About Scarwrit
Scarwrit is a free browser deckbuilder roguelite where the cards themselves keep a record. It is a full turn-based card battler - 108 cards, 28 Seals, 20 enemies, three bosses, fifteen floors and six difficulty Depths - and it is the only one in the browser tier where your collection permanently changes shape as you play. Win with a card and it earns a Temper: a real upgrade, printed on that card, forever. Die with a card in your deck and the Blot takes one scar, on a card you choose. A card's scars can never outnumber its upgrades, so a collection can never spiral, and a new player cannot be scarred at all until they have started winning. Over a few weeks nobody else's Codex looks like yours. There are two leaderboards: all-time run score, and a Daily Seeded Run where every player in the world gets the identical deck, the identical map and the identical card offers, so the daily board is pure skill and a first-day player can top it. Fully playable without an account, portrait-first and one-handed on a phone, no downloads, no ads, no in-app purchases, and it works offline once cached.
How to Play Scarwrit
Pick one of three Bindings, then bind up to four veteran cards out of your Codex - cards you have already fought with, carrying every upgrade and every scar they have earned. Descend fifteen floors. Each turn you draw five cards and spend three Focus: tap a card to lift it, tap an enemy to strike. Guard vanishes at the start of your next turn, so spend it. Cards of the same faction chain together when you play them back to back, and chains score - though the later links of a fight score less than the first ones. Between fights you draft one card from three, buy Seals at the Scriptorium, and choose your path. Fell three bosses to clear the run. Whatever happens, the cards in your deck come home changed: every card that helped fell a boss earns a permanent upgrade, and when you die, the Blot writes one permanent scar on a card you choose.
Scarwrit Tips and Strategy
- Bind veterans you can afford to lose before you bind the ones you love - the Toll only ever takes one card, but it takes it from the deck you brought
- A card's scars can never outnumber its tempers, so bringing a Temper-3 card is safer than it feels: it can absorb three scars and still be net-positive
- Chains are the biggest single line on your scoresheet, but every fight pays less for its later links - a pure deck is strong, not the whole answer
- Guard resets at the start of your next turn, which means Thorn's Reprisal and Spine Burst want to be played the same turn you gain it, not the turn after
- Buy card removal early. A 21-card deck that draws its combo is worth less than a 14-card deck that always does
- The Palimpsest copies your highest-cost card. If your deck has one big finisher, it will be used against you - go wide for that floor
- 40 Ink heals a scar and a floor-5 death banks about 90 Ink. You can always afford to undo a bad night
Scarwrit FAQ
Is Scarwrit free?
Yes. No ads, no in-app purchases, no download. It works in any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop, and offline once cached.
What does it mean that cards remember?
Every card in your Codex keeps a record. Each boss you fell while it is in your deck moves it toward a permanent upgrade, called a Temper. Each time you die, one card of your choice takes a permanent drawback, called a Scar. Both are printed on the card and last for the life of your account.
Can my collection get ruined?
No, and this is enforced by a rule rather than by balance: a card's scars can never outnumber its upgrades. A card that has never been upgraded cannot be scarred at all, and no card can ever be worse than a fresh copy. You can also heal a scar for 40 Ink, which is less than one bad run earns.
Do I need an account?
No. The whole game, including the Daily Seeded Run and your Codex, works as a guest on one device. Signing in keeps your Codex across devices and puts you on the leaderboards.
What is the Daily Seeded Run?
Every player receives the identical starting deck, map, enemies and card offers, generated from the date. Your Codex is not used at all, so nobody's saved progress can buy a better score. It is a pure skill comparison and it resets at midnight UTC.
Is this a gambling or casino game?
No. There are no reels, no chips, no suits, no jokers and no purchasable currency. Ink is earned only by playing and cannot be bought.
How long is a run?
12 to 20 minutes for the full fifteen floors. There is no clock anywhere in the game, so you can put it down mid-turn.
How is Scarwrit different from other browser deckbuilders?
Most free browser deckbuilders ship 21 to 25 cards and reset completely between runs. Scarwrit ships 108 cards and 28 Seals, and its cards persist and permanently change between runs, so your collection ends up shaped by how you actually played.
