Frequently asked questions
Mortimer has agreed to answer these once. Please keep them in a safe place.
Is Plotjack free?
Yes. The whole thing is free to play in your browser. There are no ads, no accounts and nothing to buy. Mortimer is paid in sighs.
Do I need to download anything or make an account?
No. Open plotjack.dev/play on a phone, tablet or computer and press Open the book. There is no sign up.
Where are my saves kept?
On your own device, in your browser's storage for plotjack.dev. Nothing about your game is kept on our side. If you clear your browser data for the site, or switch to a different browser or device, your saves will not come with you.
I had a save before the game moved to /play/. Is it gone?
No. Saves belong to the plotjack.dev site, not to one address on it, so your save is still there when you open /play/. Old links, including shared stories and Today's Page links, redirect to the same place under /play/.
What ages is it for?
Book One and Book Two are written for ages 13 and up: slapstick, cartoon peril and mild rudeness, with no gore and no sexual content. There is an optional After Dark mode for adults (18+) that adds swearing and a cheekier narrator. It is off unless you switch it on in Settings.
Will there ever be grown up content?
Yes, and we would rather tell you now. We are planning optional word packs and a few books just for adults, and some of those may include gore or sexual content. They will sit apart from the main books, stay locked unless an adult chooses to unlock them, and never turn up in the 13+ books. If you only ever want the storybook, nothing changes for you.
How do I start over?
Open Clippy's menu (the paperclip at the top of the page) and choose Start Fresh, or tap Start fresh under a book on the shelf. You can wipe just that book or every book. Your bookmark, chapters, edits and Your Story go. The words in your Lexicon, your Case Files commendations and your settings stay, so a new game starts with every word you have earned.
How long does it take?
Each chapter is six pages, which is about ten minutes if you behave and rather longer if you don't. Book One has eleven chapters and Book Two has nine. You can stop whenever you like and pick up where you left off.
Can I play with the sound off?
Yes. Every word Mortimer says is on the page, so the game is fully playable muted. Turn off Sound and narration on the cover or in Settings.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. It is built for phones first and works in portrait or landscape, on tablets, and on computers. If your phone is older, Settings has a Reduce effects switch that keeps things smooth.
Who writes the retellings? Is it AI?
People wrote the books, every page and the large majority of the retellings. When you make a combination of edits nobody has written yet, Mortimer improvises, with help from an AI language model, and his voice is generated with a text to speech service. You can only ever use words from the book, so nobody can make him say anything outside it. Each improvisation is saved, so the next reader who makes the same edits gets the same one.
Can I share my version of the story?
Yes. At the end of a chapter, Your Story plays back your version of the book, and you can copy a link to it. Whoever opens the link can read your story and then Jack In on top of it with their own edits.
Is it accessible?
We try hard. You can reduce motion, make the text larger, switch to a dyslexia friendly font, play entirely by keyboard, and use a screen reader, which announces each word, card and edit. Nothing is timed. If something gets in your way, please tell us through threesided.com.
What happened to the old version?
The first, darker version of Plotjack still lives at v1.plotjack.dev. Its narrator was George. George is fine. He appears in this one as a cameo.
How do I report a bug or get in touch?
Plotjack is made by ThreeSided Studios. You can reach us through threesided.com.
Still stuck? Get in touch through threesided.com.