ROUNDS: Beginner-to-Advanced Guide

A guide to Landfall's noodle-armed 1v1 card duel shooter: how matches work, controls, blocking, how to draft cards, builds that work, counter-picking, and multiplayer and modding setup in 2026.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the October 2025 Mac release (the Switch port launched alongside it); the last gameplay patch was the November 2024 update that added PlayStation crossplay and more achievements. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

The loser picks a card. After each round, the player who lost chooses one card from a hand of offered cards (Landfall: "The losing player of each round unlocks clever upgrades"). The game is built around catching up, so a losing streak isn't the end.
Block is your most important button. A well-timed block negates a bullet and triggers many card effects. It has a cooldown, so don't spam it.
Pick cards that counter your opponent, not just ones that sound strong. Read what they took.
Stay on the map. Falling out kills you instantly (there's even an achievement for winning 10 rounds by your opponent falling out).
Jump and wall-cling constantly. A moving target is much harder to hit, especially vs slow bullets.
Reloading happens automatically when your magazine empties or after you stop firing. Watch your ammo counter.
Take match-changing cards. Cards like Phoenix, Saw and Demonic Pact change the whole match; rare cards (the card frame shows rarity) are usually worth taking unless they wreck your build.
Local play and room codes are the easiest way to play with friends; crossplay works with Xbox and PlayStation.

How a Match Works

Element	Rules
Players	1v1 online, local multiplayer on one PC
Match	First to 5 round wins (a 5-0 win earns the Ace achievement; losing 0-5 earns Joker)
Rounds	Each round is a short series of duels on a random map; the round's progress shows as pips at the top of the screen
Card draft	The loser of each round picks one card from a hand of offered cards
Maps	70+ maps with platforms, walls, moving parts, and hazards

Because the loser drafts, games are self-balancing. The winner of a set of rounds has to deal with an opponent who has just gotten stronger specifically against them.

Controls

Action	Keyboard and mouse	Controller
Move	A / D	Left stick
Jump / wall jump	Space	A (bottom face button)
Aim	Mouse	Right stick
Shoot	Left mouse	Right trigger
Block	Right mouse	Left trigger

Check Options for rebinding. The pause menu got an options menu in the November 2024 update.

Movement and Blocking Fundamentals

Wall clinging: you can stick to walls and jump off them. This is how you dodge and reposition.
Block timing: block right when a bullet is about to hit, not preemptively. After a block, you're vulnerable until the cooldown ends.
Ammo: each gun has a magazine; a reload takes time, and cards change both. Firing everything wildly gives the opponent a reload window to punish.
Knockback: bullets push you. Near edges, this is what kills people.

Card Categories

ROUNDS has 65+ cards. They fall into rough categories. Descriptions below are summaries; hover a card in-game to see its exact numbers.

Gun cards (change your bullets)

Card	What it does (in short)
Big Bullet	Larger bullets that are easier to land
Buckshot	Shotgun spread: several weaker bullets per shot
Spray	Very high fire rate, low damage per bullet
Barrage	Fires more bullets per shot
Bouncy	Bullets bounce off surfaces
Homing	Bullets curve toward the enemy
Explosive Bullet	Bullets explode on impact
Poison	Bullets deal damage over time
Cold Bullets	Bullets slow the target
Glass Cannon	Huge damage boost, but big HP loss
Remote	You steer your bullets after firing
Trickster	Bullets get stronger after bouncing
Quick Reload	Faster reload

Block cards (trigger when you block)

Card	What it does (in short)
Teleport	Blocking teleports you in the direction you're aiming
Frost Slam	Blocking creates a slowing blast
Healing Field	Blocking creates a healing area
Empower	Blocking makes your next shot stronger
Shields Up	Adds block utility tied to your gun (triggers the Shield Up achievement)
Supernova	Blocking unleashes a big area effect
Radiance	Blocking triggers a damaging effect around you
Echo	Doubles up on your block (hover it in-game for the exact effect)

The Shieldmastery achievement is for holding 4 cards that interact with block, so block-focused builds are a legitimate strategy.

Character cards (stats and passives)

Card	What it does (in short)
Huge	More max HP
Tank	Much more HP, slower attack
Pristine Perseverance	Extra HP while you're near full health
Decay	Damage you take is dealt to you slowly over time instead of all at once
Leech	Heal from damage dealt
Chilling Presence	Slows enemies near you
Phoenix	Come back once after dying (weaker)
Saw	A damaging saw around you punishes close range
Demonic Pact	Trades your health for firepower

Builds That Work

Bouncy Homing (the "can't dodge" build)

Core: Bouncy, Homing, Trickster, Big Bullet. Bullets curve, bounce and grow deadlier after bouncing. Great on maps with many walls. Weak against fast Teleport players who block well.

Tank Brawler

Core: Huge, Tank, Pristine Perseverance, Leech, Decay. Outlast your opponent. Pair with a reliable damage card (Big Bullet or Explosive Bullet). The Titan achievement (reach 1000 HP) comes naturally from this.

Glass Cannon Sniper

Core: Glass Cannon, Big Bullet, Quick Reload. Huge single-shot damage. Destroyer of Worlds (500 damage with one bullet) is an achievement goal here. Very fragile, so this build needs good aim and good blocking.

Spray and Pray

Core: Spray, Buckshot, Barrage, Poison. Huge bullet counts that overwhelm blocks. Watch reload times. Beekeeper achievement (30 of your bullets on screen) comes from this.

Block Master

Core: Teleport, Frost Slam, Healing Field, Empower, Echo. Every block becomes an attack or escape. Excellent against slow, heavy bullets.

Counter-Picking Guide

Opponent has	Take
Homing / Bouncy spam	Block cards (Teleport, Echo), Huge
Glass Cannon	Huge/Tank, Healing Field, Decay
Tank / high HP	Poison, Explosive Bullet, Spray
Spray / high bullet count	Big HP, Decay, Healing Field
Teleport blockers	Homing, Spray (overload the block)
Saw / close-range builds	Keep distance: Big Bullet, Homing
Phoenix	Burst damage to finish both lives

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Blocking too early. You waste the cooldown; the second bullet hits.
Picking random cards. Each pick should either build your synergy or counter the opponent.
Standing still. Constant jumping and wall-clinging makes you hard to hit.
Ignoring Glass Cannon's HP penalty. Without defense, you get one-shot.
Stacking reload-heavy cards. Slow reloads leave long punish windows.
Fighting near edges. Knockback kills more players than damage does.

Advanced Tips

Bait blocks. Fire one shot to bait the block, then follow up during cooldown.
Use map geometry: bounce shots off ceilings over cover.
Read your opponent's picks. If they take Poison, don't stay in long fights; if they take Homing, block timing matters more than dodging.
Card count matters late. At 4-4, the loser has many cards; don't underestimate a comeback.
Save Teleport for escape, not just aggression.

Multiplayer and Crossplay

Online: quick match against random opponents, or private matches via room codes.
Crossplay: Steam, Xbox (since February 2024), and PlayStation (since November 2024). The Switch and Mac versions launched in 2025.
Twitch matchmaking: streamers can play with viewers.
Local multiplayer: controllers on one PC.

Mods

The community modding scene (Thunderstore mods via mod managers) is big: extra cards, more players, and rule tweaks.
The 2024 updates broke many mods. Landfall made a beta branch with the older pre-Xbox-patch build available because it's the most mod-compatible. Select it in Steam, Properties, Betas.
The modding Discord (community-run) is the place for up-to-date mod compatibility.

Achievements Worth Chasing

Achievement	Requirement
Victory	Win a match
Ace	Win 5-0
Hypersonic	Fire a bullet with over 350% projectile speed
Healer	Heal 500 HP in one round
Titan	Reach 1000 HP
Destroyer of worlds	Deal 500 DMG with one bullet
Beekeeper	Have 30 of your own bullets on screen at the same time
Impenetrable	Block 10 times in 10 seconds
Expensive taste	Pick 3 or more rare cards in one match
Shieldmastery	Have 4 cards that interact with your block
Accidental Winner	Win 10 rounds by your opponent falling out
Three in a row!	Win 3 matches in a row
Frosty	Use Frost Slam 20 times
Card-use set	Use Remote (In Control), Teleport (Teleporter), Supernova (Star), Demonic Pact (Demon) or Radiance (Radient) 3 times in a single match; use Phoenix (Phoenix) and Saw (Sharp) once
Winner / Champion	Win 20 / 50 matches

There are 24 achievements in total; most of the card-use ones came with the November 2024 update, so a block-focused build knocks out several at once.

FAQ

Is ROUNDS single-player? No campaign, but you can play local multiplayer or online. It's designed as a 1v1 duel game.

Can I play with friends on Xbox or PlayStation? Yes. Use room codes; crossplay with Xbox and PlayStation is supported.

Why don't my mods work? Updates in 2024 broke many mods. Switch to the older beta branch that Landfall provided for mod compatibility.

Are there more than two players? The base game is built around 1v1. Mods add more players and teams.

Is it on Mac? Yes, since October 2025.

What's the best card? It depends on the opponent. Strong picks include Homing, Bouncy, Big Bullet, and Teleport, but the best card is often the one that counters what your opponent took.