Pollex Write a Match Plan
A card you fill before you grip — so the crowd does not write it for you.
Pollex wants you in the ring while you are angry, marked, and sure the next pin will fix the last one. The Steam page even tells you the crowd wants blood. A match plan is a boring piece of paper (or a notes app) that you fill before the grip. This page is the template. Pair it with betting stakes and the tier list hub.
The card
Copy this list. Fill it in plain language. If you cannot fill a line, you are not ready to accept the match.
- Why this match exists. Debt payment, calibration, or optional heat. If the answer is “because I am mad,” decline.
- Walk-away number. A debt target or a sitting limit (for example: two matches, then quit). How to survive is the philosophy; this line is the number.
- Stake cap. The finger you refuse to put up. If the game only offers one stake, the cap becomes “I play this bout and no follow-up.”
- Tell to hunt. One behaviour, not five. Example: “they feint high then commit late.” See how to win.
- Abort conditions. Nausea, hitching frames, handler pressure, or a new rule you do not understand. Controls and performance sit here.
- Cash rule. What you do with a win: pay debt, leave, or — rarely — accept one deeper invite. Default is pay and leave.
How to use it on launch week
You will not have a wiki-perfect HUD. You will have adrenaline. Put the card on a second monitor or a phone. After each match, add one sentence: what the opponent did, whether the house intervened, whether you broke the cap. That log is more valuable than a fake opponents name.
If Steam Cloud is working, your save may remember marks. Your brain will not remember tells unless you write them. Solo development means patches can retune pin windows; the roadmap is where we note those retunes so your card does not go stale.
Refusal is a plan
A filled card that says refuse is a successful plan. The listing’s people “have their own reasons for keeping you in the ring.” Refusing a friendly handler is not leaving value on the table. It is the value. The house covers that social game.
Refusal also applies to hardware. If you cannot hold a stable frame rate, the plan is “do not bet.” Read system requirements before you fill line 3.
What not to put on the card
- Invented item loadouts.
- A code you saw on a thumbnail. Codes has none.
- A second player role. There is single-player only.
- “I’ll feel it out.” That is the crowd writing the plan.
After you walk out
If you paid the debt, stop. The developer wrote that walking out whole is the point. If you immediately hunt a new debt because the pit felt like content, you are playing the house’s game with your own wallet and hands.
If you failed the plan, do not punish yourself with a bigger stake. Reset getting started and play a calibration rung. The review is a reminder that this is a horror pitch, not a competitive circuit.
Related
Guides hub, players hub, wishlist if you are still pre-purchase, official links for the Steam URL.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
Do I need a match plan if I am good at thumb wars?
Yes. Pollex adds a house, a crowd, and permanent stakes. Playground skill does not budget a debt.
What if the game auto-selects the stake?
The cap becomes your sitting limit: play the forced bout, then stop. Do not accept the next invite on tilt.
Should I share my plan with a friend sitting next to you?
There is single-player only. You can still show a friend the card — they are not in the ring.
Where do I record tells?
On this card, then later on the opponents page once fighters are named.