Bullion - The Curse of the Cutthroat Cattle. A Leda Entertainment game

Player's Guide

Introduction

Bullion - The Curse of the Cut-Throat Cattle is the sorry tale of Captain Long John Silverside and his band of mooing miscreants; cursed by the heathen gods that guard the island of Ser-Lloyn, each pirate must gather as much treasure as possible in the hope of having the most at the end of the round and thus being spared the gods' wrath. Of course, if this means backstabbing their crewmates then so be it... but with the many foes they face on the islands, it would be all too easy for the whole crew end up dead!

Controls

While the image below shows the controls as defined for an Xbox controller, Playstation, Switch and other controllers should work in the same manner, based on the button positions ie: "A" on the Xbox controller translates to "X" on the Playstation controller and so forth.

Xbox controller configuration

PC Keyboard controls

While using game controllers is recommended on PC, it is possible for up to two players to play on keyboard. Note that keyboard controls are assigned to players 3 and 4 - this does not mean that that two controllers are required in order to play.

ActionP3 keysP4 keys
MovementW/A/S/DArrow keys
Attack/SelectSpaceReturn
Block/CancelLeft shiftRight shift
DashTabBackspace
Use Power-upESlash (/)

Playing Bullion

Game modes

Bullion features three gameplay modes:

  • Avarice: the pirates fall pray to the curse. Players have a limited time in which to gather as much treasure as possible, with all but the one with the highest total being struck down. Round duration can two, three or five minutes - this can be set in the game options.
  • Defiance: the crew choose to stand against the heathen gods and face their champion. The players take on the island's boss character... but seeing as they are pirates, the one with the most treasure is still the winner!
  • Voyage: the pirates travel across a series of islands, each of which is either an avarice-style match or a defiance-mode boss battle. At the end of the voyage, the pirate claiming victory on the most islands is the overall winner.

Treasure

Regardless of game mode, winning is all about grabbing the most loot:

  • Treasure chests frequently pop out of the ground (their previous owners must have done a lousy job burying them!) - these can be smashed with a few swings of a suitable weapon, spewing out loot that can then be grabbed up. Chests also occasionally contain power-ups.
  • Enemies drop treasure when they are cut down; additionally, the island bosses in defiance mode are treasure pinatas! And every now and then, a boss will drop a BFD (big fat diamond) on the player inflicting the right damage at the right time...
  • Other pirates - if you backstab your fellow pirates, they're almost certain to have some loot on them for you to swipe! Plus cutting down a crewmate turns them into a ghost for a time, during which they cannot grab more treasure... but also cannot help you if you get into trouble!

Note that just because you smash a chest, kill an enemy etc., it doesn't mean you get the treasure automatically... so charging in at just the right moment and stealing loose treasure due to someone else's actions is just what any other pirate would do... the only exception to this is the boss's BFD, but otherwise, everything else is fair game!

Death and respawn

Should a member of the crew be cut down, they will become a ghost - in this form, they cannot enter combat or collect treasure. When this happens a grave will rise at the location they started the round in. By running back to this grave, they can respawn, re-join the battle and start grabbing loot again. Ghosts are automatically respawned after fifteen seconds, however...

Player 2 in ghost form
P2 in ghost form: in this state, the player location markers guide you back to your gravestone (if switched on)

If the whole crew are cut down at the same time, the game ends. Even in voyage mode. If all four players' pirates are cut down before one of them can respawn, that's it - the crew is lost and the gods have won!

Dash - "Bull Rush!"

When the gauge is fully charged, holding the dash button will make your pirate lower his horns and charge straight forward in a burst of speed! Any chests in the way will be smashed, while other pirates and smaller enemies will be knocked flying, but beware... running into a solid object will stun your pirate, leaving them dizzy and vulnerable to attack for a few seconds!

Status displays

Each pirate's status is displayed in the corners of the screen; additionally, an "in-field" status display that shows above the head of each pirate can be switched on and of in the game options.

Corner status display

Player status display

In-field status display

In-field player status display
Note: Air meter only appears in "The Locker"

In avarice game mode, the time left for the round is displayed as a trail of gunpowder that burns down across the bottom of the screen:

Round timer (Avarice game mode)

In defiance game mode, the boss's status is displayed the top of the screen. Each time the boss's health is reduced to below a given value on the gauge, a big fat diamond will be awarded to the player who struck the final blow!

Boss status display (Defiance game mode)

Over time, the boss will build up energy, displayed around their portrait - if this reaches a full charge, the boss will call down the wrath of the heathen gods, smiting the whole crew out of existence! Attacking the boss will reduce this energy (and make them drop treasure), so make sure to keep this under control!

Power Ups

Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate! Occasionally, smashing a chest will reveal a useful power-up item to help the lucky pirate who collects it...

Bottle o'grog restores a third of your health The bottle o'grog is standard fair for when a pirate wants to keep themself going a bit longer - this one will restore a third of your health.

Aqua de Vida restores all health/resurrects Aqua de Vida is powerful stuff - not only will it fully restore health, but it can instantly resurrect a pirate from ghost form!

Voodoo doll deals counter-damage Taking a kicking? A voodoo doll will automatically deal 50% of any damage you take back on whoever inflicted it.

Power pasture increases attack power Power pasture makes you strong to the finish! This tasty morsel will up the strength of any pirate, giving a 40% damage increase while it lasts.

Chilli jar increases movement speed A jar of chillis will light a fire inside you, and up your basic movement speed by 25% while the effects last.

Parrot collects treasure Every pirate's best friend, a parrot flies around grabbing up loot and brings it back to you - assuming you're somewhere where a parrot can fly, of course...

Apart from health restoring power ups (bottle o'grog, aqua de vida), all power-ups last for a limited time, shown in your pirate's corner status display. Picking up a second power-up will replace the first unless the effect has already been triggered, in which case, the new power-up wil be held in the "next power-up" slot until activated or the currently acive power-up runs out.

Hints

A bit of sage advice from an old deck-swabber before ye set out on your glorious quest...

  • Not all treasure be equal - look out for higher-value pieces...
  • Each pirate in the crew has their own fighting style and rhythm; master this to maximise the damage inflicted!
  • You keep hold of the aqua de vida power-up in ghost form - time using it wisely.
  • A boss's rage can only be decreased so much... do not let it build up too far!