An ancient Egyptian-themed puzzle adventure game where you explore mysterious pyramids, solve hieroglyphic puzzles, and collect treasures from forgotten tombs.
See CHANGELOG.md for the version history.
Pyramid Scheme is a mathematical puzzle game set in ancient Egypt. Players explore pyramid interiors of increasing difficulty, solving symbolic puzzles to collect hieroglyph fragments and map pieces, then spend those to unlock treasure tombs guarded by traps and sealed gates.
- Explore Pyramid Interiors: Navigate branching floors across 5 difficulty tiers, from Starter to Wizard
- Solve Puzzles: Decode hieroglyphic symbols using mathematical formulas
- Collect Hieroglyph Fragments: Complete hieroglyphs to unlock tomb tableau rooms that require them
- Survive Traps: Beat arithmetic reflex challenges and trap corridors, or spend consumables to heal and bypass them
- Unlock Ward Gates: Use ward-key treasures earned in tombs to open sealed floors back in the pyramids
- Claim Treasures: Clear treasure tombs for permanent passive effects — more health, armor, and better fragment/hidden-path detection
Explore ancient pyramids across different times of day:
- Morning 🌅 - Fresh start expeditions
- Afternoon ☀️ - Peak exploration hours
- Evening 🌇 - Twilight adventures
- Night 🌙 - Mysterious nocturnal quests
Difficulty Progression:
- 🟢 Starter - Learn the basics
- 🔵 Junior - Build confidence
- 🟡 Expert - Test your skills
- 🟠 Master - Challenge yourself
- 🔴 Wizard - Ultimate mastery
9 tombs across the 5 tiers, unlocked with map pieces collected from pyramid floors. Higher tiers have multiple tombs — later ones are revealed by a location-key treasure found in the tier's first tomb:
- Forgotten Merchant's Cache (Starter)
- Noble's Hidden Vault (Junior)
- High Priest's Treasury → Inner Sanctum (Expert)
- Hall of Ma'at → Hall of Osiris (Master)
- Vault of the Gods → Realm of Cosmic Forces → Throne of Eternity (Wizard)
Each level presents a tableau - a themed story puzzle with:
- Symbolic Formula: Mathematical equations using hieroglyphic symbols
- Progressive Revelation: Text becomes clearer as you progress
- Thematic Narratives: Rich Egyptian mythology and culture
- 👑 Professions (p1-p15) - Merchants, priests, scribes, farmers
- 🐾 Animals (a1-a15) - Sacred creatures like cats, crocodiles, ibis
- 💎 Artifacts (art1-art15) - Tools, vessels, ceremonial objects
- 🏺 Deities (d1-d15) - Egyptian gods and goddesses
- Symbol Count: Higher difficulties use more symbols per puzzle
- Number Ranges: Larger numbers in advanced levels
- Floor Count: More pyramid floors to explore
- English 🇺🇸 - Full game experience
- Dutch 🇳🇱 - Complete Nederlandse vertaling
- Egyptian Aesthetics: Authentic hieroglyphic symbols and desert backdrops
- Dynamic Time Cycles: Day/night progression affects gameplay atmosphere
- Responsive Design: Seamless experience across desktop and mobile
- Journey Logs: Track completed expeditions and found treasures
- Collection System: Catalog of discovered artifacts organized by category
- Map Piece Progress: Visual tracking of treasure tomb unlock requirements
- Deterministic Randomization: Consistent puzzle generation using seeded algorithms
- Local Storage: Progress persistence across sessions
- Storybook Integration: Component documentation and testing
- Type Safety: Full TypeScript implementation
- Node.js 18+
- Yarn package manager
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/matthijsgroen/pyramid-scheme.git
# Navigate to project directory
cd pyramid-scheme
# Install dependencies
yarn install
# Start development server
yarn devThe game will be available at http://localhost:9164
# Development server
yarn dev
# Run tests
yarn test
# Type checking
yarn check-types
# Linting
yarn lint
# Build for production
yarn build
# Storybook component documentation
yarn storybookThe entire level structure — puzzle counts, floor depths, reward distribution, and gate types — is controlled by a single authoring file:
Edit this file to shape the world: set difficulty constraints per tier or per journey, control how many puzzle floors a pyramid has, place tomb-key gates, and tune loot cadence. After editing, run yarn generate-world to regenerate src/data/generatedWorld.ts (or yarn validate-world to check the spec without writing), then inspect the results in Storybook (yarn storybook → SiteMap/JourneyInspector).
src/
├── worldGen/ # World authoring: worldSpec.ts rules, constraints, reward layout
├── app/ # Main application components
├── data/ # Game data and configuration
├── game/ # Core game logic
├── ui/ # Reusable UI components
├── components/ # Shared React components
├── contexts/ # React context providers
├── config/ # App-level configuration
├── support/ # Shared utilities and helpers
└── i18n/ # Internationalization setup
public/locales/ # Translation files
├── en/ # English translations
└── nl/ # Dutch translations
The puzzle system uses carefully balanced mathematical formulas:
- Linear Progression: Difficulty scales predictably across levels
- Symbol Distribution: Each difficulty tier introduces new symbol sets
- Formula Complexity: Operations range from simple addition to complex multi-step calculations
- Deterministic Generation: Same seed always produces same puzzles for consistency
- Start Small: Begin with Starter pyramids to learn the symbol system
- Pattern Recognition: Look for recurring symbol combinations
- Progressive Learning: Each difficulty builds on previous knowledge
- Map Collection: Focus on completing expeditions to unlock treasure tombs
- Time Management: Different times of day offer varied experiences
This is an early alpha version!
- Expect bugs and missing features
- Progress may be lost between updates
- Core gameplay mechanics are functional
- UI and balance are still being refined
This is a personal project, but feedback and suggestions are welcome! Please feel free to:
- Report bugs via GitHub issues
- Suggest gameplay improvements
- Contribute translations for additional languages
This project is private and for personal use.
- Sound effects and music
- Mobile app versions
Embark on your journey through the mysteries of ancient Egypt! 🏺✨