MAXCHΞX (MAXCHEX) — Features
Back to Dust Studios LLC
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GAME MODES
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  • Single player vs AI — Easy, Medium, Hard, Ultra difficulty
  • Local multiplayer — pass-and-play on one device
  • Online multiplayer — ranked and friendly matches via Apple Game Center
  • Formation setup phase — private piece arrangement before every match

THE BOARD
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  • 7×9 grid of 63 energy cells
  • 12 pieces per team, 24 total on the board
  • 8 unique piece types with distinct movement rules and special abilities
  • Three win conditions:
      — Capture the opponent's Max
      — Corner the opponent's Max leaving no valid moves
      — Control 40 or more of 63 cells simultaneously
  • Draw: 40 consecutive moves without a capture

PIECES
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  • Max         — Leader. Converts opponent cells directly. Losing Max loses the game.
  • Transformer — Land ON to capture. Land ADJACENT to convert. Cannot convert Max
                  or opponent Transformer.
  • Conductor   — Full board straight-line movement. Lights every neutral cell in path.
  • Jumper      — Jump exactly 2 cells in any direction OR walk 1 cell cardinally.
                  Cannot be physically blocked.
  • Resistor    — Up to 2 cells straight. Freezes one adjacent opponent for one turn.
  • Capacitor   — Up to 3 cells straight or diagonal. Neutralizes opponent territory
                  in path.
  • Isolator    — Up to 2 cells any direction. Blocks one adjacent cell from
                  opponent entry until it moves again or is captured.
  • Diode       — 1 cell forward. Captures diagonally forward. Promotes to Jumper
                  at opponent back row.

COMPETITIVE SYSTEM
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  • Elo rating system — starting rating 1,200, K-factor 32
  • 10 rank tiers:
      Recruit → Operator → Technician → Engineer → Specialist →
      Commander → Director → Architect → Grandmaster → MAXCHΞX Champion
  • Win streak bonuses — up to 1.5× Spark multiplier at 7+ consecutive wins
  • Game Center leaderboards and achievements

SPARK ECONOMY
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  • Sparks earned exclusively through ranked online play
  • Win streak bonus multipliers reward sustained performance
  • Sparks spent on cosmetic skins, board backgrounds, and Zaps
  • In-app Spark packages available via StoreKit
  • iCloud sync — Spark balance follows the player across devices

COSMETICS
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  • Skin sets
  • Grid backgrounds
  • Zaps (animated reactions) visible to both players in online matches:
      — Several Zaps included
      — Additional Zaps purchasable with Sparks
      — Exclusive Zaps earned via achievements and rank milestones

TRAINER
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  • 24 tutorials — 3 lessons per piece across all 8 piece types
  • 11+ puzzles across 4 categories: Tactical, Defensive, Territory, Ability Combo
  • 4 difficulty tiers: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert
  • Connected lesson boards — lessons within each piece build on each other
  • Progress tracking with completion states

HINT SYSTEM (single player only)
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  • 3 progressive hint levels:
      Level 1 — Highlights most threatened piece
      Level 2 — Highlights piece with strongest available move
      Level 3 — Shows specific recommended move and destination
  • Maximum 3 hints per match
  • Hint usage reflected in end-of-match practice score

AUDIO
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  • 8 adaptive gameplay music stems — layer in and out based on game state
  • Reactive triggers — dedicated stems for check state and territory threat
  • Progressive arc — stems evolve over the course of a match
  • 6 additional music tracks — menus, game over, trainer, and more
  • 15+ sound effects including distance-based movement sounds
  • 9 haptic event types — moves, captures, abilities, promotions, win/lose/draw
  • All music composed and produced in-house by Back to Dust Studios

ONLINE FEATURES
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  • Apple Game Center turn-based matchmaking
  • Skill-based ranked matchmaking with expanding search window
  • Friendly match invites
  • Private formation setup phase — opponent never sees your formation before play
  • Zap communication between turns
  • Match replay and history
  • Elo rating sync across devices via iCloud
  • Version compatibility checking
  • Corruption recovery for match data

CLOUD & SYNC
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  • iCloud key-value sync
  • Syncs: Spark balance, cosmetic ownership, Elo rating, win/loss record
  • Deterministic merge strategy — no data loss on multi-device use
  • Exploit-resistant spend ledger model for cosmetic ownership

PLATFORM
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  • iOS 18 minimum
  • iPhone and iPad — portrait lock, responsive iPad layout
  • Estimated download size: ~100–200 MB
  • Localized: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified)

OTHER
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  • Move history navigation — forward and back replay during and after matches
  • Draw warning countdown — visual and haptic at 10 moves remaining, red at 5
  • Opening match animation — energy erupts from Max lighting starting cells
  • MAXCHEX Move Notation (MMN) — complete game records saved and shareable
  • Message of the Day system
  • AI runs on background threads with thinking indicator
  • Max Guard setting — optional self-check protection for casual play

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© 2026 Back to Dust Studios LLC. All rights reserved.
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