Loot the Loop

About this board game

Loot the Loop is a solo adventure game for 1 player, playable in about 20 minutes with a regular deck of playing cards. You take the role of Maxx Delver, a dashing adventurer raiding the long-hidden Temple of the Sun.

The temple forms a closed loop, like a donut, with the top card representing your current location. On each turn, you move forward by transferring cards from the top of the deck to the bottom. Your objective is to find the temple’s four royal jewels, loot them, and finally land on the exit.

Choose your actions carefully as you navigate the shifting deck:

• Explore: Use a number card from the top or second-from-the-top to move that many cards.
• Look around: Turn over the top two cards when the top card is not currently revealed.
• Mark a path: Place the top card in a reserve pile if it is a number card.
• Return to a marked path: Bring a card from the reserve pile back to the top of the deck.

Exploring and landing on treasure lets you loot it, increasing your score while also thinning the deck. This raises the density of traps, represented by face-up court cards, making every move more dangerous. If exploration leads you into a trap, the adventure ends immediately.

Inspired by other in-hand games such as Maiden’s Quest and Palm Island, Loot the Loop is part of Wil Su’s free online “Isaludo” series. Its compact card-based format turns temple exploration, risk management, and route planning into a focused solo challenge.