The Gate

About the game

Latch · gatekeeper game character

Beyond the gate lie two worlds and two hundred levels. I'll tell you briefly what the game is — then see for yourself.

What the game is

One minute. One board of potions. One long chain — and the whole thing blows.

Magic Minute is a chain puzzle with a mage of your own: 200 levels, guardians who play dirty, mage duels. No ads, no purchases, no sign-up. Plays offline.

Coming soonto the App Store

The game is getting ready for iPhone. We will name the date once it is known.

How it plays

Recorded in the game: level one. Blub shows how to draw a chain — and the round begins.

  1. Blub shows the way

    No rules to learn in advance: from the first screen Blub shows what to do, right on the board. Any lesson can be skipped.

  2. Draw a chain

    Drag your finger through neighbouring potions of the same kind — turns and diagonals are fine. Three or more make a chain; from four the blast jumps to matching potions nearby.

  3. Keep the power up

    Chains build power: the more of it, the more points each chain scores — and the harder your hero hits. Without chains the power melts away.

  4. Watch the top

    The top of the screen states the goal in words and how much is left. The bar below it leads to the “cleared” flag, and beyond the flag to the second and third stars.

Screenshots

These are real screenshots from the build in progress. Some screens will change before release.

  • Game screenshot: The town screen: a painted square with buildings, the forge still locked, the Play button below
    The City of Mages: six buildings on one square
  • Game screenshot: A lesson on level one: Blub's hint and a hand drawing a chain of six potions
    Level one: Blub shows the chain right on the board
  • Game screenshot: The round screen: a panel with the goal and the bar at the top, the board of potions and the hero with a staff below
    A round: the goal, how much is left and the bar to the stars — on the panel at the top
  • Game screenshot: The chapter map: a cauldron in the middle, nine levels and a guardian around it
    A chapter is a potion your hero brews in the cauldron
  • Game screenshot: A guardian fight: the guardian in a stone portal above the board of potions, its health bar at the top
    A chapter guardian stands in a stone portal — right above the board
  • Game screenshot: The screen after losing to a guardian: Blub's gift — the Running Hot booster, which starts the round at high power
    A first loss to a guardian: Blub gives a booster
  • Game screenshot: The victory screen of level one: three stars, XP, sparks and a new hero level
    Victory: hero XP and sparks for the round
  • Game screenshot: The Hero tab: the bag, six skills and four wards with their numbers
    The hero: bag, skills and wards
  • Game screenshot: A duel: a shared board, health bars of the hero and the rival
    Mage duels on one board
  • Game screenshot: The market: the Gear, Boosters, Scrolls, Lives and Sparks stalls
    The market: five stalls, everything for sparks

What's inside

  • Blub teaches from the first screen

    Your mentor shows everything on the board itself: how to draw a chain, how to keep the power up, how to answer a guardian. The lessons are short; skip them — or watch them again.

  • 200 levels in two worlds

    Nine kinds of goals: collect potions, light the tiles, thaw the ice, save boiling potions, catch golden stars, set off bombs and runes, and more. Some levels run on the clock, some on moves, some on an hourglass.

  • Chapter guardians

    Every tenth level is a fight with a guardian who plays dirty: he buries potions under stone, freezes a row, swaps how they look. The guardian stands in a stone portal above the board. A short lesson before the first hit shows how to answer. And after your first loss to a guardian Blub gives you a booster.

    All guardians — in the Hall of Fame →

  • A hero of your own

    Human, elf, dwarf or orc. Level up, spend skill points, learn skill pages, choose a staff with a spell of its own.

    Heroes — in the Hall of Fame →

  • Gear that matters

    Hats, robes, rings, amulets and staffs change how you fight. Rare finds drop from long chains — the shop never sells them.

    Gear — at the Market →

  • Mage Arena

    A common room of fight requests: one-on-one duels and team fights. Nobody picks an opponent — the game deals the seats. Take turns on a shared board: dodge, block, land a fury strike. A weekly table and twelve medals in the Hall of Names. In this version every rival and teammate in the arena is a hero run by the game.

    To the Arena →

  • A daily challenge

    One attempt a day, and every day of the week has a twist of its own. Plus a daily reward for coming back.

  • A town of mages

    The gate to the worlds, the market, the notice board, the arena, the Hall of Fame and the forge, where gems are cut and set into rings.

    To the Forge →

  • A guide built into the game

    Every rule, number and item, with search.

    The guide on this site →

The campaign: 200 levels, 20 elixirs to brew

Levels are grouped into chapters. A chapter is a potion your hero brews in the cauldron: nine ingredient levels and a guardian at the end. Clear a level and the ingredient drops into the cauldron; beat the guardian and the elixir goes on the shelf. The two worlds — Dawn Valley and Azure Harbor — hold twenty chapters.

There are seven guardians and twenty chapters: in later chapters the guardians return — tougher and faster.

Fair by design

  • No ads. The game has no real-money purchases: everything a hero has is earned by playing.
  • Plays offline. No account. The game collects no data — everything stays on your device.
  • In this version every rival and teammate in the arena is a hero run by the game. The game itself says so.
  • Stuck on a level? After three failures in a row Blub gives you a booster, and from the fifth the goal gets easier.
  • A first loss to a guardian is no dead end: Blub gives you a booster that starts the round at high power.
  • A “Reduce motion” setting for calmer effects.
  • The first version is for iPhone. Languages: English and Russian.

In development

These are plans, not promises: none of this is in the game yet, and we name no dates.

  • The alchemist profession and the laboratory
  • Signature items in the forge
  • Live opponents and a player league — together with online play
  • Guilds and chat
  • A market between players
  • A world you can walk around