Potion Shop Panic

Potion Shop Panic – Game Design Brief

Core Fantasy

Become the village’s trusted potion maker by diagnosing customers and brewing the perfect remedy using everyday ingredients.

The player shouldn’t feel like they’re memorizing recipes. They should feel like they’re listening, reasoning, and solving problems.

Core Gameplay Loop

A customer enters the shop.

The customer describes their symptoms.

The player identifies the main problem.

The player chooses up to three ingredients.

The ingredients are brewed into a potion.

The customer reacts.

The player earns a score based on the quality of the remedy.

A new customer arrives.

Repeat until the shift ends.

Gameplay Mechanics

Customer Diagnosis

Customers never ask for a potion directly.

Instead they say things like:

“I can’t stop coughing.”

“My eyes keep closing.”

“My throat hurts whenever I swallow.”

The challenge is interpreting these symptoms correctly.

Ingredient Selection

Players choose ingredients from the shelf.

Ingredients include:

Honey

Lemon

Ginger

Mint

Aloe Vera

Coffee

Water

Chamomile

Each ingredient has its own healing properties.

Players may combine up to three ingredients.

Brewing

Selected ingredients are placed into the cauldron.

Press Brew to create the potion.

The potion is immediately delivered to the customer.

Scoring System

Each ingredient contributes toward solving the customer’s problem.

Perfect combinations earn maximum points.

Partially correct combinations still help but score less.

Poor combinations receive little or no score.

This rewards reasoning instead of memorizing exact recipes.

Difficulty Progression

Early customers have one obvious symptom.

Example:

“I’m exhausted.”

Later customers present multiple symptoms.

Example:

“My throat hurts, I’ve been coughing all day, and I barely slept.”

The player must determine which symptoms matter most.

Difficulty comes from diagnosis—not faster timers.

Win Condition

Serve as many customers as possible before the shift ends while maintaining a high score.

Lose Condition

There is no traditional fail state.

Players simply finish their shift with whatever score they’ve earned.

This keeps the experience cozy and low-pressure.

Player Fantasy

“I’m the village healer who listens carefully, understands people’s problems, and creates the perfect remedy.”

Pillars

Listen carefully.

Think logically.

Brew wisely.

Help your customers.

Improve through understanding—not memorization.