Adding Perks and Power Ups to Forest Frenzy

Expanding the core gameplay loop

After the initial Forest Frenzy game loop was in place, there came a need for perks and powerups to add more action into the game and give players something exciting to spend their hard-earned points on.

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Introducing perks

To add perks, the main changes came within the game logic itself.

Once a management system was in place to track whether a player owns a given perk, I was able to test and scale these perks through incremental upgrades.

There are currently two perks available for purchase:

1% Club

Unlocks a 1% chance to spawn a 10–25 point green tile.

Mulligan

Allows the player to hit the first red tile without penalty.

These perks introduce subtle but meaningful gameplay variation over time.

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Designing powerups

For powerups, development started with a reusable template consisting of:

• A full-screen Canvas object
• A Text object for the powerup name
• Powerup tile images and assets

From there, the game logic was extended to handle each powerup type, including:

• Destroying tiles
• Modifying tile values
• Applying temporary board effects

This system led to the creation of three core powerups.

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Anvil

Anvils were heavily inspired by the Concrete Donkey item from the Worms franchise.

In Worms, the Concrete Donkey descends from the sky, clearing everything in its path with destructive force.

In Forest Frenzy, Anvils serve a similar purpose:

• Clear all tiles on the board
• Reset the game state into a fresh board

Cost: 150 points

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Sword

Swords introduce a strategic advantage by reducing risk on the board.

Effects:

• Red tile values are cut in half
• Tiles with a value of 1 are removed entirely

This allows players to avoid negative outcomes and shift gameplay momentum.

Cost: 200 points

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Potion

Potions are designed for high-risk, high-reward gameplay.

Effects:

• Doubles green tile values
• Can stack with repeated use for compounding effects

Using multiple potions in succession can lead to 100+ value tiles, creating high-scoring opportunities.

Cost: 250 points

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Closing thoughts

Perks and powerups added a new layer of strategy and depth to Forest Frenzy, giving players more control over how they approach each session.

Check out Perks, Powerups, and more in Forest Frenzy!

Available now on the App Store and Play Store.