Bonereader is a card-based deckbuilding game with dice mechanics. You are being fried in an electric chair when you suddenly find yourself in a shamanic, mescaline-fueled Purgatory inspired by the novels of Carlos Castaneda and Cormac McCarthy, where you must play against a variety of spirits for a chance at rebirth.

Build your decks of cards and diverse dice, purchase a variety of items, increase your score, and win this demonic high-number game of chance.

Story

YOU’RE FRIED IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR — AND YOUR SOUL ENDS UP IN A PLACE WHERE THE DEAD GAMBLE FOR A SECOND LIFE.

Harlan Hill, a seasoned mercenary, is executed in the electric chair. Certain he was betrayed, he dies without peace.

His soul awakens in the hut of an old shaman, who offers him a game of dice — four rounds for a chance at rebirth and perhaps revenge.

The spirit mocks Harlan, claiming ownership over his soul. Against all odds, Harlan defeats the ghost in every match. Leaving the hut behind, he begins to wander a dreamlike world — a hallucinatory Purgatory where justice is uncertain and fate is decided by numbers, cards, and nerves.

Gameplay

Card-based deckbuilding combined with dice mechanics;

Build powerful synergies between cards, dice, and items;

Push your score higher and higher in a dangerous game of chance;

Every roll matters — greed can save you or damn you;

30 unique combination-cards;

40 dice with different properties;

20 items that radically change your playstyle;

Game Modes

Story Mode — a narrative journey through Purgatory.

Casino Roguelike Mode — pure risk, roguelike, and escalating stakes.

Features

Unique playstyles built around dice suits and card synergies;

Every opponent has their own “house rule”, twisting the game and forcing you to adapt;

Each turn, powerful curses and enchantments are applied to card combinations, altering their effects in unpredictable ways;

Dark, psychedelic atmosphere inspired by mysticism and existential fiction;

High-stakes gameplay where numbers are your only truth;

A grim afterlife that doesn’t care if you deserve redemption;

Bonereader Demo screenshots