Combolands Trigger Mechanics: From Build to Cascade

What counts as a useful trigger note?

The official store supports the broad idea of cascading building combinations. It does not provide a public list of every condition, so this page treats trigger research like a small reproducible experiment. A useful note should let another player answer three questions: what was already true, what changed, and whether the same result happened again.

The six-step worksheet

1. Board: capture the island and note the current game version, guild pair, and any visible map condition.
2. Build: write the exact building, blueprint, potion, heirloom, or upgrade involved. Avoid shorthand that could hide two different objects.
3. Visible condition: quote the text or describe the state immediately before the action. Include the relevant nearby buildings or tiles.
4. Trigger: record the first visible response after the placement or choice. Do not skip over the scoring animation or a new offer.
5. Cascade: list later effects in order and mark which ones are direct observation versus interpretation.
6. Repeat: test the same question again in the current build. If the board cannot be recreated, say that the second test is only a comparison, not a reproduction.

Controlled test versus useful observation

Not every run can be controlled. Use these labels in your notes:

Label	When to use it	How to write it
Repeated	Same relevant conditions produced the same result	“Observed twice under the recorded conditions.”
Partial	The result happened, but another variable changed	“Observed once; guild pair or board differed.”
Reported	Another player described it without a matching test	“Community report; check the installed build.”
Open	No source or reproducible observation yet	“Needs verification; no rule published here.”

This keeps a compelling clip from becoming a universal mechanic by accident.

Questions worth testing first

Start with questions the interface can answer:

• Does the effect happen immediately after placement or only after scoring?
• Does removing or replacing a nearby object change the result?
• Does the same text behave differently with another guild pair?
• Does an item change the visible score, the building behaviour, or the map itself?
• Does a patch note describe the interaction as a fix or adjustment?

The point is not to test everything at once. Pick one question, write the expected visible signal, and stop the experiment when the result is ambiguous.

Current patch reminders

The official v1.0.4 notes mention several interactions that are worth version-tagging in any test: Stockpile scoring from Plateau, Sawmill triggering Manufacturer, and the rule that a Plateau cannot be built on another Plateau. The same update also fixes Politician guild reselection states and duplicate blueprint rewards. Those notes establish a dated patch context; they do not replace a full in-game explanation of every interaction.

Use the source boundary

The building combos guide explains the chain at a higher level. The buildings hub is intentionally not a filled-in database, and the items guide keeps heirlooms, potions, and upgrades in their own evidence lane.

Exact adjacency rules, trigger distances, resource multipliers, and universal formulas remain open until a current source or repeatable test supports them. When the evidence is incomplete, publish the experiment and its limit—not a number that only sounds precise.