HOW TO PLAY DIGSITE: ALPHA

An in-depth tutorial on the basics:

About the Game:

Digsite: Alpha is a turn-based strategy/management game with emphasis on business and economics. You play as an overseer of an excavation site in the middle of a desolate wasteland planet. In Digsite: Alpha, you will manage Workers who will live, breathe and die within the echoing abyss of the caves. The workers' jobs are to dig for resources, remove anomalies, and clear hazards.

Workers:

Keep your workers alive and sane—or face consequences. Workers can die from overwork, cave-ins, gas, lava, stress, and more. Hire the right workers for each job and manage their morale and fatigue.

Worker Types

• Standard ($100 hire / $25 p/turn)

  • Mines resources efficiently.

  • Poor at handling hazards and anomalies.

  • Starts with one named Darren.

  • Needs Deep Sector Mining Permit #444947.

• Engineer ($300 hire / $30 p/turn)

  • Clears hazards (Cave-Ins, Gas, Lava Pits).

  • 10% cave-in death risk.

  • Needs Hazard Clearance Permit #444945.

  • Title: P.Eng

• Scientist ($400 hire / $50 p/turn)

  • Collects anomalies (Spire, Artifact, Rift).

  • Suffers less penalties with dangerous anomalies.

  • Needs Anomaly Study Permit #50524159.

  • Title: Dr.

Tile Types

Some tiles are harmless, others deadly. Know the difference.

• Stone – Neutral. 

• Flag – Cleared tile. Safe.

• Resource – Contains Common Ore ($100), Rare Crystal ($300), or Alien Artifact ($500).

• Gas – Spreads. Needs Engineer. 50% safe clear chance, else -5 Morale / +10 Fatigue. Non-engineers take major penalties.

• Cave-In – Fatal to non-engineers. Engineer has 10% death chance. Can yield $300.

• Lava Pit – Engineer has 40% safe chance. Others suffer huge morale/fatigue loss.

• Spire – Anomaly. Scientist collects safely. Others lose -10 Morale. Worth $50.

• Artifact – Anomaly. Scientist collects safely. Others lose -15 Morale. Worth $200.

• Rift – Anomaly. Scientist suffers -10 Morale. Others lose -25 Morale. Worth $150.

Buttons Explained

• Next Turn – Advance the turn. (Spacebar)

• Report – Review dig and hazard progress.

• Permit – Apply for new permits (arrive in 3 turns).

• Bribe – Spend $250+ to gain +5 faction influence.

• Favor – Trade -50 influence for a unique bonus.

• Hire – Hire new workers.

• Fire – Fire a worker for $50.

• Mission – Choose faction sidequests.

• Deselect – Cancel current selection.

• Market – Open trading menu.

Factions & Permits

Factions influence what actions you can take. Influence drops by -3 every 10 turns.

• Frontier Mining Union (Start: 70)

  • Controls mining. Needed for Mining Permit.

• Hazard Oversight Board (Start: 50)

  • Oversees hazard clearing. Gain influence via Engineer adjacent to Hazard.

• Spacetime Containment Program (Start: 50)

  • Oversees anomalies. Gain influence via Scientist adjacent to Anomaly.

• Human Resources (Start: 50)

  • Cares for worker welfare. High morale = influence. Death = -20. Low HR influence = game over.

Worker Stats & Traits

View in the upper right panel: Name, role, morale, fatigue.

• Morale – High = more output. Low = burnout or quitting.

• Fatigue – High = skips turns.

  • 0 Morale + 100 Fatigue = death.

  • Resting recovers both, but will cost you.

Traits

• Lazy – Less morale loss, but may take rest when ordered.

• Brave – Survives hazards better.

• Efficient – +20% resource value.

• Fragile – Gains fatigue faster.

• Stoic – Less fatigue penalty.

Movement

• Click to move/mine one tile.

• Long-distance moves (5+ tiles) add fatigue.

• Bulk dig orders allow coordinated worker actions.

Market System

Trade recovered resources for cash and invest in company stocks:

• Sell to highest bidder for max profit.

• Invest to earn dividends per turn.

• Stock value changes randomly each turn.

• Tip: Trade with companies you’ve invested in to maximise returns.

DividendsPerShare = 1 + (CompanyRevenue / 300)