Containment Protocol: Roguelike Deckbuilder

How to play

How to Play Containment Protocol: Roguelike Deckbuilder

Read the current hand and enemy intent, spend energy deliberately, then check the result before ending the turn.

1. 01

   Enter the opening tutorial combat. Find your health, the energy counter, the enemy health bar, and the cards along the bottom.

2. 02

   Read an attack card before selecting it. The observed Pulse Rifle costs one energy and says it deals seven damage and applies one Vulnerable.

3. 03

   Click the card once. When Tap an enemy appears, click the intended enemy to confirm the attack. A target preview alone is not a completed hit.

4. 04

   After the animation, compare enemy health, remaining energy, hand size, and status icons. Decide whether another card fits the energy you have left.

5. 05

   Use End Turn when you are ready for the enemy action. Watch your health and the new hand before planning the next turn with refreshed energy.

About the game

Choose a card, then choose what it hits

Containment Protocol: Roguelike Deckbuilder is a turn-based science-fiction card game. In the opening combat, selecting an attack does not immediately fire it: click the card, then click an enemy when the game asks for a target. Cards spend energy, while the enemy intent display helps you decide whether to attack or prepare protection. End Turn hands the action to the enemy before your next hand and refreshed energy appear.

This guide follows the opening tutorial through one confirmed Pulse Rifle attack and the following turn. The attack dealt seven damage, reduced energy from three to two, and applied Vulnerable. Ending that turn brought the enemy action, a new hand, and three energy again. Those observations explain the basic combat loop; they do not establish a winning deck, the whole campaign, or how every later status effect behaves.

Controls

Controls for Containment Protocol: Roguelike Deckbuilder

Click a card, then an enemy

Select an attack and confirm its target in the observed tutorial.

Drag a card onto its target

Alternative targeting method described by the official game page.

Cancel during target selection

Leave the visible targeting prompt before confirming a hit.

End Turn

Allow the enemy action and advance to the next hand and energy refill.

Touch controls

Officially supported input; follow the current card and target prompts.

Useful strategy

Make the whole turn count

How to play an attack card and choose its target

The first attack has two distinct inputs. Selecting Pulse Rifle lifted the card into a targeting state and displayed Tap an enemy. The interface also showed a projected health change on the opponent. That is a useful chance to inspect the choice, but it is not proof that damage has already happened. If you stop at that screen, the card is still waiting for confirmation. Click the enemy itself to complete the action, rather than clicking the card over and over.

Once the target was confirmed, the enemy health changed from 25 to 18, a red seven-damage number appeared, and a Vulnerable icon showed one stack. Energy dropped from three to two and the hand lost the played card. These separate changes are a reliable way to tell that the input reached the combat system. You do not need to infer success from a glow or a moving card alone. The health counter and energy counter give you concrete feedback.

The official instructions also describe dragging a card onto an enemy or location. Use that method if it suits your input device, while following the current card restrictions. Not every card necessarily asks for an enemy: protection or other effects can use different targets. The visible Cancel control is useful while choosing an attack target. Check the prompt before committing, especially when several enemies or locations become available later.

Why another card may be unavailable

Energy is a spending limit for the current turn, not a count of cards remaining in your hand. The opening screen had three energy. Pulse Rifle used one and left two. To decide whether another card is affordable, compare its displayed cost with the remaining counter. A full-looking hand can contain options you cannot currently pay for. If selection does not lead to a legal play, also check whether the card needs a specific target instead of assuming the game has ignored your click.

End Turn is the next combat phase, not a harmless button for obtaining more energy immediately. During the observed transition the enemy acted, player health fell from 32 to 24, and the next turn began with three energy and a new five-card hand. The enemy also displayed block. That sequence matters because refreshing energy can come after taking damage. Do not press End Turn simply because you want a different card without first checking what the enemy intends to do.

A useful beginner routine is to pause before that button: count your energy, inspect playable cards, read the enemy intent, and consider protection. This is a decision checklist rather than a guaranteed winning sequence. The tutorial hand can differ, and later fights can change the choices. When the next turn appears, read it as a fresh situation. A new Guard or Shield Matrix offers a different option from the attack-heavy hand you just used.

Read health, block, and intent separately

Health tells you the visible condition of a combatant. Block and status icons add information without replacing that health value. In the observed second turn the enemy still had 18 health and displayed five block. Do not treat the additional block number as healing back to full health. Read both before choosing another attack. The same distinction is useful on your side: a protection card describes an effect, while your health bar tells you what damage has already reached you.

The official guide describes clicking an enemy to read its dossier and intent. Intent is especially valuable before your turn ends because it helps you weigh damage against protection. The opening fight visibly showed enemy action information, and the next turn followed an actual health loss. This guide does not claim that every icon or number predicts an identical attack. Inspect the current enemy display and any explanatory text available in your session.

Status names can tempt you to apply rules from another deckbuilder. Avoid that shortcut. Pulse Rifle explicitly applied Vulnerable, and one stack appeared after the confirmed hit, but this short test did not establish its duration or every damage interaction. Read the game’s own explanation before building a strategy around it. Likewise, a drawn protection card is an option to investigate; its presence alone does not prove that you gained block without playing it.

Keep the first fight separate from long-term progression

The official description introduces Campaign, Classic, and weekly Breach modes, along with Operators, cards, and progression systems. Those are reasons to explore after you understand a turn. They are not requirements for completing the first attack. Start with the tutorial, learn the difference between selecting and confirming a card, and watch one enemy response. That small loop gives you a practical foundation without needing to choose a supposedly optimal long-term build beforehand.

For another game about spending a limited resource before enemies act, try Briarlight Defense. It asks you to position towers before a wave, so planning protection remains important even though the inputs are different. Reefhold offers another defensive planning task. Use the related games below when you want that kind of resource decision; neither is a substitute for learning the card costs and target prompts in Containment Protocol itself.