Sleepover Rules
Sleepover rules is a short adventure with a specific set of rules to follow. You are invited to a friend's house, he hosts a sleepover and you agreed to come. Soon you start to realize that these rules are not a formality but rather a necessary key to surviving the sleepover. As you descent deeper into the house and all of its rooms you find yourself questioning your sanity and if you will ever see your home again.
Join the discord server for development, questions, an amazing community, and to say hi!
The game is also playable on my own website: click here!
The game is in active development, meaning, things can change and will change, quests are still implemented, and bugs could exist. Currently, the ending has been implemented.
The game is rich in features:
- More than forty unique ways to die!
- Multiple endings.
- Decision-based gameplay.
- A diary in which you can explore the background story.
- Over 40 unique quests.
- Art provided by Eli (Addictivities).
- Music/audio by The Miracle Forest.
- A ton of spooky sound effects.
- Easy controls (point-and-click).
- Short play through time (or long).
- Over 140k words in total (30k~ expected per game)
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Status | Released |
Platforms | HTML5 |
Rating | Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars (50 total ratings) |
Author | SjoerdHekking |
Genre | Interactive Fiction, Adventure, Puzzle |
Made with | Twine |
Tags | Horror, house, rules, Singleplayer, sleepover, Text based, Thriller, Twine |
Average session | About a half-hour |
Languages | English |
Inputs | Keyboard, Mouse, Touchscreen, Smartphone |
Accessibility | Color-blind friendly |
Links | Blog, Patreon, Support |
Development log
- Version: 2.0.2Nov 16, 2022
- Version: 2.0.1Nov 11, 2022
- Version: 2.0.0Oct 27, 2022
- Version: 1.2.1Nov 23, 2021
- Version: 1.2.0Oct 31, 2021
- Version: 1.1.6Mar 06, 2021
- Version: 1.1.5Mar 04, 2021
- Version: 1.1.4Mar 03, 2021
Comments
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A very pleasant and good game! I really love the execution of everything and the feeling of accomplishment whenever I progress. 10/10 game, honestly.
Thanks for your kind words! I am glad you enjoyed it!
love this game!
however in chapter one the painting sometimes appears twice in a row- is that meant to happen??
i didn't manage to get all the collectables but i was close.
getting the knife was confusing
I really like the UI but I don't understand the point of the bathroom number thing seeing as I completed the game without it - unless it unlocks something secret???
overall it was fun and intriguing, though a little hard to understand at times
the ending I got was dreaming- is that really a good thing? it doesn't feel like it.
a fun universe that i'd love to see more of (in game. never in real life lmao-)
Hi there, thanks for your comment! yes, the painting can appear multiple times in a row, odds become lower that it might happen, but in theory, it can appear a hundred times in a row. The bathroom number is a silly little thing, that unlocks a bit more lore.
if i got that painting a hundred times in a row i might actually go insane BAHAHA
I was so stressed out because i needed to get upstairs before time ran out but. painting.
oh yeah one thing I forgot: if i'm on the painting but i click the quest thing to check it acts as if I clicked on moving while the painting hasn't blinked yet is that supposed to happen?? sorry if im like asking too much
Hi again, don't worry, there is nothing like "too" many questions, sorry for my late response! Anyway, yes, it's intended, otherwise one could "cheat" by going to the main menu and deleting the current run.
OOH okay thanks i was like at the painting but i was like "wait let me check my que- wait. why am i dead-" gjhgjkhkj that makes sense @-@
Rule 2 already has me hooked. I can see an entire game built just around that line and I hope this will somehow be the case.
Rule 2 actually made me stop to tell people about it and come up with theories about it.
You raised the bar already with that one!
From my first impression, I would recommend having someone proofread the intro parts that contain thoughts and indirect speech. It could be smoother to read with proper punctuation to it! :) (I see someone else also commented that half a year ago, I agree!)
Make sure to check back for an edit to this post. I will add to this as I play!
First edit:
I need more time to read. I had no chance to die in front of the painting because the blinking happened before I was done reading the first paragraph. The Option in the Basement that disappears with the 2nd text block appearing was also gone at the point I reached the clickable part. I know I am not this slow. Somehow I feel like I had no chance to click the basement options without knowing the game before going there and that felt unfair and a bit demotivating to continue. I will tho. I like the concept, especially the compass and quest mechanic as such.
Hi there!
Thanks for your detailed comment! As for the proofreading part, yes, I do have a proofreader and have had one in the past, the problem is the immense size (over 150k words~), and asking that much time from a proofreader is exhausting for them, so it's mostly done in small batches.
I agree, the RNG is sometimes a bit out of place with disappearing texts, especially since there is no way of returning them. The usage of these time-limited blocks is rather blasphemous and has been tinkered with numerous times. One day I will fix the issue and improve the mechanic (suggestions are welcome!!). (The basement is one of the locations that hasn't been rewritten, or proofread correctly :(! )
Currently, I am still developing my latest project which is, even compared to this project, enormous, and draining much of my time.
Feel free to leave feedback; I will 100% note it down and ponder upon it later when I have this project open.
As for Sleepover Rules, I am completely re-writing the whole thing (code-wise), from the ground up, to make it more modular and easier to change things, something Project 6 (current project) has taught me, and makes me scream at Sleepover Rules for not having designed it from the beginning like that.
is there a way to download this game? I had to stop for the night so I quit the game and it said I could continue, but when I came back the data was gone and I haven't done anything since so It'd be nice to actually be able to download it so I don't lose my progress
Hey there, the game is browser-based, so downloading or not, it's your browser's settings that prevent the save from being saved. You can, however, import or export save files whenever you want in the settings menu!
oh I didn't even notice that option, that works perfectly too! thank you for replying I appreciate it I'll give this game another go tonight in that case :3
Enjoy it <3!
Went to open the menu in front of the painting that stares at you before she blinked. She killed me. Also, if you'd like any assistance in cleaning up the English text, I'd love to be of service.
Hey there, thanks for your feedback. As for the painting, it's normal such events do kill you if you try to exit to the menu, otherwise one could reset a round without ever dying. As for cleaning up the text, I want to thank you for the generous offer, for now, I am slowly revisiting texts with a second editor here and there since it's literally a ton of text... so don't worry I got it covered (for now)!
Hi and it's me again...
I wonder what morning rules Rule 4 is? I got a death saying "survived until 8:04" because of that rule, and a girl tells me I should only grab my bags, but I thought there's only 3 morning rules written? Is that a bug or is it meant to be that way?
Hey there, yes that's a typo. It should be "Morning rules, rule 3"! I will fix it in the next update!
I forgive the dog for biting my hand.
The dog is by far my favourite character.
Please give the dog a name!!!
Maybe one day you (the reader) can name the dog, but that's a big "maybe"! ;)
I've been playing this for so long, trying to get all the little secrets and goodies, I love it!! I also really love the atmosphere and horror you've crafted without using any jumpscares. Jumpscares always freak me out so bad and I have passed up many a game because I couldn't find out if there were jumpscares or not, but you tell the player first thing and I am so grateful for that!! 10/10 can't wait for chapter 2 updates
Thank you for your kind words! I am currently trying to finish the update, hopefully it will be everything you wished for!
I've been playing for like an hour, my brain hurts but I honestly love this game
I hope in a good way! Thanks for playing!
definitely a good way!
i found this from r/ruleshorror on reddit and god damn i cant wait to play it
I hope it can live up to your expectations, have fun, and feel free to ask anything through the comments, Reddit, or discord!
omg i love it so far i cant wait to find everything
I am happy to hear that!
This is really fun. I managed to get to the current end, guess I will continue to find "dumb ways to die" when it is updated XD
I am glad to hear you had fun! I am working on a bigger update.
how do i see the game images? when i play the game it just shows a gray screen and a black box that has buttons and words but idk if that's normal
Dear Makina Jaylee, if, for whatever reason, the images fail to load, the background will be black. You experience a grey one, which shouldn't be possible. What browser are you using, if I may ask? I don't have built-in support for all browsers out there. And the last question, what device are you using? e.g. a phone, laptop, desktop, tablet?
im using desktop (pc) but since you say its supposed to be black i wonder why mine is grey but i guess i have a bug
Again, what browser are you using? Since this is not a bug on my end, either you are using a niche browser, an older one, or an unsupported one. I will try to help you out :D!
i mostly use google but there is no more bugs the background is working properly now :D
what a great game, the art and writing is awesome not to mention the replayability, I haven't finished it but for all i can see this game is a five stars already.
I am happy to hear this! Soon there will be better audio too.
a literal piece of art.
Awh, thanks for your kind words, I deeply appreciate it!
This game is super cool! I haven't finished it just yet but its awesome. Keep up the great work man :)
Thank you so much! I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say, I am indeed working on more!
I can't wait to see it!
That. Was. AWESOME!
Hey there, thank you so much!
Hey there! I know I'm a little late in posting this but I had a lot of fun with this game, I'll post my playthrough of it below if you're interested but the version that I played is 1.1.3 I believe. I hope the people that watch my video stop by here and play the newest updates, which I'm sure add a lot of quality of life improvements to the experience. Thanks for making games!
Hey there, I am very grateful for the video! Indeed the newest updates changed a lot of things around. I loved the video and enjoyed watching it. I am indeed looking into making some texts stick around longer. Thanks again for the fun and relaxing commentary!
Hehe yes, there are some rules! If you don't feel like writing, there is an option to give you rules in-game! (Settings -> Difficulty)
thats really helpful! ill keep that in mind!
Love this game! I came in with low expectations, but found myself hooked to this for a couple hours. Finally completed, after spending way too long looking for the knife, but hot damn, that was so worth it! This is so well done and I can't wait to see what else you have in store for this
Thank you so much! The knife is something else indeed hehe!
Hi Sjoerd, it took a while because I had a longer game on my plate but I finally got back to Sleepover and it was so much fun! Sorry for that super long intro, I had this bit prepared and it’s so silly but I really wanted to set the mood. As you can see, I played a lot longer this time because the game kept me engaged throughout and nearly drew me back in when I did my outro, there’s so much to discover, it’s absolutely addictive to discover new "endings", ghosties and stories. This game has such a great concept, I still love it to bits.
Hope, I am not spamming with this, just wanted to share the love.
I am so amazed by this surprise! Thank you so much! I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Again, I appreciate it so much! (so many exclamation marks hehe, I am just very excited)
soo many rules man and u cant tell. if there is a bad ending are a good ending for me it seems to be none of those ending's
There are indeed many rules, you can 'safely' skip them and play via trial-and-error! There are no bad endings, every ending is important!
wow I didn't know that thanks
Me, first seeing the game description:
'-More than 20 ways to die!'
Okayyy...
Perhaps it's an important mechanic of the game, after a while it might even get fun!
It might be fun to die?
...
You okay?
I answered most of your answers already, if this is not your cup of tea that's fine. But there is a reason I tagged the game as "horror", "text-based" and "thriller".
Just throwing down a few things I've noticed, nothing big so far.
In the difficulty selection menu, difficulty is typoed to difficluty.
When you turn off Gore in the settings, it throws you to the font selection menu and disables handwriting. You can then turn both back on without issue.
Thanks for the report! Fixed the typo and the menu sending you to the wrong page! Luckily it doesn't mess up anything! Will update this in a coming patch.
are there any jumpscares at all?
Hey there, as the intro states, no jumpscares! However, some people might find the random scary audio a little bit jumpy, luckily there is a button in settings to turn this off.
Holy cow, that was such a pleasant surprise. The way the story immediately creates such an unnerving mood and how it progresses is so much eerie fun, I love the idea and I say this as someone who hated choose-your-own-adventures back in the days but this is such a cool set-up and story. I only tried out a few rooms and endings (well, rather, demises) but I am quite sure I will return to it at some point. Great work, I am a fan!
Thanks for the very kind comment! Stay tuned for more!
i've completed all parts of this game except for finding one of the ghosts! i honestly can't figure it out but i love this game, great job
Very kind of you! The one missing ghost (which I guess) might be found by breaking some Night Rules!
thank you! i got it now:)
Thank you for your kind reaction! Stay tuned!
This game is honestly amazing, its not too hard amd not too easy. The best part of it is that the game kinda tests your memory of the rules!
Thank you very much!
how do you get all the ending's
Hello there, in the coming update (today actually), it will be easier to do so. But you should rather ask yourself, is there an ending?
Hmm good question