metastasis: conquest of the lymph nodes
(a clickless Adobe Flash9 game by Kyle Farh written with HaXe v1.19)
Introduction
Something is wrong with the body. Cancer! Pick your cancer cell clone
and compete with 25 other voracious cancers as you spread from lymph node
to lymph node to conquer the body.
How to Play
At the start of the game, move the mouse pointer over one of the colored
circles and keep it there for a few seconds to select your cancer cell
clone and starting lymph node. Depending on the anatomy and the proximity
of opposing cancer cells, some starting lymph node locations will be more
advantageous than others.
When it is your turn, move your mouse pointer over a lymph node that is
adjacent to one that you already own in order to capture it; don't stop
until you have taken over the entire body. The opposing cancers are
battling to do the same and will try to outgrow you. The game ends when
one cancer has taken over the entire body and the rest have died out.
With 25 other cancers to compete with, you will probably die out. When
this happens, you may continue watching to see how the rest of the battle
plays out, but will not be able to participate. Expect no mercy.
Strategy
The number of turns a cancer cell line receives for attacking is
proportional to the number of lymph nodes it controls. As you try to
survive your local battles, be aware of what is happening on the other
side of the body.
Basic game mechanics: each lymph node receives its turns in a random
order. Individual lymph nodes are only able to attack nodes that are
directly connected. However, if a lymph node is connected to other lymph
nodes of the same cancer cell type, it may attack any lymph node adjacent
to the group. If a lymph node gets split off from the main group, it
will not be able to reach targets that are not adjacent.