The Poker Run Engine is a core system built around one idea: everything you need to resolve a scene fits in a standard deck of cards. Draw a hand, read it like poker, and let the strength of what you're holding decide how the moment goes — no dice, no separate stat blocks, just the deck already in your junk drawer.
The core rules are free — the System Reference Document covers resolution, progression, and everything needed to build your own setting on top of the engine. Each overlay takes that same engine and drops it into a fully realized genre, from Victorian monster-hunting to deep-space survival to pirate smuggling on the high seas — every one playable entirely on its own.
- > Deep Space Blues — sci-fi survival, live now on itch.io
- > Something Stirs — Victorian monster-hunting, live now on itch.io
- > Dust Highway — post-apocalyptic convoy running, live now on itch.io
- > Estate of Hollow House — cosmic horror investigation, coming Aug 24
- > Dead Man's Hand, Neon Syndicate, Cold Iron & Salt, and eight more — new overlay every Monday through Nov 2
Poker Run Engine has its own dedicated home — the full SRD, overlay catalog, and an interactive card-resolution demo all live there.
Visit Poker Run Engine →