A compact turn-based roguelike on a 9x9 grid where every step lets the monsters act, and spells work only once.
Brough Dungeon is a turn-based dungeon crawler that fits on a nine-by-nine grid. Each time you take one step, every monster on the floor also gets a move. That turns each floor into a small tactics puzzle. You hunt for purple gems, pick up spells you can cast just once, and search for the stairs down.
The game grew out of a tutorial on making this style of short roguelike in plain JavaScript. The author also drew the pixel sprites and made the sound effects.
The goal
Survive six floors. Your health starts at three hearts, drawn as small red dots beneath the hero. Taking the exit heals one heart, and you can hold up to six. Clear the last floor and the run counts as a win.
Each floor holds three gems, and each gem is worth a point. Every third gem unlocks a new spell slot with a random spell inside, up to nine in total.
How turns play out
Move with W, A, S and D. Stepping into a monster hits it for one damage and stuns it for a turn. Pressing a number key casts the spell in that slot, which uses your turn, and the slot is then empty.
Monsters keep coming. A swirl marks a new arrival, which waits two turns before acting. New ones show up every few turns, the gap shortens each time, and grabbing a gem also calls one in.
Know your enemies
There are five monster types, and each follows its own rule. One gets a second move whenever it did not attack. One only acts every other turn. One eats walls to recover health. Another wanders at random. Learning those habits tells you when it is safe to step next to something.
Strategy notes
- Let monsters walk up to you so you land the first, stunning hit.
- Cast the quake spell when enemies are hemmed in by walls, since more walls means more damage.
- Dash works best down a long corridor. You slide until you hit something, then damage and stun every adjacent monster.
- Mulligan rebuilds the current floor and leaves you on one heart. Treat it as an emergency button, though your other spells stay.
- Once the gems are collected, head for the exit before the crowd builds up.
Floors are rebuilt randomly each level, but every open tile is always reachable, so there is always a path to the exit.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| Move or attack an adjacent monster | W A S D |
| Cast the spell in a slot | Number keys 1 to 9 |
| Start a run or go back to the title after dying | Any key |
Brough Dungeon FAQ
Can I play Brough Dungeon on a phone or Chromebook?
A Chromebook or any computer with a keyboard is fine. Phones and tablets are not supported, because the game only reads keys, with W A S D to move and the number keys 1 to 9 to cast spells. There are no touch controls.
How long does a run take?
A run is six floors, and each floor fits on a small 9x9 grid, so a game is short. Because monsters keep arriving faster the longer you stay, most floors reward a quick exit rather than a long fight.
Does the game keep my scores?
Yes. A score table on the title screen is saved in your browser. Win a run and the next one continues the same streak, with a TOTAL column adding up your points. Dying ends the streak.
What is the win condition?
Reach and clear the sixth floor. On each floor you find the exit tile to go deeper. If your hearts all run out first, the run is over and any key returns you to the title.
