topgoblin

The road to Due Diligence.

Every run follows the same skeleton, but your cards decide whether each stop feels like momentum or a small accounting crime. Read the route before you sit down at the table.

Start a free runRead the rules
One route. Four jobs.

The campaign map

Phase goals are visible before you play. Market rules change at decisions 1, 3, and 5; trait drafts land after decisions 2 and 4.

  1. 01
    Decisions 1–2

    Validation

    Draft your first Founder Trait

    Prove that someone wants the product before the cash disappears.

    ObjectiveReach 25 Users and keep Runway above $0.
    ThreatPure Hype will not compensate for an empty product.
    Decision 01play

    Validate

    Find proof that a real user wants the product.

    Decision 02draft

    Trait Draft

    Choose a power-up and add its cards.

    Market rule · VC Winter

    Fundraising brings $2.2k less Runway and +4 Debt. Research and Operations restore +6 Sanity.

  2. 02
    Decisions 3–4

    Traction

    Draft a second Founder Trait

    Turn attention into users without turning the company into smoke.

    ObjectiveReach an $85k valuation while protecting founder Sanity.
    ThreatEngagement Fever rewards Hype and punishes exhaustion.
    Decision 03event

    Prototype Leak

    The waitlist discovers the broken demo.

    Decision 04play

    Traction Bet

    Convert attention without losing control of the company.

    Market rule · Engagement Fever

    Growth and Marketing gain +11 Hype, but cost 4 Sanity. Brand cards gain +6 Hype.

  3. 03
    Decisions 5–6

    Scale

    Enter the final audit with your completed build

    Grow the machine without letting its hidden costs eat the company.

    ObjectiveReach $130k with Tech Debt below 58 and Sanity above 25.
    ThreatCloud Tax makes Product and Engineering choices more expensive.
    Decision 05draft

    Scale Trait

    Commit to the build that will face the final audit.

    Decision 06event

    Board Call

    Someone has prepared a very small spreadsheet.

    Market rule · Cloud Tax

    Product and Engineering lose an extra $850 Runway. Operations removes 4 extra Tech Debt.

  4. 04
    Decisions 7–7

    Due Diligence

    File the result on the global leaderboard

    One final decision, then the auditor values what survived.

    ObjectiveFinish above $170k with Tech Debt below 40 for an S grade.
    ThreatRunway $0, Tech Debt 58, or Sanity 25 ends the argument.
    Decision 07boss

    Due Diligence

    File a business the auditor cannot dismiss.

    Final audit rule

    Your final valuation is judged against every stat, every threshold, and the paper trail you created.

How to read the route

The map is the strategy.

Know the route. Make the bad call.

Three complete runs are free. Extra runs wait until you have learned the map.

Enter the boardroom