Blackjack Alchemist

Blackjack Alchemist is a roguelike deckbuilder set in The Crucible, a cursed casino where you must get past the house to escape. You play blackjack, then alter your cards and the rules of the game to build strategies for each run.

Transform your deck

Between rounds, you can use the Alchemy Bench to change your cards in three ways:

• Card Fusion: combine two cards into a new card that inherits properties from both. For example, a 7 of Hearts and a 3 of Spades can become the 10 of Thorns, which damages your opponent whenever they draw. The game has 19+ discoverable recipes, tracked in the Fusion Codex.
• Transmutation: change a card’s suit without changing its value. Hearts heal, Diamonds pay gold, Spades grant shields and Clubs deal bonus damage.
• Enchantments: attach a persistent modifier to a card. Volatile deals damage when drawn, Magnetic chains into drawing the next card, Recursive returns to the deck after play, and the legendary Philosopher’s Stone always counts as exactly what you need.

Change the rules

After each boss fight, choose one of three House Rules. These permanently change blackjack for the rest of the run, and can stack up to seven at once by the final floor. There are 12 House Rules in total, which can be combined into different builds.

Examples include Extended Table, which raises the bust threshold from 21 to 25; Five Card Charlie, which awards an automatic win and double damage for drawing five cards without busting; and Ace in the Hole, which lets you hold one card between hands. The Gambler’s Fallacy increases your damage by +3 for each consecutive loss, while Double or Nothing doubles all damage dealt and received.

Face the opponents

The Crucible has 12 opponents, each with a distinct way of playing. The Rat stands at 15 and steals your gold when he wins; the Cardsharp swaps one of your drawn cards with a card from his deck; and The Twins play two hands at once, requiring you to beat both or take damage. The final boss, The House, adapts during the fight, gains +1 to all card values each round and has three phases.

Choose your route

Each run follows a procedurally generated, branching map with combat, shops, rest sites and random events. Difficulty increases across 8 Antes, each requiring stronger combos to deal full damage. Meta-progression unlocks starter decks, fusion recipes, enchantments and difficulty stakes. After victory, you can take on Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum stakes.

A full run takes 30–50 minutes, while a failed run ends in 10–20 minutes.