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.

Sources

• Landfall — ROUNDS
• Steam — ROUNDS achievements
• Steam store — ROUNDS
• Steam news — ROUNDS patch notes (1.1.1, November 2024 update, Mac release)