Every era as one page: what comes out of the ground, what turns it into something, and the show that has to be staged before the next district opens.
Read it downwards, not sideways. An era is not a tier of better things — it is a new rule plus the stations that rule makes necessary. The player never replaces a chain; they feed an older one into a newer one.
ancient - 1400s · The Reedbank. A river mouth at dusk. Clay banks, flax in the shallows, one ferry, the sea beyond.
| New mechanic | The basicsGather, carry, drop, build, perform, hire. Every later era adds to this and never replaces it. |
|---|---|
| Light | Oil flame |
| Instrument | Shadow puppets |
| Product (steady coins) | Lamp oil |
| Gate show (wonder) | The camera obscura hut |
| Wonder that counts at the gate | her own shows |
| Node | Verb | Yields | Regrows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay bank | dig | clay | always |
| Flax shallows | pull | flax | 40 s |
| Sesame patch | pick | oil seed | 30 s |
| Charcoal burn | rake | charcoal | 60 s |
| Goat pen | collect | hide | 90 s |
| Station | In | Out | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potter's pitIts job until her lamp stands on the stage, and again whenever the lantern workshop holds part of a lantern short of its bowl and she carries none: the bowl is the lantern's flame. | 3 clay | 1 lamp bowl | 6 s |
| Oil press | 4 oil seed | 1 lamp oil | 5 s |
| Loom | 5 flax | 1 linen sheet | 8 s |
| Puppet bench | 1 hide, 1 charcoal | 2 shadow puppets | 7 s |
| Dye potA puppet only reads if it is truly opaque. | 1 charcoal, 1 lamp oil | 1 black dye | 5 s |
| Plate firingThe potter's pit's second job, once her lamp stands on the stage, except while a lamp bowl is asked for. Prototype recipe. | 2 clay, 1 charcoal | 1 pierced plate | 8 s |
| Camera obscura hutBuilt, not crafted. Standing inside it is the first time she sees the world upside down. | 20 clay, 4 linen, 1 pierced plate | the era gate | — |
| Venue | Needs | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow stageA sheet between two poles. The whole game is already here in miniature. | lamp, oil, linen screen, puppets | 8 |
1500s - 1700s · Glassmakers' Slip. A working slipway where ships land sand and kelp. Kilns, a fairground, gulls.
| New mechanic | Heat and recipesFurnaces burn fuel and take time. A recipe needs several inputs at once, so a station can starve on one of three things. |
|---|---|
| Light | Condensed lamp |
| Instrument | Painted slides |
| Product (steady coins) | Lenses |
| Gate show (wonder) | The phantasmagoria |
| Node | Verb | Yields | Regrows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sand spit | shovel | sand | always |
| Kelp line | haul | kelp | 45 s |
| Copper scree | chip | copper ore | 70 s |
| Limestone cut | break | limestone | 60 s |
| Station | In | Out | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ash kiln | 4 kelp, 1 charcoal | 1 soda ash | 12 s |
| Glass furnaceThe first three-input recipe. It will starve on whichever one you forget. | 3 sand, 1 soda ash, 1 charcoal | 2 glass blanks | 18 s |
| Lens grinderSand is the grit. Prototype recipe. | 1 glass blank, 2 sand | 1 lens | 14 s |
| Slide cutter | 1 glass blank | 3 slide plates | 6 s |
| Brass foundry | 2 copper ore, 1 charcoal | 2 brass | 12 s |
| Lime kiln | 3 limestone, 2 charcoal | 1 quicklime | 15 s |
| Colour grinderCopper green ground into oil. Prototype recipe. | 1 copper ore, 1 lamp oil | 2 pigment | 8 s |
| Painter's studioWhere the player chooses the subject. The first authorship in the game. | 1 slide plate, 1 pigment | 1 painted slide | 10 s |
| Lantern workshop | 2 brass, 1 lens, 1 lamp bowl | 1 magic lantern | 20 s |
| Gauze weavingThe loom's second job, once the Slip is open. Prototype recipe. | 3 flax | 1 gauze | 8 s |
| Wheeled lanternThe lantern workshop's second job, once the tent has shown. Prototype recipe. | 1 magic lantern, 2 brass | 1 lantern on wheels | 16 s |
| Tent raisingBuilt, not crafted: the lantern inside and her linen as its screen. Prototype recipe. | 1 magic lantern, 1 linen sheet | 1 lantern tent | — |
| Room fittingBuilt, not crafted: sand floors the dark room the lantern rolls across. Prototype recipe. | 1 lantern on wheels, 2 gauze, 1 quicklime, 20 sand | 1 phantasmagoria room | — |
| Venue | Needs | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern tentCharges at the flap. The first time a show has a door. | magic lantern, painted slides, linen screen | 25 |
| Phantasmagoria roomLantern behind the gauze, wheeled back from it so the ghost grows. The era gate. | lantern on wheels, gauze, quicklime | 60 |
1800s - 1870s · Clockwork Lane. A lane of workshops behind a paper mill, opening onto a racetrack.
| New mechanic | SequenceA show stops being a handful of images and becomes a strip: twelve frames in a fixed order, and the order is the craft. |
|---|---|
| Light | Limelight |
| Instrument | Twelve-frame strips |
| Product (steady coins) | Zoetropes |
| Gate show (wonder) | The praxinoscope theatre |
| Node | Verb | Yields | Regrows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rag heap | sort | rags | 35 s |
| Iron seam | mine | iron ore | 80 s |
| Coal drift | mine | coal | 70 s |
| Station | In | Out | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smithy | 2 iron ore, 1 coal | 1 iron bar | 10 s |
| Gear cutter | 1 iron bar | 3 gears | 8 s |
| Spring winder | 1 iron bar | 2 springs | 8 s |
| Paper mill | 4 rags | 3 paper | 9 s |
| Print shopThe strip is the show. Twelve slots, and the order is the whole craft. Its ink is the dye pot's black dye, as at the drawing desk. | 3 paper, 1 black dye, 12 cels | 1 strip | 16 s |
| Drawing deskIts ink is the dye pot's black dye, carried up from her bank: printer's ink is lamp-black in oil, which is what the pot already stirs, and a pot with an ink job would need a rule for when it stops dyeing puppets. Prototype recipe. | 1 paper, 1 black dye | 1 cel | 4 s |
| Mirror benchSilver leaf is not made on the Lane: the toy seller sells it (`TOY_STALL` in `bible/rules.ts`). Prototype recipe. | 1 glass blank, 1 silver leaf | 4 mirrors | 11 s |
| Toy workshopThe zoetrope carries the strip it was made with; the brass is carried up from the Slip's foundry. Prototype recipe. | 2 gears, 1 paper, 1 brass, 1 strip | 1 zoetrope | 14 s |
| Praxinoscope fittingThe toy workshop's second job, once she has sold a zoetrope. Prototype recipe. | 4 mirrors, 3 gears, 1 spring, 1 brass | 1 praxinoscope | 18 s |
| Limelight fittingThe lime kiln's second job: a quicklime block in a brass lamp with an oil flame on it. Toma's price. Prototype recipe. | 1 quicklime, 1 brass, 1 lamp oil | 1 limelight | 12 s |
| Theatre raisingBuilt, not crafted: the limelight behind the drum, her linen as its screen and iron for its frame. Prototype recipe. | 1 praxinoscope, 1 limelight, 1 linen sheet, 6 iron bars | 1 praxinoscope theatre | — |
| Belt yardThe first station that removes a walk instead of adding one. | 2 gears, 1 linen, 1 iron bar | 3 belt segments | 12 s |
| Venue | Needs | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Praxinoscope theatreSmall seats, bright light, a loop that never ends. Novelty decays fastest here. | praxinoscope, strips, limelight | 20 |
1870s - 1880s · Silver Quay. Chemists, a row of portrait studios, the customs house, the long quay, and a racetrack at its edge.
| New mechanic | Timers and spoilageA sensitised plate is alive for a few seconds. Carry it too slowly and it dies. This is the first time walking speed is a puzzle rather than a chore. |
|---|---|
| Light | Daylight and magnesium |
| Instrument | Plates, then a battery of them |
| Product (steady coins) | Portraits |
| Gate show (wonder) | The zoopraxiscope gallery |
| Node | Verb | Yields | Regrows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver seam | mine | silver ore | 120 s |
| Salt pans | scrape | salt | 50 s |
| Bone yard | collect | bone | 90 s |
| Station | In | Out | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver refinery | 3 silver ore, 1 coal | 1 silver | 16 s |
| Chemist's bench | 1 silver, 1 salt, 1 iodine | 3 sensitising salts | 14 s |
| Iodine retortThe kelp line from era 2 gets its second job. | 4 kelp, 1 coal | 1 iodine | 13 s |
| Gelatin works | 3 bone, 1 hide | 2 gelatin | 15 s |
| Plate worksComes out alive and starts dying. This is the era. | 1 glass blank, 1 salts, 1 gelatin | 1 live plate | 10 s |
| Camera workshopIts timber is bought at the chemist's stall (`CHEMIST_STALL` in `bible/rules.ts`). Prototype recipe. | 1 lens, 2 brass, 1 timber | 1 box camera | 22 s |
| ExposureA box camera standing on a camera pad, the studio's or the rig's, exposes a live plate carried to it at once; the plate keeps its age. Prototype. | 1 live plate | 1 exposed plate | — |
| Darkroom | 1 exposed plate, 1 fixer | 1 photograph | 8 s |
| Fixer bench | 1 salt, 1 quicklime | 2 fixer | 6 s |
| Dark tent sewingThe fixer bench's second job, once the darkroom has developed a plate. The fixer bench, not the loom: the tent is a darkroom that works with its fixer, and the Quay sells its timber. Prototype recipe. | 1 linen sheet, 2 black dye, 2 timber | 1 dark tent | 10 s |
| Wire drawingThe spring winder's second job, once the Lane's gate is open. On the Lane, not the Quay: the winder already draws iron bar into coil, and it keeps the Lane's smithy busy. Prototype recipe. | 1 iron bar | 4 wire | 8 s |
| Trip-wire rigBuilt, not crafted, at the racetrack: a box camera, a spring shutter and a wire across the track for each frame (`RIG`). The first time a sequence is taken from the world rather than drawn. Prototype recipe. | 12 box cameras, 12 springs, 12 wire | 1 trip-wire rig | — |
| Disc printingThe print shop's second job, once the rig has fired: its tray already sets frames in order. On the Lane, not the Quay: a photograph does not spoil, so the walk costs time and no plates, and the Quay gains no place. Prototype recipe. | 12 photographs, 1 glass blank | 1 disc | 16 s |
| Zoopraxiscope fittingThe toy workshop's third job, once the Lane's gate is open: the drum toys' heir, a geared spindle that turns a disc in front of a lens. Its light is the gallery's limelight. Prototype recipe. | 1 lens, 1 brass, 4 gears, 1 spring | 1 zoopraxiscope | 20 s |
| Studio raisingBuilt, not crafted: the camera on its pad, her linen as the backdrop and timber for the frame. Prototype recipe. | 1 box camera, 1 linen sheet, 4 timber | 1 portrait studio | — |
| Gallery raisingBuilt, not crafted: the limelight behind the zoopraxiscope, her linen as its screen and iron for its frame, as at the theatre. Prototype recipe. | 1 zoopraxiscope, 1 limelight, 1 linen sheet, 6 iron bars | 1 zoopraxiscope gallery | — |
| Venue | Needs | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait studioThe product, not the show. The sitter walks in on their own; nobody carries one. Pays the whole era. | box camera, live plate | 1 |
| Zoopraxiscope galleryA horse, taken from life, running. Nobody has seen this. | zoopraxiscope, disc, limelight | 40 |
1890s · The Arcade. Electric streets, a converted shop, and the ground the picture palace will stand on.
| New mechanic | FireNitrate stock near an open flame builds heat and then burns. Flame has paid for everything until now; here the player has to get rid of it. |
|---|---|
| Light | Electric arc |
| Instrument | The film camera |
| Product (steady coins) | Film stock and prints |
| Gate show (wonder) | Opening night |
| Node | Verb | Yields | Regrows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton field | pick | cotton | 60 s |
| Sulphur pit | dig | sulphur | 90 s |
| Saltpetre cave | scrape | saltpetre | 90 s |
| Harbour dock | buy | camphor, foreign glass, prints | a ship every 4 min |
| Station | In | Out | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acid works | 2 sulphur, 2 saltpetre | 1 mixed acid | 18 s |
| Nitration plantFlammable from here on. Keep it away from every flame on the map. | 3 cotton, 1 acid | 2 nitrocellulose | 20 s |
| Celluloid rollers | 2 nitrocellulose, 1 camphor | 1 film base | 22 s |
| Emulsion coater | 1 film base, 1 salts, 1 gelatin | 1 coated film | 18 s |
| Perforator | 1 coated film, 2 gears | 1 reel of stock | 14 s |
| Film vault | film stock | safe storage, no heat | — |
| Dynamo house | 3 coal, 4 gears, 2 copper wire | electric power | 30 s |
| Arc lamp worksBuying this removes fire risk from a whole district. Light stops being dangerous. | 2 carbon rod, 2 brass, power | 1 arc lamp | 20 s |
| Movement benchThe invention the whole game has been walking towards. | 6 gears, 2 springs, 1 brass | 1 intermittent movement | 26 s |
| Cine camera workshop | 1 lens, 1 movement, 2 brass, 1 timber | 1 film camera | 35 s |
| Projector workshop | 1 lens, 1 movement, 1 arc lamp, 2 brass | 1 projector | 35 s |
| Glass-roof studioNot timed. It takes as long as the shot the player stages. | 1 reel, cast, a set | 1 exposed negative | — |
| Developing lab | 1 exposed negative, 1 fixer | 1 master negative | 20 s |
| Cutting tableThe era 3 strip editor, grown up. Same screen, real footage in the slots. | 2 or more negatives | 1 edited film | — |
| Printing lab | 1 master, 1 reel | 3 release prints | 24 s |
| Venue | Needs | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Kinetoscope parlourOne at a time, which is why it loses to the hall. | cabinets, reels, a coin slot | 1 |
| NickelodeonA converted shop. Weekly programme change, which is why the factory can never stop. | projector, prints, a piano player | 90 |
| The picture palaceThe finale. The last shot of the game is the audience, not the screen. | everything, and every person hired since era 1 | 300 |