The Official Guide to Legends and Deadbeats
Welcome, aspiring lender! This guide contains a deep analysis of every mechanic in Legends and Deadbeats. Here you will learn the core rules, the nuances of every card and token, and the advanced strategies needed to become a lending legend.
Core Gameplay: The Weekly Loop
The goal of the game is to survive for 24 weeks without your money dropping to $0. Each week presents a new set of challenges and opportunities.
1. The Hand & Redraws
At the start of each week, you are dealt a hand of 5 Trait Cards from your deck. If you don't like your hand, you have the option to redraw any unused cards up to **two times** per week. The cost to redraw increases each month. To keep a card from being redrawn, simply **double-click** it.
2. The Sticky Notes
You will be presented with three "Sticky Notes," each representing a person asking for a loan. Each note has key information:
- Name: The person you're dealing with.
- Loan Amount: The money you must pay to attempt the loan.
- Interest: The profit you'll make if the loan is successful.
- Risk Level: (Low, Mid, or High) This determines how many traits you need to match.
- Traits: Three traits that describe the person. These are what you need to match with your cards.
3. Matching Traits
To secure a loan, you must match the required number of traits on the sticky note with cards from your hand.
- Low Risk: Requires 1 match.
- Mid Risk: Requires 2 matches.
- High Risk: Requires 3 matches.
To make a match, first click a card in your hand to select it, then click the corresponding trait emoji on the sticky note. A green border will confirm the match.
4. Resolving the Loan
Once you have made the required number of matches, the "Fail" button will change to "Lend."
- Lend (Success): If you meet the match requirement and click "Lend," you pay the loan amount and immediately get it back, plus interest and any bonuses from Trait Values.
- Fail (Failure): If you cannot or choose not to meet the match requirement, you can click "Fail." You pay the loan amount and lose it, but you gain that contact's Deadbeat Token.
5. Ending the Week
After you have resolved all the loans you wish to, click the "Next Week" button to proceed. Any unresolved loans are discarded, and any tokens you applied to them are returned to your inventory.
Trait Cards: Your Arsenal
Your deck is composed of Trait Cards. Understanding their abilities is key to success.
Card Usage: Getting More Matches
A card's star level determines how many times it can be used per week.
- No-Star Cards: Can be used for **one** match per week.
- β & ββ Cards: Can be used for **two** matches per week. This makes them incredibly flexible and valuable.
Card Abilities
Many cards have special abilities that trigger automatically when they are in your hand. These abilities can provide immediate cash bonuses based on their position in your hand, the number of cards in your deck, or other conditions. Starred versions of cards have significantly more powerful abilities to match their higher cost in the market.
Deadbeat Tokens: Your Secret Weapons
When a loan fails, you receive a Deadbeat Token. These are powerful, single-use items that can be applied to any unresolved sticky note to gain a significant advantage. Click the "Apply Token" button on a note to use one from your inventory.
π Guilt
Reduces the risk level of a note by one step (High β Mid, Mid β Low, Low β No Risk). This lowers the number of matches required by one. The note's border color will change to reflect its new, temporary risk level.
π€ Polite Tone
After the loan is resolved (win or lose), all three traits on the note gain +1 Trend, making them more likely to appear on future notes.
πΌ Professional Tone
After the loan is resolved, all three traits on the note gain +1 Value, making them more profitable when matched in the future.
π€¦ Pester
After the loan is resolved, only the traits you successfully matched gain +2 Trend.
π Harassment
On a successful loan, this token restores 2 points of lost "value potential" to each matched trait. (See Advanced Mechanics).
βοΈ Legal Action
If the loan is successful, you draw two extra cards from your deck into your hand for the next week.
πͺ Physical Threat
After a successful loan, a special "Deck Trimming" window opens, allowing you to set aside up to 3 cards from your draw deck for the rest of the month.
π« Shun
Guarantees that you receive the note's Deadbeat Token, even if you succeed on the loan. Perfect for farming specific tokens from easy contacts.
πͺ Threaten Family
After the loan is resolved, only the traits you successfully matched gain +2 Value.
Advanced Mechanics
Trait Trend & Value
Every trait has two hidden stats: Trend and Value.
- Trend: This determines how likely a trait is to appear on new sticky notes. The higher the trend, the more common it becomes. Tokens like "Polite Tone" and "Pester" are key to increasing trends.
- Value: This determines the bonus cash you receive when successfully matching a trait. The "Trait Value Status" screen shows the value track for each trait, which scales aggressively into the late game. Tokens like "Professional Tone" and "Threaten Family" increase value.
Value Potential
A trait's "Value" cannot increase forever. Each time you succeed on a loan by matching a trait, its Value Potential decreases by one. This represents diminishing returns. The grayed-out boxes on the Value Status screen show lost potential. The Harassment token is the only way to reverse this decay.
Deck Management
Actively managing your deck is crucial for winning in the later weeks.
The Weekly Market
At the start of every week (after Week 1), you'll have the opportunity to buy new, more powerful (starred) versions of Trait Cards. These cards often have stronger abilities or allow for multiple uses per week.
Monthly Deck Construction
Every 4 weeks, you will enter a Deck Construction phase. Here, you can view your entire card collection and choose to "set aside" any cards you don't want in your active deck for the next month. This is the primary way to remove weaker cards and improve the consistency of your draws. You must always have at least 15 cards in your active deck.
Game Events & Strategy
Buying New Loan Notes
At the bottom of the screen, you'll see options to "Add New Notes" by paying a one-time fee. These purchases are permanent for your current run. Buying a new note adds a new contact to your pool, meaning you will have more loan options to choose from each week. This is a key way to increase your potential income, but it comes at a significant upfront cost.
Special Encounter: Desperate Friends
Occasionally, you may encounter a "Desperate" contact. These notes have a distinct dark background and are rare opportunities. While they function like normal loans, they offer a much higher interest rate, making them extremely profitable if you can successfully make the required matches.
Game Over & The Consolation Token
If your money drops to $0 or you complete all 24 weeks, the game ends. Don't be discouraged by a loss! As a reward for your efforts, you will be granted a **Consolation Token**βa random Deadbeat Token that will be added to your inventory at the very start of your next game. This gives you a small advantage to help you get further on your next attempt.
Ranks & Achievements
Your performance is measured by the rank you achieve and the achievements you unlock.
Final Ranks
Your rank is determined by your final score at the end of the game.
| Final Money | Rank Title |
| $0 | True Deadbeat |
| $1 - $250 | Financial Failure |
| $251 - $500 | Bottom Feeder |
| $501 - $1,500 | Street-level Moneylender |
| $1,501 - $4,000 | Corner Hustler |
| $4,001 - $10,000 | Loan Shark |
| $10,001 - $25,000 | Creditor |
| $25,001 - $60,000 | City Slicker |
| $60,001 - $120,000 | Boss |
| $120,001 - $250,000 | Mogul |
| $250,001 - $500,000 | Kingpin |
| $500,001 - $999,999 | The Dawn |
| $1,000,000+ | True Legend |
Achievements
These are long-term goals that can be unlocked across multiple playthroughs.
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
| The Ladder | Achieve every possible rank title across all playthroughs. |
| Token Hoarder | Finish a game having collected at least one of every token type, without using any of them. |
| Perfect Record | Win the game by surviving all 24 weeks without a single contact becoming a deadbeat. |
| Debt Collector | Successfully use every type of Deadbeat Token at least once in a single run. |
| Iron Man | Win the game by surviving all 24 weeks without ever using the "Redraw" option. |
| The Philanthropist | Successfully lend to 5 "Desperate" friends in a single run. |
| Maximalist | Win the game by surviving all 24 weeks without ever setting aside cards during Monthly Deck Construction. |
| Risk Taker | Successfully complete 15 "High Risk" loans in a single run. |