Dust & Diamonds

Dust & Diamonds is a calm pixel-art game about digging, building and trading. You play as a goblin with a handful of coins and a crumbling settlement on the edge of the desert, shaping what comes next one tile at a time.

Life in the desert

A day lasts half an hour, moving from dawn and noon through violet dusk to moonlight and lit windows. Sandstorms cross the desert, vultures circle overhead and caravans camp in the distance. A cat sometimes sleeps on the Shop roof; when it comes down, you can pet it.

Digging underground

Dig at your own pace, starting with dirt and coal before reaching gold, platinum, titanium and diamonds. The mine extends 100 metres below the surface. Place ladders, torches and support beams, collect what you uncover, and rely on Workers to carry goods from chests back to the settlement.

Hidden pockets and caves may contain ore, water or lava. Water flows through the mine, so a single swing of your pickaxe can open a passage for water to run into a tunnel. Support beams can give way as the mountain crumbles; when that happens, you run, then return to dig again.

Growing the settlement

You can restore six buildings: the Shop, Workshop, Warehouse, Greenhouse, Water Collector and Worker Hotel. Each has five levels and its own rhythm. The Workshop has over 200 recipes, the Greenhouse grows crops, and the Hotel Kitchen prepares meals for your crew. Workers have names, skills and wages, and tell you when they are hungry.

Running the Shop

Set minimum prices and the Shop continues to operate while you dig. Customers come to the door, including 30 named customers, as well as merchants with their own offers. Father has something to say about each customer, with a distinct voice in every language of the game. The Business Chronicle records every product you have sold.

Music and options

You can collect dozens of music discs and play them on the radio while you dig. The game has three difficulty levels, a skippable tutorial, rebindable keys, a colorblind mode, reduced effects and a larger interface. You can play with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad.