In Plunder Kings we’ve implemented an all or nothing gambling mechanic. The main goal of the game is to fight through waves and waves of enemies collecting the treasure they drop. The catch is that once you die everything you've collected drops into the ether with the remains of your ship. Play the game for longer and gain more loot but the enemies will become harder and more numerous.
So how do you keep your money?
Checkpoints spawn into the world intermittently. When captured the checkpoint lets the player choose whether to cash out or keep going with an additional life until they reach another checkpoint. If a player does cash out, they keep all the money they have earned and can spend it in the upgrade store to improve the attributes of their ships as well as unlock various different abilities.
If however you die between checkpoints you'll be given an ability to roll to keep your money. Roll the die right and you can keep your cash but there's a big chance you'll get nothing OR you'll lose money from your savings.
So how much do you want to risk?