Don't Play This Game
A downloadable Forbidden Game
A Puzzling Journal Game for One Player
((CW: Cosmic horror, sensationalized occultism, and mental distress. Not intended for persons ill, addled, or suggestible. Apopheniacs should exercise restraint, if possible.))
Found in a hidden compartment, you find a strange document covered in an inscrutable black and red code. You might be smart enough to solve it, but can you survive it? Don’t seek the secrets we weren’t meant to know! Don’t let your curiosity and hubris destroy you! DON’T PLAY THIS GAME!
Don’t Play This Game is inspired by HP Lovecraft, House of Leaves, and the feeling you get when you read the same page eight times without retaining a word.
If you can solve our puzzle, send us your solution/reply at dontplaythisgame@watcherdm.com. We’ll send the first five people to crack it free pdf copies of some of our other works, including QUESTCRAWL, DRAWN FROM THE MARGINS, and DOOM DESERT IN THE DECANTER OF DELIRIUM. Check them (and our other offerings) out at watcherdm.com, DriveThruRPG, or right here on itch.io.
Purchase
In order to download this Forbidden Game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $2 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this Forbidden Game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copy
For purposes of judgement and as a vow we release these sacrificial copies, it is done.
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I downloaded this. I'm very confused. It appears to be just 1 page filled with gibberish. I get that this might be a puzzle game for super smart people but I feel like it's a stretch to call this an RPG.
Fair enough. Once you decode it, it's a journaling game / solo RPG. I know those aren't everyone's idea of an RPG anyways, and this one, in particular, is strange. I understand if it feels too weird to be an RPG.
That said, please don't think this game is only for super-smart people. Anyone with patience (and an internet connection) should be able to solve it. Because we've got some prizes for first five solvers, I don't want to give too many hints publically, but I will offer three tips on getting started:
.
.
.
.
.
1. The upper right area is full of hints and keys.
2. Start with the upper left box and work down that column. The right-hand chapter is the last (and the longest).
3. It's a substitution cipher; each of those strange glyphs corresponds to a letter. I'd start by trying to recognize single-letter words, then try to puzzle out vowels and common endings (like -ing or -ed). Once you've got a few letters, the others should fall into place.
I hope that helps! If you get stuck, please email us at dontplaythisgame@watcherdm.com for private hints. Checking Wikipedia's entries on ciphers and codes might help as well. Good luck and remember:
DON'T PLAY THIS GAME!