After playing one or two stealth missions in the game, I feel like taking a break and doing something else for variety.

Mini-games could help with that. So that's why I've focused on mini-games in this Endless Thief update. Between missions, you can talk to fellow guild members. Not just talking to them. Some also enjoy playing card games. And you can actually play card games with them in-game.

Just like the game itself was inspired by other games like Thief and Metal Gear Solid, the mini-games are inspired by other games as well. Two old favorites of mine are Triple Triad from Final Fantasy 8. And a more obscure one, Acromage from Might & Magic.

Implementing the two mini-games took much more time than expected. That's why this update took almost 5 months. I'll make sure the next update will be done much sooner than that.

Now that the mini-games are added, I can focus on the core game again. Plans for next updates are:

• Replace the guild level with a full main city, which includes the secret Thief Guild.
• An intro, during which the player gets invited to and needs to find the secret Thief Guild.
• After the tutorials, the player starts at Thief Rank 0.
• The player earns gold by completing missions, puzzles and betting Double or Nothing on mini-games.
• With the gold, the player can buy a basic lock-pick, to steal from the main city.
• The player increases their guild rank by stealing from the main city.
• A higher rank unlocks new missions with higher rewards.

So that will be the main game loop. Earn gold with various missions. Buy a better lock-pick. Steal from the main city with the new lock-pick. Increase in rank and unlock new missions.

I want to change the mini-games into Double or Nothing deals, where the player places bets on winning. Also increasing the difficulty depending on the bet. For example, the Lion's Share game has a 3x3 grid for 2 players. I could increase it to 4x4 for 1 human player and 2 AI players to make it more interesting.

I also want to include traps, with mission goals to let a target guard have an "accident" with their own trap, sabotaged by the player.

I should split this into multiple updates, so that the next update won't take another few months. Taking smaller steps and more frequent updates is my new goal.