1 · START: The 2:00 build countdown does NOT start until you place your first AWS-inspired component. Swipe from the ↗ connector on one service to another to link them. The simulation begins automatically when the build clock ends, or you can choose START LAUNCH early.
2 · WIRE Swipe from the ↗ connector handle to another component, or use WIRE mode to tap a source and destination. Link web routing and attach databases/caches to compute.
3 · SELL Press and hold a node still to open the Sell menu, then tap SELL to get your credits back. Drag the node body to move it; swipe its ↗ handle to connect. Undo restores sold nodes.
4 · DEFEND Shield/WAF reduce bot attacks. CloudFront and cache reduce compute load. ALB and Auto Scaling distribute requests. Multiple EC2 nodes provide resilience.
5 · LAUNCH Run a 60-second accelerated simulation. Watch waves, bot storms, latency, and outages. Events reward intelligent topologies.
6 · LIVE DEFENSE Score updates every traffic tick. Healthy nodes pass bright packets faster. Overloaded components glow orange, and failing components burn red. Tap the REPAIR control on a damaged node during a live run to recover its health. Repairs reduce your score slightly and are checked by the tournament server.
7 · UNLOCK Only a successful mission with a qualifying score unlocks the next challenge. Failing a mission leaves the next level locked. See your requirement on the result screen.
8 · SCORE Reach the served-request goal and 97% uptime. Save your callsign and compare your architecture against other pilots.
7 · TOURNAMENT Enter the weekly challenge for one shared mission, budget and surprise-event seed. Launch from the built-in Node host to share an asynchronous leaderboard. Opening HTML directly uses a clearly marked local leaderboard instead.
Educational gameplay: capacity and cost are intentionally fictional, not AWS operational advice.