Aether Grid is a tactical card puzzle about building poker combinations on a 5×5 grid, manipulating the board, and surviving increasingly dangerous runs.

You draw cards in small batches and decide exactly where each card should go. Rows and columns can form poker combinations. Cash them out to score points and clear the cards involved, opening space for the next moves.

The basic rules are simple. The board very quickly stops being simple.

How to Play

• Drag cards from your hand onto empty cells of the 5×5 grid.
• Build poker combinations in rows and columns.
• When a valid combination is ready, use its SCORE button to cash it out.
• Only the cards participating in the combination are removed.
• New cards are dealt as your hand runs out.
• Plan ahead: filling the entire grid without a way to continue can end the run.
• Use upgrades and special effects to manipulate cards, improve scoring, and escape situations that would otherwise be impossible.

Poker combinations include:

Pair · Two Pair · Three of a Kind · Straight · Flush · Full House · Four of a Kind · Straight Flush · Royal Flush

And Aether Grid is quite willing to go beyond ordinary poker once the run starts getting strange.

Classical Elements

The game is built around the jam theme Classical Elements.

Cards are connected to the four elements:

Fire · Water · Earth · Air

The elements are not merely cosmetic suits. They become part of the decisions you make while building the grid, choosing upgrades, developing synergies, and dealing with the challenges of a run.

Build Your Run

As you progress, Aether Grid adds more systems on top of its core grid puzzle:

• Runes and upgrades that change how cards and scoring behave
• FAULTs that alter the rules and increase the challenge
• ORE and progression rewards
• Boss encounters with their own mechanics
• Board manipulation that can turn a seemingly doomed grid into a scoring opportunity

A good move scores points.

A better move also leaves the board prepared for whatever horrible thing your future self is about to draw.

Controls

Mouse

• Drag cards to place them on the grid
• Click UI buttons to score combinations and activate available actions

Made for EdenSpark Game Jam #3

Created for EdenSpark Game Jam #3 using EdenSpark.

EdenSpark version: https://games.edenspark.io/post/zNIst7MGmHKGvgDb

AI Usage

AI tools were used during development as assistants for programming, debugging, game-design iteration, localization/text work, visual asset generation, and audio generation.

Generated and AI-assisted materials were reviewed, selected, edited where necessary, integrated into the project, and tested as part of the development process.

Development

Dmitry — Solo Developer Game Design · Programming · UI · Art Direction · Audio Integration