Wildfire
Kestrel Ridge Fire
Fires on the ridge and a wind pushing them downhill into town. Engines, water bombers and firebreaks hold the line while police clear the streets.
What Downlink is
Downlink is a single-player deck-building roguelike for your browser. You run Vellmar's operations centre through eight shifts, watching a 3D satellite feed you can zoom from two kilometres up down to the rooftops. Every card is a crew or an order. It is free and runs on any laptop or desktop browser.
8shifts per run, ending with The Big One
18cards, with upgrades and 10 assets to collect
5 minper shift, with pause and 4× speed
1.6 km²of town, forest and river to protect
How a run plays
Pick your path
A branching map across a county: towns on fire or under water, supply drops, training grounds, review boards, town halls and field reports. The last shift is always The Big One.
Play your hand
Command refills and cards arrive as the clock runs. Crew cards send engines, medics, police, rescue teams and boats; action cards drop water, cut firebreaks and order evacuations.
Adapt
The wind turns, a bridge goes under, an aftershock drops another block. Crews you sent stay out and can be re-tasked; the hand you need may still be in the deck.
Build the deck
Each shift pays funds and a new card. Buy assets, retire weak cards, train the good ones. Lose too many people and public trust runs out.
Every shift is different
Every incident is a new town: its own river, streets and buildings, built fresh for your run. They get harder the deeper you go, and elite shifts combine hazards and pay out an asset.
River flood
The Vell Breaks Its Banks
The river climbs metres in minutes. Sandbag, evacuate early, or pull people off roofs by boat.
Earthquake
Earthquake
Blocks down across Old Town, people trapped, gas fires starting. Then the aftershock.
Some of the cards
Fire engine
Fights fire within 40 m, or wets down the ground ahead of it as a firebreak. Refills at the station.
Water Bomber
A plane drops water on the spot right away. Upgrade it for a wider drop.
Evacuation Order
Everyone in reachable buildings in an area leaves at once.
Rescue team
Digs survivors out of collapsed buildings. Some walk away, some need a medic.
Rescue boat
Runs the river and flooded streets, six people a trip to dry ground.
Triage Tent
A field hospital where you need it. Medics and aircraft unload there.
Not a city builder
Most emergency games
- Where you stand
- One vehicle, first person, one call at a time
- Session
- Hours of open-ended play
- What you decide
- How to drive there
Downlink
- Where you stand
- The whole town from orbit, every unit at once
- Session
- Five-minute shifts in a 45-minute run, never the same twice
- What you decide
- Where the crews go, and who waits
Questions
What is Downlink?
Downlink is a single-player disaster response roguelike with cards. From a satellite view of a town, you play crew cards to send fire engines, ambulances, police, rescue teams, boats and helicopters, and action cards for water drops, firebreaks and evacuations. A run is eight shifts on a branching map, ending with The Big One.
How much does Downlink cost?
Nothing. Downlink is free to play in your browser, with no ads, no accounts and no in-game purchases.
What do I need to play?
A laptop or desktop with a recent Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox. The game runs in 3D with WebGL, so there is nothing to install. A mouse helps, but a trackpad works: drag to pan, pinch or scroll to zoom.
How long is a run?
A shift lasts five minutes at normal speed, and a full run of eight shifts takes about 45 minutes. You can pause at any time, speed the clock up to four times, and stop between shifts: the run is saved.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Not yet. Downlink is built for a laptop or desktop screen, where you can see the map, the unit roster and the incident feed at once. Phones and tablets are not supported in this version.
Is it realistic?
It is a game, not a training tool. Fire spreads with the wind, water rises over low ground first, and collapsed buildings need rescue teams before medics can help. The town, the crews and the numbers are simplified so a shift fits in five minutes.
