the player notices the wreck no longer shields their own flank.
How it plays
Cover and walls have durability; explosives or heavy fire can destroy or downgrade them, stripping protection. Destruction is impartial, so new gaps can expose your own line. Explosives are limited, making placement a resource decision.
What the player weighs
- Grenade the cover vs. save it for a crowd
- Open new sightlines vs. lose your own protection
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
XCOM 2
Grenades and rockets destroy most cover and walls, and cars can explode on nearby units, so a map can be transformed over one mission.
Frozen Synapse
Maps are built of walls and low cover; to my knowledge explosive weapons can destroy some walls, and blasting a gap mid-turn disrupts the opponent's read, though details may vary by version.
The difference worth noticing
In XCOM 2 destruction is a visual climax; in Frozen Synapse it's more a card that breaks the opponent's plan.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Combine with access networks: blasting walls changes map connectivity and reroutes enemy reinforcements, making demolition strategic.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Cover and Flanking
Cover keeps you safe until someone walks around it.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Check where cover faces
- 02Move to a flanking angle
- 03Gain an accuracy bonus
- 04Guard against counter-flanks
Shove, Pull, Knock Back
Push enemies off ledges or into fire; position itself becomes the weapon.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Find hazardous terrain
- 02Plan the push direction
- 03Shove or pull
- 04Hazard does the work
Area Attacks Hit Everyone
A fireball doesn't care whose side you're on, so clear your allies first.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Find a cluster
- 02Check ally positions
- 03Adjust position or angle
- 04Cast and live with it