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Sometimes a game comes in a small box and immediately makes you wonder if there’s more going on than it first lets on. That was pretty much our first impression of Compile.
The theme is a little unusual. Players take on the role of newly awakened artificial intelligences trying to understand what they are and what they want to become. Of course, once several AIs start reaching different conclusions, things don’t stay peaceful for very long. Before long, they’re competing to reshape reality according to their own vision, using different protocols and abilities to gain the upper hand.
In practice, Compile is a two-player card game built around three contested lanes. The rules themselves are fairly easy to explain, but after a few games we realised we were spending less time thinking about individual cards and more time thinking about how those three lanes affected each other. We went in expecting a straightforward card duel and came away feeling like there was quite a bit more hiding under the surface.
👥 2 players, ages 14+
⌛ Playing time: 20-30 minutes
📝 Designer: Michael Yang
🎨 Artwork: Keegan Moore, Nolan Nasser & Allen Panakal
🏢 Publisher: Synapses Games (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
Every game starts with a draft. Players take turns selecting three protocols, and those protocols determine which cards will make up their deck. Once both players have made their choices, the protocols are placed opposite each other to create three lanes. The objective is simple enough: be the first player to compile all three of your protocols.
Turns are straightforward. You either play a card or refresh your hand. Cards can be played face-up to use their abilities or face-down as generic value. Face-down cards are always worth two and don’t have any effects, but they can be played into any lane. That flexibility becomes important because a face-down card can help contest a lane immediately while also leaving your opponent guessing whether it’s worth paying attention to.
As the game progresses, players reveal information, move cards between lanes, force discards, remove cards from play, rearrange protocols, and generally interfere with each other’s plans whenever possible. One interesting aspect is the way cards stack. Only the top uncovered card can usually be manipulated directly, while the cards underneath continue contributing their value. Because of this, the game can change significantly when a card is revealed, covered, or removed.
To compile a protocol, you need at least ten value in a lane while also exceeding your opponent’s value in that same lane. If you meet those conditions, you must compile. That’s an important detail because compiling removes every card from that lane on both sides of the table. The first player to compile all three protocols wins the game.
Artwork, Components, and Visual Design
Cards make up the entire experience, and they’re doing most of the work here. Players draft protocols, build their deck, and everything that follows happens through those cards.
The game’s footprint is surprisingly small as well. Once set up, you only need space for the protocols, a deck, a discard pile, and a few stacks of cards. We’ve certainly played games that required more table space for setup alone than Compile needs for an entire match.
Visually, the game leans heavily into abstract digital imagery. Bright colours, geometric shapes, strange landscapes, and glitch-inspired effects are present throughout the artwork. It fits the theme nicely and gives the game a look that feels different from the fantasy kingdoms and sci-fi battles that often dominate card games.
We particularly liked how distinct the protocols feel from one another. Their colour palettes make them easy to recognise during play, which helps when you’re trying to quickly understand the state of the game. The graphic design is clear too. Important information is easy to find, values stand out, and the larger protocol cards help organise everything on the table.
Nothing felt out of place. The artwork, colours, and graphic design all seem to be pulling in the same direction, which helps the game maintain its strange digital identity.
Our Experience
Our first game was a little chaotic. Not because the rules are particularly difficult, but because there were several moments where we realised there was more happening than we initially thought. We’d play a card, uncover another card, trigger an effect, and suddenly the situation looked completely different from what it had looked like a few moments earlier. There are only three lanes on the table, yet each lane can contain face-up cards, face-down cards, covered cards, ongoing effects, hidden information, and changing value totals. It never felt overwhelming in the sense of being complicated, but it definitely asked us to pay attention.
The compile system was probably the thing that surprised us most. Most games teach players that building a strong position is a good thing, and Compile certainly wants you to do that. The difference is that once you reach the conditions to compile, that entire lane disappears. More than once we reached the required value and immediately realised we weren’t entirely happy about what would happen next. We found ourselves thinking less about reaching the threshold and more about what the game would look like afterwards. In that sense, the game didn’t really feel like a race. It felt more like a series of connected battles where every success created a new problem to solve.
We also enjoyed the uncertainty created by face-down cards. A face-down card might simply be there for value, or it might be part of a larger plan. More than once we spent several turns worrying about a card that turned out to be harmless, only to ignore another one that ended up causing problems later. That uncertainty led to plenty of discussion around the table because we weren’t only trying to understand the game state, we were also trying to understand what the other player was aiming for.
What we appreciated most was how our conversations changed between games. The first game was mostly about understanding the rules. By the third and fourth game, we weren’t discussing rules anymore. We were discussing mistakes and turns we wished we could replay. For us, that’s usually a good sign.
Our Thoughts
After several games, I kept comparing Compile to other lane battlers we enjoy, and after a while I realised it wasn’t really asking the same things from us. Yes, you’re competing over three lanes, but the game rarely felt like it was simply about putting more value into the right place. Most of our decisions revolved around timing, positioning, and figuring out which lane would matter not just now, but two turns later.
Looking back at our games, one thing that stood out was how much the protocol combinations shaped the experience. In that sense, Compile reminded us of some of the things we enjoy about customizable card games, even though everything is contained within the box. Choosing three protocols doesn’t just change a few cards. It changes the kinds of decisions you’ll be making throughout the game.
The more important the draft became, the more we started paying attention to it. Not because it guarantees victory, but because it shapes so much of what happens afterwards. We can easily imagine experienced players drafting not only to support their own strategy but also to deny certain combinations to their opponent. In some matches it genuinely felt like the first important decisions happened before the first card was played.
At the same time, that’s also where some of our questions about the game come from. A system like this depends heavily on the protocols remaining interesting and competitive over repeated plays. During our games, nothing stood out as obviously stronger than everything else, which is encouraging. That’s often the challenge with games built around asymmetrical options. The more players learn them, the more likely certain favourites start to emerge. It’ll be interesting to see how opinions evolve after dozens of plays rather than a handful.
Another thing that became fairly clear is that experienced players are likely to see a very different game than new players. Once you start recognising protocol identities, understanding common effects, and spotting opportunities to force difficult decisions, the game opens up considerably. That’s not a criticism, but it does mean Compile is probably best suited to players who enjoy learning a game over time rather than mastering it in a single evening.
Every time we packed the game away, someone immediately started talking about a protocol combination they wanted to try next. Looking back, that’s probably the biggest compliment we can give Compile. It won’t be the right fit for everyone, and it asks a little more from its players than its small box might suggest. But for the audience it’s aimed at, it offers a lot of room to explore, experiment, and improve.
📝 We received a review copy of Compile from Synapses Games.
