How to Play
You can learn it in one page. Mortimer would like it on record that he wishes you wouldn't.
In six steps
Open the book
Go to plotjack.dev/play and press Open the book. Sound is on by default. Switch it off on the cover if you are on a bus.
Let Mortimer read
He reads the page exactly as written and points out what it means for the hero. The words you can change are underlined. Tap or click one to see what it is.
Jack In, or Leave It Be
Leave It Be and the page stays as it is. Mortimer is grateful and his Exasperation goes down. Jack In and your hand of cards comes up.
Play your cards
Pick a card, then pick a word it fits. A Switcheroo goes on a noun, a Mood Swing on an adjective, and so on. Choose the new word from the ones you have won. You can make up to three changes per page, and each card costs Ink. You get 3 more Ink each page and can save up to 6.
Make It So
Mortimer sighs and retells the page with your changes as fact. The picture updates, your Mischief goes up, and the story carries on from there.
Finish the chapter
Every six pages you get a Book Report with a grade, any Bookmarks you completed, and a Prize Pack of new words to play. Then on to the next chapter, or play it again and break it differently.
The cards
| Card | What it does | Ink |
|---|---|---|
| Switcheroo | Swap a noun. The dragon becomes a pudding. The pudding is now the problem. | 1 |
| Mood Swing | Swap an adjective. A fearsome dragon becomes a damp one, and the cave starts dripping. | 1 |
| Eraser Nub | Rub out a word. Some words hold the whole plot up. Those cost more, and Mortimer notices. | 1 |
| Typo | Add one letter. A fiend becomes a friend. A hose becomes a horse. Nobody asked for this. | 1 |
| Fudge the Numbers | Move a number up or down the ladder. Three hundred teeth becomes three, and the dragon lisps. | 1 |
| Swap a Verb | Change what somebody does. Whoever was running is now waltzing, and the page has to cope. | 2 |
| Recast | Replace a character. The villain is now Gary, the Night Janitor, for the rest of the chapter. | 3 |
| Dog-Ear | Fold the corner of a page. Legendary, rare, and the one card Mortimer would ban if he could. | 4 |
| Purple Prose (Book Two) | Swap a simile. "Like the bars of a cheap cell" becomes whatever you like, and the page follows the comparison wherever it goes. | 2 |
The rarer the card, the more it costs and the more it changes.
Scores and grades
Mischief is your score: how much you changed the story. Rarer cards and edits that flip the plot are worth more. Exasperation is how fed up Mortimer is. It is never a fail state. At the top of the scale he has a small breakdown, which counts as an achievement.
Bookmarks are optional goals shown as ribbons at the top of the page. Complete them for extra Mischief and prizes. The Book Report at the end of each chapter grades you from A+ to See Me After Class, and how you did across the whole book decides which ending you get.
Today's Page
A daily page with a goal and a fixed hand of cards, the same for everyone. Find it on the cover or open plotjack.dev/play/?today.
Tips from someone who should know better
- Save Ink for a Recast. Changing who someone is changes everything after it.
- Some words hold the plot up. Rubbing them out costs an extra Ink, and it is usually worth it.
- Numbers are funnier than you think. Try a thousand.
- Leaving a page alone is a strategy. Mortimer calms down, and some Bookmarks need it.