Samudra Manthan

Samudra Manthana is an asymmetric strategy game set in the Hindu myth of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. Four rival clans stir the primordial ocean for its divine treasures. The first to claim 10 Glory wins.

This is an in-development playtest build, so feedback is very welcome (see below).

2 to 4 players. About 45 minutes. Plays in your browser.

 vs AI: take on trained value-function and heuristic bots.

  Hotseat: pass-and-play on one device.

HOW IT PLAYS

Each cycle has a Day (move your beings, harvest resources, pay Tribute) and a Night (spawn new beings, then move and fight). Score Glory through Tribute, winning battles (Valour), and the Great Churning, a climactic core duel every third cycle. Combat is fast dice: line yours up against the defender's, and the highest wins each pair.

FOUR CLANS, FOUR POWERS

The whole game is asymmetric. Every clan bends the rules a different way:

•   Jwala (Ember Valour): a war-clan whose beings ascend faster and win tied attacks.
•   Aranya (Endless Coil): hoards deeper for bigger, escalating Tributes.
•   Varuna (Tide's Dominion): scores each night it holds the sacred core.
•   Hiranya (Mercenary Host): deploys anywhere it holds and plunders enemy homes.

FEEDBACK WANTED

This is an early playtest and I would love your thoughts: bugs, balance, what is fun, what is confusing. Hit "Send feedback" in-game (top right). If you find a bug, use "Export" in the Chronicle panel and attach the file so I can reproduce it exactly.

Board tile art was AI-generated (FLUX) for this playtest. Final art will be commissioned.