Recently, I played an unfinished arpg by Matthew Gartland. The game had no intricate backstory other than I asked him for a copy of the game instructions and I decided to give it a go after reading and re-reading it for a few weeks.

It was a rather playful experience, with instructions carefully balanced between light-hearted and ominous. It was short and took me less than 30 minutes. I could have finished quicker but I felt that the game wasn’t meant to be played like a race. It was more like a tour, as if I had an invisible tour guide pointing me to things I wouldn’t have looked at.

*SPOILER ALERT*

the game starts here

"you are moving against the flow of the water, which keeps you safe"

"Do not enter this building, it is very dangerous"

Contemplate the afterlife

"Go across."

In the end the game told me to find a safe spot to solve the final code phrase. I did it in a bus shed beside an American tourist couple. I was tempted to pass the game to them, if only I hadn’t written the solutions over the instructions.