gameplay review! I’ve played this a bit since buying it and I have mixed feelings. For starters, I really enjoy the book’s aesthetic, how print friendly it is, and the vibes it creates through its stripped-back writing. You get a lot with a little. That being said, it’s the “little” part I take issue with.
The game is too rules-bare imo. When I first started, I really struggled to know what to do. The rules are setup in a way that lends itself to someone who has a grasp on how the game flows already. For me, I think I prefer a bit more direction on these kinds of games. Full disclosure, this was my first time playing a journaling game so I’m still learning how they work. I think it would be helpful to have some example play to help get off the ground for absolute beginners?
I may also simply lack creativity in this department. Overall, the systems are interesting and the rules are pretty tight, but maybe too tight. I’d still recommend buying it.
Thanks for checking out HARDCASE and giving thoughtful feedback! I'm really touched that you chose it as your first solo/journaling game, and I'm sorry it was a bit of a bumpy ride.
HC1e is more of a box of parts than anything else - which I don't say as a defense of it, but an accurate reflection on what I made. If you want to see some experiments in adding more structure, HC Mini boils the game down into a smaller, week-long experience with clearer guardrails, while the Mysteries in TRUTHSEEKER are meant to be a similar "What do I actually DO in this?" option. It's definitely something on my mind as I work on HC2e, which'll have the benefit of being 60ish pages instead of 24; I'm enjoying the room to stretch my legs a little bit.
I also want to shout out THE PHANTOM OF THE MARIA SERAPH as a great little HARDCASE 'adventure' and a format I'd love to imitate in the future. It definitely zooms in play in a way that I find really exciting and comprehensible.
Hi there! HARDCASE is only in the full-price version of the Queer Game Bundle 2025. It's also on sale for the rest of the month, along with its official supplement and a few of my older microgames.
I'm really curious about the lore of the setting, so I have Lunars. There seem to be a lot of veterans of official units flooding around, too. Who did they fight for? Who are the major players?
Sis, I don't know how, but I would love to help you with that. It would be so, so, so cool for your retirement to transfer you to Splindle City. Another thing I love is how grounded everything is. Sure, we could play badass, but I like we are just getting by and enjoying small pleasures. With the mini adventure, I love how respectful faith and religious feelings are in a way that just does not fall into poor stereotypes.
Thanks! One of my least favorite things is when sci-fi assumes humanity will "outgrow" religion in the future, when we've had beliefs, rituals, and spiritual community longer than we've had almost anything else. It's important to me to show that spark living on and taking new forms!
If the 20th century has shown anything, it is that spiritual communities and religions can survive anything. Even now, they are a real refuge for people. The fact is that in this setting, the ministers are the comforters of refugees and the lost and try to save the strangers. I love your game, it's very, very hard to play, straight hell, hard not to be a bit of a bastard in the game just to get off.
An absolute gem of a game, the procedural generation crafts a grim but hopeful story of someone trying to get by with a light at the end of the tunnel. If you enjoyed games like citizen sleeper you enjoy the kind of world that this game evokes. Well worth the money
I would say this is a lovely little game, but it's actually pretty grimy and grungy - in spirit! Perfectly fitting for the hard-scrabble contractors working to the bone to stay in the black. Straightforward ruleset, fun to play. Worth the creds.
I don't intend to, no! All of my other games have had lots of Community Copies and wound up in several charity bundles, but HARDCASE is all about cold, hard cash.
The current 50%-off sale runs for a few more weeks, though!
I would like to be hired on as a subcontractor for review purposes of the 5-star variety.
All inquiries not from the posted owner are known to act under the information their inquiry shall be met with administrative attention, and blocked.
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happy solstice
thanks for giggling
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It says the download key I posted was claimed by someone who wasn't you, so I'd rather not post it publicly - is there somewhere I could send the next one to?
I have a question about the Deliveries rule (page .13).
When the Distractions Roll result "1: Intuitive pathing. Fill the shortcut clock." should only be possible when the roll has already been reduced to the minimum of 1d6, so shouldn't it be able to fill the shortcut clock further at this point?
The shortcut you learn doesn't have to be between the two close-by places your 1d6 roll was about. It's about building up your HC's overall familiarity with Basement's layout in ways that can help them in the future!
Looking forward to trying this out! Love the tone and premise. After doing an initial read-thru, under Salvage: are the tables 'What's on the line this week' and 'Hazards' intentionally the same?
I saw mention of a print-friendly version possibly in the future! That'll be great!
Loving this game and it's grimy, dystopian charm. Questions: what is the value of meeting online users in public or getting friendly with the various faces/celebrities? Also, what should I do if the station burns up?
Great question! You might want to meet up to acquire product from a few of the more entrepreneurial Online personalities, or maybe you think they'd make a good Subcontractor. Some of them have faction connections that could come in handy, or they might be the ones holding your Debt, acting as an employer for unique jobs.
If Basement burns up, I hope your HC can find a way out! Maybe they could start over on one of the other habitats - or you could always just reset everything with a new HC.
Glad you're so excited! There's no plans for a physical copy of HARDCASE yet, but at least you'll have 2.0 in your hands (so to speak) later this month?
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gameplay review! I’ve played this a bit since buying it and I have mixed feelings. For starters, I really enjoy the book’s aesthetic, how print friendly it is, and the vibes it creates through its stripped-back writing. You get a lot with a little. That being said, it’s the “little” part I take issue with.
The game is too rules-bare imo. When I first started, I really struggled to know what to do. The rules are setup in a way that lends itself to someone who has a grasp on how the game flows already. For me, I think I prefer a bit more direction on these kinds of games. Full disclosure, this was my first time playing a journaling game so I’m still learning how they work. I think it would be helpful to have some example play to help get off the ground for absolute beginners?
I may also simply lack creativity in this department. Overall, the systems are interesting and the rules are pretty tight, but maybe too tight. I’d still recommend buying it.
Thanks for checking out HARDCASE and giving thoughtful feedback! I'm really touched that you chose it as your first solo/journaling game, and I'm sorry it was a bit of a bumpy ride.
HC1e is more of a box of parts than anything else - which I don't say as a defense of it, but an accurate reflection on what I made. If you want to see some experiments in adding more structure, HC Mini boils the game down into a smaller, week-long experience with clearer guardrails, while the Mysteries in TRUTHSEEKER are meant to be a similar "What do I actually DO in this?" option. It's definitely something on my mind as I work on HC2e, which'll have the benefit of being 60ish pages instead of 24; I'm enjoying the room to stretch my legs a little bit.
I also want to shout out THE PHANTOM OF THE MARIA SERAPH as a great little HARDCASE 'adventure' and a format I'd love to imitate in the future. It definitely zooms in play in a way that I find really exciting and comprehensible.
thanks for the reply! I appreciate the clarification on your design ethos :)
I’ll give these tips a go once I get another quiet night! I’m very much looking forward to what you are working on.
hi there
I tried buying this as part of the Queer Game 2025 Bundle but the $10 option isn’t working
I’ve downloaded the free copy and love your game. How do I leave a 5 star rating for you?
Hi there! HARDCASE is only in the full-price version of the Queer Game Bundle 2025. It's also on sale for the rest of the month, along with its official supplement and a few of my older microgames.
I don't want to lose this kind little essay Snow wrote about HARDCASE <3
I'm really curious about the lore of the setting, so I have Lunars. There seem to be a lot of veterans of official units flooding around, too. Who did they fight for? Who are the major players?
Exciting blank spaces for now - though Binary did some good work fleshing out their take on Luna with HARDPLACE!
I love the game so far I would love to see a Spindle City Start on the A and playing in the city
That's the goal someday - and was, in fact, the original pitch HARDCASE started off with!
Sis, I don't know how, but I would love to help you with that. It would be so, so, so cool for your retirement to transfer you to Splindle City. Another thing I love is how grounded everything is. Sure, we could play badass, but I like we are just getting by and enjoying small pleasures. With the mini adventure, I love how respectful faith and religious feelings are in a way that just does not fall into poor stereotypes.
Thanks! One of my least favorite things is when sci-fi assumes humanity will "outgrow" religion in the future, when we've had beliefs, rituals, and spiritual community longer than we've had almost anything else. It's important to me to show that spark living on and taking new forms!
If the 20th century has shown anything, it is that spiritual communities and religions can survive anything. Even now, they are a real refuge for people. The fact is that in this setting, the ministers are the comforters of refugees and the lost and try to save the strangers. I love your game, it's very, very hard to play, straight hell, hard not to be a bit of a bastard in the game just to get off.
Just a quick, possibly nitpicky, question. Revolvers state "As a consequence, you may need to reload your
revolver." Consequence is a term that doesn't really show up anywhere else, should this be taken to mean "as a cost" instead?
Exactly right, sorry for the confusion!
An absolute gem of a game, the procedural generation crafts a grim but hopeful story of someone trying to get by with a light at the end of the tunnel. If you enjoyed games like citizen sleeper you enjoy the kind of world that this game evokes. Well worth the money
i'm so glad it works!! <3
I would say this is a lovely little game, but it's actually pretty grimy and grungy - in spirit! Perfectly fitting for the hard-scrabble contractors working to the bone to stay in the black. Straightforward ruleset, fun to play. Worth the creds.
thanks so much <3
This game is spectacular <3 Would put this on my syllabus if I was a teacher.
High praise from one of my fav designers out there <3
Super fun to play - but man does it bleed your printer dry 😂😂😂
A print-friendly version is coming!
Just released :)
Hello Thursday, I am curious if you will be offering any "community copies" of Hardcase. Thanks.
I don't intend to, no! All of my other games have had lots of Community Copies and wound up in several charity bundles, but HARDCASE is all about cold, hard cash.
The current 50%-off sale runs for a few more weeks, though!
[posted]
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All inquiries not from the posted owner are known to act under the information their inquiry shall be met with administrative attention, and blocked.
[materials]
required:
requested:
[agreement]
I agree to click on and claim a public key to a copy of the game. I understand if i am not quick on the posting of any below public key(s), i am still to post a 5-star review of my failure to acquire the material.
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I'd be happy to pass along a review copy! Where should I send it?
Here’s great!
[steps]
Here is a link to the page for generating private keys of hardcase: https://itch.io/game/keys/2555900
(Click
create document key, after this, paste the url the machine generates into a reply here.)If that link is bad, more information may be found here - https://itch.io/docs/creators/download-keys
Happy new year!
Here you go: https://thursday-garreau.itch.io/hardcase/download/HrKDQe9G_U5HoaBVKNXS76WnaFrx_0uCRPdv8TGg
It says the download key I posted was claimed by someone who wasn't you, so I'd rather not post it publicly - is there somewhere I could send the next one to?
I have a question about the Deliveries rule (page .13).
When the Distractions Roll result "1: Intuitive pathing. Fill the shortcut clock." should only be possible when the roll has already been reduced to the minimum of 1d6, so shouldn't it be able to fill the shortcut clock further at this point?
The shortcut you learn doesn't have to be between the two close-by places your 1d6 roll was about. It's about building up your HC's overall familiarity with Basement's layout in ways that can help them in the future!
I got it. Thank you!
Looking forward to trying this out! Love the tone and premise. After doing an initial read-thru, under Salvage: are the tables 'What's on the line this week' and 'Hazards' intentionally the same?
I saw mention of a print-friendly version possibly in the future! That'll be great!
Just pushed an updated PDF that fixes that Salvage error, thank you!
Print-friendly is now live :D
Loving this game and it's grimy, dystopian charm. Questions: what is the value of meeting online users in public or getting friendly with the various faces/celebrities? Also, what should I do if the station burns up?
Great question! You might want to meet up to acquire product from a few of the more entrepreneurial Online personalities, or maybe you think they'd make a good Subcontractor. Some of them have faction connections that could come in handy, or they might be the ones holding your Debt, acting as an employer for unique jobs.
If Basement burns up, I hope your HC can find a way out! Maybe they could start over on one of the other habitats - or you could always just reset everything with a new HC.
Super Nice , just skimmed but i like it! Could you publish a print friendly version?
I can talk to my layout designer about a black-on-white version, but it might be a little bit <3
Thank you very much, i'd like going full analog for my solo hobby and print at home version will be a really nice gift!
It's now available!
Super excited to get playing! Is there an actual play/example of play I could refer to?
The final page of the book has some guidance, and I played out a few days as my own HC in this Twitter thread!
Look forward to purchasing a hardcopy someday...
Glad you're so excited! There's no plans for a physical copy of HARDCASE yet, but at least you'll have 2.0 in your hands (so to speak) later this month?
Someday has become today!
Woo hoo!
The vibes here are immaculate. Can't wait to make my HC!
We just hit 2.0, in case you missed it!