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2020 · 1-6 players · 60min · weight 2.46 · 3,114 ratings
At a glance — v4 wide
Controlled-vocabulary primitives + 8-axis MDA aesthetic vector. Vocab v1.
Roll dice under timer, move squad, shoot aliens with real-time dice rolls, then enemies react in waves.
- [3]time_pressure_realtime— “speedily roll dice as they take part in real-time, two-minute combat rounds against waves of terrifying enemies”
- [2]variable_player_powers— “players are members of the ELITE squad on a mission to stop the invading forces of an alien empire”
- [2]escalating_threat— “the game continues in this fast-yet-tactical series of rounds until the scenario is won or the aliens take the Earth”
- [2]dice_mitigation— “real-time, two-minute combat rounds against waves of terrifying enemies”
Archetype fits — v4 deep
How well this game shape maps to mobile archetype templates. Composite is a weighted sum of the 10 fit dimensions.
| Archetype | Composite | LTF | Session | Combo | Arc | Share | 5in | Onboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coop Genuine cooperative shooter with shared fail-state and realtime communication-constraint shape (call out targets, share dice). Inter-player coordination is load-bearing. But sprawling minis-on-hex map fails 5-inch legibility hard, and realtime is synchronous-only — this is a synchronous-coop fingerprint. | 5.10 | 6.0 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Balatro Realtime dice-roll shooting with character upgrades has mild combo-stacking, but 60min coop session and minis-on-hex board overshoot Balatro's solo 15-30 frame and 5-inch legibility. | 4.60 | 6.0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Snap Coop only — no PvP, no factional-deck-vs-deck shape. Snap pillars structurally absent. | 3.60 | 5.0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Cozy Hard tier — direct combat / opponent damage shape (alien shooter). Cap 3. Realtime time_pressure and combat tone are decisively anti-cozy. | 3.10 | 3.0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Wordle 60min minis coop — wrong category for Wordle. | 2.60 | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Translation candidate
Composite fit_score = bayes×0.30 + wish×0.18 + compress×0.17 + difficulty×0.20 + headroom×0.15.
Real-time dice + grid combat is digital-natural, but the in-person table panic is hard to recreate solo on a phone — closer to a Vermintide-shape game digitally.
Rules card
Synthesized from sources below. Readiness: needs-source. Confidence: 0.36.
Readiness
needs-source (confidence=0.36, rules=0.10, fun=0.85). BGG rank: 689; year: 2020; weight: 2.46; playtime: 60 min
| Source | Quality | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
bgg_comments | 0.75 | player voice | positive/player-voice sample |
llm_memory | 0.10 | draft synthesis | sonnet-self-rated-3-unknown |
Core Loop
In Project: ELITE, players are members of the ELITE squad on a mission to stop the invading forces of an alien empire. Stopping the invasion requires players to speedily roll dice as they take part in real-time, two-minute combat rounds against waves of terrifying enemies. Once the ELITE members take their turn, the aliens react. The game continues in this fast-yet-tactical series of rounds until the scenario is won or the aliens take the Earth.
This new edition of Project: ELITE will have new art, new miniatures, new card designs, new weapons, new ELITE members, new enemies, and more.
Turn Structure and State
- No manual/BGA/transcript source is present; card relies on memory plus BGG context.
- BGG description anchor: In Project: ELITE, players are members of the ELITE squad on a mission to stop the invading forces of an alien empire. Stopping the invasion requires players to speedily roll dice as they take part in real-time, two-minute combat rounds against waves of terrifying enemies. Once the ELITE members take their turn, the aliens react. The game continues in this fast-yet-tactical series of rounds until the scenario [...]
Win Condition and Arc
Win/scoring arc needs verification from a rules authority.
Decision Primitives
BGG mechanisms: Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Elapsed Real Time Ending, Grid Movement, Line of Sight, Real-Time, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Variable Player Powers
v4 controlled primitives: time_pressure_realtime, variable_player_powers, escalating_threat, dice_mitigation
Top iOS archetype fits: coop 5.1, balatro 4.6, snap 3.6.
Why It Is Fun
Fun read needs player-voice synthesis.
Player-voice evidence:
- Light, fun and accessible game! Short playtime, super easy to play two games in a row.
- Fast-paced chaos. I was surprised by how much tension this game creates with its real-time element.
- A fun and hectic game. The more players the more fun and chaotic it gets.
- Exciting fast paced dice chucker. Not the cleanest game in the world, and rulebook could be better...but its undeniable that this game is just a heck of a lot of FUN. Closest thing to a video game as you can get. Love it
- 2000er Jahren. Obwohl ich das Design der Packung und Charaktere anfangs noch gewöhnungsbedürftig fand, ist nach der ersten Testrunde klar: Hier wurde richtig gut Thematisch gearbeitet. Das passt irgendwie alles richtig gut zusammen. Der...
Friction and Failure Modes
- Treat Sonnet-memory edge rules as draft until confirmed by manual, BGA, or transcript.
- Needs at least one stronger rules authority before final extraction use.
Translation and Design Hooks
- Use this card to ask: which primitive carries the fun if theme/licensing is removed?
- For iOS, look for short-session compression, clear state visualization, and a digital-only twist.
- For new tabletop design, look for the tension source and decide whether to preserve or invert it.
Edge Rules and Gotchas
No verified edge-rule section yet.
Sources Used
[
{
"kind": "bgg_comments",
"path": "data/bgg_comments/256999.txt",
"quality": 0.75,
"note": "positive/player-voice sample"
},
{
"kind": "llm_memory",
"path": "data/llm_memory_sonnet/256999.md",
"quality": 0.1,
"note": "sonnet-self-rated-3-unknown"
}
]
Sources (2)
Inputs to rules-card synthesis. Click any pill with ↗ to open the original source.