Runic Cascade

Deep beneath forgotten temples, the altars still stand. Ten realms sleep in the dark, and every one of them is waiting for someone to read the runes again. Runic Cascade is a puzzle game about color, patience, and the quiet pressure of a rising pile. Rune orbs fall from above and gather on the altar. Drag your finger across rune orbs of the same color to link them, release, and watch them shatter. Let the altar climb too high and the realm is lost. CHAIN THE ORBS This is not a swap puzzle. You draw a path through touching rune orbs of the same color, so every clear is a decision about where to cut. A chain holds three orbs, and no more, which means the board is never solved by luck. It is solved by choosing well. TEN REALMS, TWO HUNDRED TRIALS Descend through ten realms, each with its own colors, its own music, and twenty trials to pass. Reach the score target to claim the realm's blessing, and earn up to three stars for a clean and swift ascent. There are no lives and no waiting. If a trial defeats you, begin again at once. RUNE ORBS OF OLD POWER Deeper realms wake stranger things. - Locked Rune Orbs stay sealed until two clears beside them break the chains, and then reveal their true color - Prism Rune Orbs are wildcards and will join a chain of any color - Giant Rune Orbs cannot be matched at all, and take three clears to break - Void Rune Orbs devour the orbs beside them, one every few seconds - Frost Rune Orbs freeze the orbs above, below and to either side until the ice is shattered - Blaze Rune Orbs are the only orbs that allow a chain of four, and they detonate THE CASCADE Every chain you clear feeds the cascade meter. Fill it and the cascade takes hold on its own. The falling slows to a crawl, every clear is worth double, and for twelve seconds the altar belongs to you. Make the most of it while it lasts. FIVE RELIC BOOSTERS TO CARRY Spend your runes on relic boosters and choose your moment. - Time Freeze halts the fall - Rune Blast destroys a color across the board - Prism Shield clears the top of the altar - Cascade Surge doubles your score - Orb Shuffle rewrites the board without moving a single orb THE DAILY RITE Once each day, one board is set for the whole world. Every player everywhere faces the same rune orbs and the same twist, and there are twists that change everything. Frost creeps in and the board slows. Blaze orbs fall in numbers. Colors grow scarce and the Void feeds on what is left. Reach the target and the reward is yours to keep. Then keep playing. The rite only ends when the altar overflows, and the further you push past the target, the higher you stand on the day's ledger. Return tomorrow and the streak grows with you. RUNE RUSH No target. No mercy. The rune orbs fall faster and faster until the altar takes you, and all that remains is how long you lasted and what you scored. One leaderboard, one score, no excuses. CARVE YOUR NAME Choose a name and take your place on the leaderboards for both Rune Rush and the day's rite. Invite a friend to the temple and both of you begin the descent together. PLAY ANYWHERE No signal, no problem. Every realm, the rite and the rush all play with no connection at all, and your scores are held safely until you return. Reconnect and they take their place on the boards on their own. Runic Cascade asks for a few minutes or an afternoon, and gives back the same quiet satisfaction either way. The runes are patient. The altar is not. Descend. Chain the orbs. Hold back the dark.