How to Play

Everything you need to know to start your first run in Dungeons & Moles.

The Tunnel Codex, Episode 1: Welcome to the Depths

Devnet & Getting SOL

Dungeons & Moles is currently in Alpha and runs on Solana devnet. Before playing, make sure your wallet is configured to use devnet. You'll need devnet SOL to sign transactions (profile creation, session entry, etc.).

You can get free devnet SOL from any of these faucets:

→faucet.solana.com — official Solana faucet

→solfaucet.com — simple one-click faucet

→QuickNode Faucet — requires a QuickNode account

Controls

Dungeons & Moles is played in landscape orientation across all platforms. Controls adapt depending on your device.

Mobile / Solana Seeker

→Virtual D-Pad — A directional pad on the screen handles all movement. Tap a direction to move one tile.

→A Button — Located in the center of the D-Pad. Used to interact with POIs.

→Touch Interactions — Tap on map elements, inventory items, and UI buttons to interact.

PlaySolana PSG1

On the PSG1 console, the game is controlled entirely via the physical gamepad:

→D-Pad — Move your character in four directions on the map.

→A Button — Confirm, interact with POIs, and select menu options.

→B Button — Cancel, go back, and close modals.

→L1 / R1 — Switch between tabs (inventory, stats, items in shops).

→X Button — Toggle the sidebar panel (stats, inventory, phase info).

→Y Button — Open/close the map overview.

→Start — Open the pause menu.

Controller hints appear at the bottom of the screen showing which buttons are available for the current context.

Desktop Web

By default, app.dungeonsandmoles.com opens in Desktop Web: play with keyboard and mouse. WASD or the arrow keys move, Space/E/Enter interact, M opens the map overview, Esc closes menus or pauses, and the mouse clicks anything the touch UI would tap. A PSG1 simulator with on-screen controller controls is also available at /psg1 for testing the handheld layout in a browser.

Signing In

The very first time you open the game, you play a short guided run before you ever see the sign-in screen — see Your First Run. From the sign-in screen, connect a supported wallet (Phantom, Backpack, or Solflare) or continue as a guest. On Android, your phone's wallet picker (Mobile Wallet Adapter) handles the connection; on web, your installed browser extension is detected directly.

After connecting, you'll be prompted to create a player profile by choosing a name. This creates your on-chain profile, which tracks your campaign progress, unlocked items, and stats. New accounts start with 20 free campaign sessions.

Starting a Run

Campaign select — Pick an unlocked level on Campaign Select to start a run.

From the Hub Screen, select a game mode — Campaign, Gauntlet, Duels, or Pit Draft. Each mode has its own entry flow, but all exploration-based modes follow the same core loop: explore a seeded dungeon map, fight enemies, visit POIs, and face bosses at the end of each week. When you start a run, a session is created on-chain, generating a dungeon map unique to that session.

The Exploration Screen

Exploration screen on a phone — On phones the D-pad sits bottom-left and the stats panel on the right.

Once a run begins, you are placed on the exploration screen. This is where you spend the majority of your time.

→Map — The central area displays the dungeon grid. Tiles are revealed as you explore, with undiscovered areas hidden by fog of war.

→Sidebar — The right-side panel shows your current HP, stats (ATK, ARM, SPD, DIG), equipped items, gold, and the current phase/move counter.

→D-Pad — Located in the lower-left, used to move your character in four directions (up, down, left, right).

→Fog of War — You can only see tiles within a limited radius around your position. Moving reveals adjacent tiles permanently.

Movement

Pushing into a marked wall twice digs through it.

Movement consumes your phase's move budget. Each phase has a fixed number of moves (50 during Day, 30 during Night).

Tile Type	Move Cost
Floor	1 move
Wall (digging)	max(2, 6 − DIG) moves

Walking onto a floor tile costs 1 move. Walking into a wall tile requires digging, which costs more moves depending on your DIG stat. Higher DIG makes tunneling through walls faster.

Encountering Enemies & Points of Interest

Walking into an enemy starts an automatic fight.

As you explore, you will discover enemies and points of interest (POIs) placed on the map.

→Enemies — Moving onto an enemy's tile initiates auto-combat. During Day phases, you choose which enemies to engage. During Night phases, enemies move toward you and can initiate combat themselves.

→Points of Interest — POIs include Supply Caches, Weapon Crates, Smuggler Hatches, Rest Alcoves, Rune Kilns, and more. Step onto a POI tile and interact to receive items, upgrades, healing, or other benefits.

Boss Fights

The Week 1 boss arrives after resting on Night 3.

Each week ends with a boss fight that triggers automatically after Night 3 concludes. Bosses are significantly stronger than field enemies and often have unique mechanics tied to specific status effects or combat patterns.

Defeating a boss advances you to the next week and unlocks 2 additional gear slots, allowing you to equip more items and grow stronger for the challenges ahead.

Skip to Boss

If you feel ready to face the boss early, you can skip to the boss fight at any point during the week by tapping the skull icon in the top bar. This immediately ends all remaining Day and Night phases for the current week and jumps straight to the boss encounter.

Victory & Defeat

Outcome	Condition
Victory	Defeat all 3 weekly bosses to clear the stage.
Defeat	Your HP reaches 0 during any combat encounter. The run ends immediately.

In Campaign, there is no permadeath penalty beyond the run itself. You keep progress from previously cleared stages and can retry the current stage as many times as needed. In PvP modes, a defeat means losing your entry stake.

Settings

The settings menu is accessible via the Start button on PSG1 or the gear iconon the top right on mobile and Desktop Web. It covers audio, gameplay, and privacy options that can streamline your sessions — see Settings for the full list.

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