BRAINTHUNDER · SURGE LABS

Idea Engine™

You’re testing a real product before it exists. Idea Engine is a dice-and-cards art game — the real thing is a box, not a screen. This site is a working mock-up so you can play it before we print it. Your rolls and scores are recorded so we can study them. All content © 2026 BrainThunder — all rights reserved. Enter the access word from your flyer.

How to play

Roll it. Read it. Draw it.
This is a mock-up of a physical game. The real Idea Engine is dice and cards in a box — no screens. Every word here is a word that will be printed.
SUBJECT
who or what — new to art? start here SCENE
what it’s doing, and where STYLE
the look, the light, the lens CHALLENGE
the terms — how you pull it off

Every tier works alone or stacked. The depth buttons at the top add one tier at a time.

  1. Pick your depth, then hit ROLL.
  2. Click the die you want to place it — nothing reads until every die is placed, same as the real table.
  3. The card lands how it lands — read the word facing you first. ⚡ marks the wild words. ↻ turn and ⇄ flip are your hand — use them freely.
  4. Read everything on the table. That’s your brief. Draw it.
What we need from you — about 45 minutes: 6 rolls at Subject only · 6 at Subject + Scene · 6 at the full stack · 6 anywhere you like. Score every roll 1–5 (5 is best — go with your gut). Draw at least two, any tool, any skill level — send photos back with a few sentences: what grabbed you, what fell flat, where you got confused. Your rolls and scores are recorded automatically, so that’s all you send.
Idea Engine™ — all words, cards, artwork, and game design are owned by BrainThunder.
© 2026 BrainThunder. All rights reserved. Confidential pre-production material.
BrainThunder · Idea Engine · playtest preview — a digital mock-up of a physical game

Idea Engine™

The card lands how it lands — read north first, ⚡ marks the wilds wherever they sit. Turn it if you want. Place the cube you like. Draw it.
Subject suit:

Your rolls

Roll something, then score it.