Sleepless in Amarillo

Stick It Out

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

That Good Night

Eventually you realize nothing else is going to happen. The skies will churn, the rifle will flash; the moon will sink onto the western lip of the world. Old Pinkie is paying you zero attention. And with your body sucked dry of adrenaline, you're headed for a crash.

Any time you get a few hours of restful, natural sleep, your Action pool will be refreshed.

There are still things you don't understand -- about the bats, about why Old Pinkie is shooting at them. This is your best chance to figure them out.

By staying up all night, you forfeit your Action refresh. And you might learn something worth your while -- but then again, you might not.

You force yourself not to go to bed. Every minute is a struggle against sleep. You feel your eyes slipping and force them awake. And again. And again. The black shapes flood over the sky and soon slip behind your eyelids. Your vision swims. Every one of your limbs feels made of lead.

You try focusing on the pocks and Old Pinkie's distant eyes. The gunshots are almost soothing...

You wake to a clear false dawn. Old Pinkie is gone, although the attic hatch is still open. The black shapes are entirely absent, with no signs of where they've gone. Your body feels greasy and your head is fogged; every inch of your skin cries out for a bath.

1 change point, 1 more needed to reach level 2.

Doc is increasing...

Doc 1 failed in a challenge!

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

White Noise is increasing...


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Old Fashioned Research

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 2 - you have 2

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone...

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...


The Morning of May 21

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 14 - you have 14

The smell of frying bacon brings you downstairs...

Pinned

Pinned


A Friend of Little Japan

Little Japan

A forbidding apartment building with blacked-out windows and steel doors. All the rooms are owned by Japanese-Americans, who under the gentle pressures of xenophobia have become secretive and withdrawn.

Unfriendly? Standoffish? Of course. Wouldn't you be? Nevertheless Little Japan can't be an island unto itself, and so it must cultivate friendships with certain outsiders -- men and women of taste and discretion.

Pinned

Pinned

One Single Bullet

The doorman -- always polite, usually silent -- will, in exchange for a handful of revolver bullets, bestow upon you a slight bow. At least you think it's a bow. His body and most of his face remain hidden behind the solid steel door at all times.

            3
            You need 3 x Revolver Bullet  (you have 0)

            3
            Unlocked with 3 x Revolver Bullet

Come to the Door

A young Asian boy approaches you with a folded slip of paper. Inside is a line of elegant calligraphy: come to the door.

This will reduce your Connections: Little Japan!

            5
            You need Connections: Little Japan 5

            5
            Unlocked with Connections: Little Japan 5


The Morning of May 21

The smell of frying bacon brings you downstairs. Some of the Jackrabbits are there -- Jack Ishiguro, "Padre" Charlie, Warren Castillo and a handful of others. They're eating bacon, eggs and toast off of chipped ceramic plates. Warren fetches you one and you sit down to eat. Small talk ensues. No one mentions Old Pinkie or the bats.

After breakfast, Warren takes you aside. The Jackrabbits, he explains, are what you might call a gang. But not a nefarious one! They protect Burrow and Briar Streets from other area toughs. Like the police, Warren says. The Jackrabbits keep the peace when the Pony Express can't.

"And here's the thing," Warren says. "We'd like to help you figure out what happened. On the train. You can stay with us as long as you like. Call it a good deed or charity or whatever. But that's what we're gonna do. We'd like it if you'd help out around here, but your priority numero uno has to be getting your head straight. I'll pitch in. We all will."

There are murmurs and nods all around. You realize some of the Jackrabbits were listening. Jack Ishiguro is smiling, chirpy and birdlike; "Padre" Charlie is more serious, bobbing his head like a dandelion in the breeze.

"What do you say?" says Warren. He's waiting for you to agree. To his help? To the Jackrabbits'?

Pinned

Pinned

Of Course

Of course you'll take their help. What other choice do you have?

A Great Option

Show some enthusiasm! The Jackrabbits have gone out of their way to help you. So what if taking their offer is your only option? It's a <i>great</i> option!


Pinned

Pinned


A New Day

You tell Warren that of course you want the Jackrabbits' help! He grabs your hand and pumps it warmly.

"I think this is the beginning," he says, "of a beautiful friendship." He beams at you, obviously pleased.

So far, you've gained three Allies: Warren Castillo, Jack Ishiguro, and Miz Nils.

Allies are a special kind of Quality. Each Ally has a special card in the Opportunity deck. You can start drawing from the Opportunity deck in just a moment.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Warren Castillo is now your Ally!


Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


The Rules of the Game: Plots

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 15 - you have 15

<i><font color=#550000>This is when Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo...

Pinned

Pinned


Once This Was a Place

Street musicians and bakers and the everpresent watercarriers brush shoulders and elbows with bankers and businessmen and the occasional functionary from the Hexagon, easily spotted by the earbug and black sunglasses and perpetual worried expression. Don't mind them darling -- this you often hear from a mother to her children. Keep your eyes on the architecture. See the charming old brickwork? Once this was a place that lived and grew.

You have moved to a new area: Downtown Amarillo


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

1 x A Wrapped Package from Absolom the Tinker

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Rules of the Game: Plots

This is when Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo. But before you get started, there are a few other things you need to understand. Play through the Rules of the Game Storylets to learn more.

Pinned

Pinned

Plots

Zero Summer is a game with multiple narrative threads. We call them Plots. Click here to learn more about them.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Truth in the Tanglewood is:

The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent...

Pinned

Pinned


About Plots

There are two kinds of Plots in Zero Summer. They differ in length, mechanics, and what they're doing in the narrative. They are:

- The Main Plot. There's only one of these. The Main Plot is a big part of how you advance through Zero Summer; time won't move on until you've finished the current Main Plot section.

- Subplots. At any given time, you'll be following two Subplots. Subplots are controlled by your Gumption Quality, which can never rise above 2. When you choose to follow a Subplot, your Gumption will drop. Subplots also control whether you can advance through time. You CANNOT see all of Zero Summer's Subplots in one play-through.

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

An occurrence! Your 'Gumption' Quality is now 2!


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


The Rules of the Game: Time

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 16 - you have 16

<font color=#550000><i>This is where Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo...

Pinned

Pinned


Back Home

You make your way back to Burrow and Briar, the one place in town that's always hopping.

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Rules of the Game: Time

This is where Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo. But before you get started, there are a few other things you need to understand. Play through the Rules of the Game Storylets to learn more.

Pinned

Pinned

Time

Progress through Zero Summer is closely tied to both the Date and Time of Day. Click below to learn more.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

The Guest Room

Your own personal space here in Amarillo...

Pinned

Pinned


About Time

Zero Summer measures time with two different Qualities: Date and Time of Day. It might help to think of them as the hour and minute hands on a clock.

Time of Day proceeds from Morning to Afternoon to Night, while Date ticks up every time you play the Advance Time card.

To advance time -- which means changing the Time of Day and Date -- you need to finish a certain amount of content. When you reach the end of your Main Plot and Subplots for a given Date, you'll gain a point in Time to Move On.

Once your Time to Move On is high enough (usually 3), you'll have access to a Pinned card called Advance Time that will allow you to move forward.

We know this is a lot to absorb, but we promise: it's intuitive once you get going, and it's worth it.

It's now the morning of May 21, 2026.

The Time of Day is now Morning!

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


The Rules of the Game: Items

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 17 - you have 17

Pinned

Pinned


Step Lightly

Finding the Highrise Hotel is much like following the north star: aim for the tallest point in the sky and pick a path. Carefully, though; the roads are slick with human refuse and the natives are unfriendlier than usual.

You have moved to a new area: The Highrise Hotel


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Rules of the Game: Items

This is where Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo. But before you get started, there are a few other things you need to understand. Play through the Rules of the Game Storylets to learn more.

Pinned

Pinned

Items

You'll be able to use and equip all sorts of items in Zero Summer. Click here to learn more.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


About Items

Items in Zero Summer come in three flavors: general, usable, and equippable.

General items are tokens: they sit in your Inventory until a Storylet interacts with them.

Usable items can be clicked on in your Inventory. They do all sorts of things, from lowering your Menaces to giving you information about your plots.

Equippable items can be 'worn' to increase your Styles and sometimes produce other effects. You can only equip and unequip items at The Guest Room in Burrow and Briar, which can be accessed through the Burrow and Briar Area.

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo.

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

'Far, Far From Home' has been reset: a conclusion, or a new beginning?

You can now equip Gunslinger Gear!

You can now equip Doc Toppers!

You can now equip Cityslicker Duds!

You can now equip Talismans!

Your inventory now has space for Usables!

Your inventory now has space for Currency!

Your inventory now has space for Consumables!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 2)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 2


O Brother, Let's Go Down

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo...

Whispers on the Street

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 2; Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

A tight nervous thread runs through the city...

The Ministry of Black Powder

"Padre" Charlie is sitting on the porch at Burrow and Briar behind a small wrought iron table...

Silk Shirts, Lace Sleeves

Unlocked with ; Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

The streets of Amarillo are filled with strange characters: the corn-flecked farmhands with skunk patches on their overalls; the high-lapelled young thugs in dusters and blunt weapons, loosely held; the rare Asian pushing furtively through the unfriendly crowds...

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned


Silk Shirts, Lace Sleeves

The streets of Amarillo are filled with strange characters: the corn-flecked farmhands with skunk patches on their overalls; the high-lapelled young thugs in dusters and blunt weapons, loosely held; the rare Asian pushing furtively through the unfriendly crowds.

But none are stranger than the silk-shirted, lace-wristed men and women who loiter in pairs or threesomes on streetcorners and in the windows of Amarillo's diners and saloons.

Pinned

A Fine Fragrant Encounter

A high-cheekboned woman in a scarlet silk blouse waves you over from beneath a dusty awning.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


A Small Token of Esteem

The woman draws you into the shade and pushes a coin into your unprotesting hand, closing your fingers over it with her own cool ones.

"Noticed you noticing," she says. Cautious, not unfriendly. Her breath smells like an impossible tropical flower. "Show us a little charity at St. Francis and we'll find you."

She pats your cheek and moves swiftly off, heels primly clicking. There was perfume on her wrist. It lingers for several long minutes after she's gone.

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

You now have 1 x 20th Century Penny.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


The Sweaty Crush

Move to the Wall Market

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

There's hardly room to breathe in the Wall Market. Let alone walk or do business. Nevertheless people manage it, even keeping such things as fresh fruits free of dust and ground meat free of flies. Enviable. Commendable! Maybe don't stay too long.

You have moved to a new area: Wall Market


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters!—

Absolom the Tinker

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation...

The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo...

The Amarillo Exchange Commission

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines...

Pinned

Pinned


O Brother, Let's Go Down

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo.

No shirkers; too many victims -- of accidents, the environment, each other. But not as many as you might think.

There aren't many beggars or cripples outside the Highrise Hotel. Almost no one is homeless.

 And aside from the Ashling -- according to Jack Ishiguro "more like a local unconventional entrepreneur-type than your real actual crazy person-type" -- the streets are clear of mumblers, foamers and Millenarians.

All of which raises the question: where have all the destitute gone?

Pinned

Down, Down, Come on Down

The only visible downtrodden in Amarillo are its orphans. They're not exactly chatty -- unless breakfast is on you. You won't have any problem trading a bite to eat for a little information.

WARNING: This is the beginning of a subplot. Choosing this branch will reduce Gumption by 1. This subplot will focus on your Doc and Cityslicker Styles.


Travel Around Town

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Down to the River to Pray

You trade a hard roll from Butterloaf to a hard-eyed girl on Fifth who tells you -- sounding a little affronted -- that while she's fine on her own, "anybody who ain't always ends up on the west side at the Mission. Just go down Palmetto until you hit the iron cross." You can almost hear the capitals in her voice, affronted or not.

At the bottom of Palmetto where it turns into Jefferson you find yourself in the shadow of the cross. It arcs high above everything around it, an easy star to navigate by. It's attached to the roof of a long low brick building. There's a vegetable garden on one side; everywhere else there are people of all ages and colors in all stages of cleanliness and dress. They stream constantly in and out of the Mission's double-doors, which look permanently propped, and through the garden, where fat clucking chickens peck sedately at the bugs amid plantings of squash and beans. Inside you can see the pews are used for sleeping as much as sitting.

Almost everyone at the Mission is missing something -- an eye, a leg, a parent -- and almost everyone is smiling. They turn their smiles on you. A man on crutches invites you inside, where a group of dirty underfed beaming children are learning Ave Maria from a woman the size of a bear. The air smells like unwashed bodies and hope.

You have moved to a new area: The Mission

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 1).

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

You are now investigating a certain Hallowed Ground!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Head Down, Eyes Open

Move to the Scrublands

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

The scrublands are largely uninhabited, but have a care: homesteaders don't always respect the Rule of One, and the rumors of chupacabra are worryingly persistent.

You have moved to a new area: The Scrublands


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Redwing Chicken

Unlocked with Hallowed Ground 1 - you have 1

Groups of people scattered like flung out handfuls of grain throughout the Mission; vegetables growing inside wherever the walls are knocked down...

Whispers on the Street

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 1; Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone...

Mr. Velvet's Colleague

Unlocked with Cutting Your Spurs 1 - you have 1

Mr. Velvet has asked you to find a good vantage point in the scrublands from which to spot his colleague from Denver...

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...

A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...


Whispers on the Street

A tight nervous thread runs through the city. Everywhere people are on vibrating on edge, tense, standing in unhappy pockets of twos and threes where every face is pinched with inspecific fear. On Jefferson, a young woman clutches her light cotton dress and leans close to a frend. "Did you hear about poor William?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder for -- what?

"I heard," says her friend, who leans in close to whisper: "Same as happened to Sean and Thompson. Took the breath right out of them."

Pinned

Pinned

Listen Closer

The first woman seems ready to jump out of her skin; her friend is scared but glowing a little with sick morbid interest. If you slow down and listen hard, you might get a hint of why they're afraid.

WARNING: this is the beginning of a Subplot and will reduce your Gumption by 1. This Subplot will focus on your Gunslinger and Doc Styles.


Mr. Velvet's Colleague

The Scrublands

North of Amarillo is a vast scrubby near-desert populated sparsely by farms, homesteaders and unnatural fauna. Perennially there are rumors of chupacabra. You're advised to keep your eyes open.

Mr. Velvet has asked you to find a good vantage point in the scrublands from which to spot his colleague from Denver. Unfortunately the scrublands are flat. You'll need to get creative.

Increase your Spotting the Colleague from Denver Quality to open up new branches!

Pinned

Pinned

Scout for Locations

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The scrubland is flat as a checkerboard and seems to disappear twenty yards out into the horizon. Finding a way off the ground would give you a better view.

Use Your Vantage Point

You've picked your vantage point. You've cleared the site and tested how far you can see. Everything is in place. Now all that's left is to wait.

            3
            You need Spotting the Colleague From Denver 3

            3
            Unlocked with Spotting the Colleague From Denver 3


They Aren't Being Quiet

"I'm scared," the first woman says. "I just don't know what I'd do if it happened to my boy.  You know William left behind two children?"

 "I know," says her friend. "That's how it is when the Harvestmen -- "

The first woman hisses for quiet. They both look nervously around. The friend continues:

"You don't believe they really show up if you say their name, do you?"

The question hangs in the widening silence between them.

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 0).

You are now pursuing The Harvestmen!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


A Rocky Outcropping!

Scout for Locations

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A low-risk challenge

The saying in Amarillo is that you could roll a bowling ball from the scrublands to the Rockies without losing speed. Luckily for you they're exaggerating: just outside the city you spot a rocky knoll. There are visibility issues, but it's a start.

1 change point, 3 more needed to reach level 4.

Gunslinger has increased to 3!

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

0 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 2.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver shows your progress in the venture.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver

A certain colleague from Denver is coming in this morning. You're on the lookout for him.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Banditos and Harvestmen

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 1 - you have 1

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position...

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 2 - you have 2

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

Groups of people scattered like flung out handfuls of grain throughout the Mission; vegetables growing inside wherever the walls are knocked down. Even the altar has a haphazard stove and chimney rigged up where the priest must have once sat.

Sitting in a vacant church pew for a quiet moment: there is the smallest cluck, a soft scuffle. A chicken lunges at a bug in the dirt. More chickens pour in, clucking and preening and pecking. And yet they're largely unharrassed -- read: uneaten.

Pinned

Pinned

Chicken-scratch

Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

There must be a plan here, some kind of organization. Someone has to keep an eye on the chickens and vegetable gardens. You just need eyes to see.

            2
            You need Cityslicker 2 (you have 1)

            2
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 2 - you have 1


Mr. Velvet's Colleague

The Scrublands

North of Amarillo is a vast scrubby near-desert populated sparsely by farms, homesteaders and unnatural fauna. Perennially there are rumors of chupacabra. You're advised to keep your eyes open.

Mr. Velvet has asked you to find a good vantage point in the scrublands from which to spot his colleague from Denver. Unfortunately the scrublands are flat. You'll need to get creative.

Increase your Spotting the Colleague from Denver Quality to open up new branches!

Pinned

Pinned

Scout for Locations

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A low-risk challenge

The scrubland is flat as a checkerboard and seems to disappear twenty yards out into the horizon. Finding a way off the ground would give you a better view.

Improving Your Visibility

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A very chancy challenge

The rocky knoll is exactly what you're looking for: easy to access, high off the ground, close to the city. Except a few parched-looking trees have grown up around it. You won't be able to see anything until you remove some of their branches.

            1
            You need Spotting the Colleague From Denver 1 and Spotting the Colleague From Denver no more than 3 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Spotting the Colleague From Denver 1 - you have 1

Use Your Vantage Point

You've picked your vantage point. You've cleared the site and tested how far you can see. Everything is in place. Now all that's left is to wait.

            3
            You need Spotting the Colleague From Denver 3 (you have 1)

            3
            Unlocked with Spotting the Colleague From Denver 3 - you have 1


Pinned

Pinned


A Little Light Lumberjacking

Improving Your Visibility

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

You spend awhile stripping leaves and even small branches off the dried-up trees. At least half of them are dead; you can't imagine how the other half survive.

0 change points, 5 more needed to reach level 5.

Gunslinger has increased to 4!

1 change point, 1 more needed to reach level 2.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver is increasing...


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver

A certain colleague from Denver is coming in this morning. You're on the lookout for him.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 4; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle. The life of the party. One odd Jackrabbit. But very little escapes his tiny cheerful eyes.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

The Power of Confidence

Seeing Jack Ishiguro move through a crowd -- sliding unimpeded, shoulder slouching, confidence glowing off him like heat from a lamp -- is quite the thing. People smile and swoon and flutter when he bumps into them. And not just women. A friend to all, is Jack Ishiguro, and universally charming. You could learn a thing or two.

You Scratch My Back

A recurring theme in Jack Ishiguro's many upbeat rambling conversations is how he's lean on cash. Liquid assets. Valoota. He never quite explains what he needs the money for, but you get the impression that his life would be somehow even cheerfuller if he had it.

And not empty-handed is Jack Ishiguro, no beggar at the door: he's made clear -- and not just once -- that he's sitting on a box of bullets he doesn't have any plans for, and would be happy to come to an arrangement involving bullets and dollars and a quiet exchange.

            1
            You need 1 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Dollars


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Opportunities

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


The Asian Enclave

Move to Little Japan

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Most locals keep far away from Little Japan. At best they think it's cursed; at worst -- well, it's impolite. Perhaps there's a reason Amarillo's Japanese-Americans keep to themselves.

You have moved to a new area: Little Japan


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver

A certain colleague from Denver is coming in this morning. You're on the lookout for him.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1


Pinned

Pinned


Play the Whole Board

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

You can holler all you want; kids of a certain age, especially ones playing their own kind of totally absorbing all-in-their-heads game, aren't ever going to pay attention to any strange man trying to get their attention. A pair of old men are playing checkers outside a saloon and watching you. One laughs dryly. The other touches a black piece, contemplating a jump, then takes back his hand. "Not that way," he says, loudly enough for you to hear. "Got to play the whole board, not just take what's offered you."

1 change point, 1 more needed to reach level 2.

Cityslicker is increasing...

Cityslicker 1 failed in a challenge!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Back Home

You make your way back to Burrow and Briar, the one place in town that's always hopping.

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver

A certain colleague from Denver is coming in this morning. You're on the lookout for him.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

The Guest Room

Your own personal space here in Amarillo...

Pinned

Pinned


A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky. There are things to see and explore beyond the Roughriders' barricades. And unexpected dangers. Which nearly anyone will tell you can add spice to an otherwise humdrum life.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

Miz Nils turns out to be the Jackrabbits' resident naturalist. She recommends a walk through the Scrublands north of Amarillo to get a feel for what grows around here. It might look hot and dry and dead, she says, but keep an eye: the scrub is teeming, alive, and way better at surviving in the desert than any person.

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 1


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


The Desert in Bloom

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 3

Low sprawling tumbled-down Amarillo fades into the horizon just a few short minutes' walk past the northern barricade. The desert is a still life painted in dust: long gritty tempera stripes in umber and scarlet and a few distant threads of light-sucking black strung along the brown sandy soil.

Through the scrub runs an old cracked highway with no blacktop left and more grass than foundation. A little ways down the road you spot a sharp rocky outcrop -- and in its lee a Victoria Regina cactus in full bloom. It looks like some underwater thing, an upreaching frondy urchin with a fat orange flower perched crownlike on top.

Later, Miz Nils explains how lucky you were: the Victoria Regina uses all its energy to make that one bright flower -- then dies. The practical hard-eyed Miz Nils declines to draw an analogy from that.

2 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 3.

Doc has increased to 2!

You succeeded in a Doc challenge!

3 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 4.

Doc has increased to 3!

You now have 2 x Reputation.

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

You now have 1 x Dollars.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 1


Step Lightly

Finding the Highrise Hotel is much like following the north star: aim for the tallest point in the sky and pick a path. Carefully, though; the roads are slick with human refuse and the natives are unfriendlier than usual.

You have moved to a new area: The Highrise Hotel


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Spotting the Colleague From Denver

A certain colleague from Denver is coming in this morning. You're on the lookout for him.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Desert Driving Hazards

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 3

You're in luck: the Roughriders only have one motorcycle left, a chrome diesel-coughing monster that shreds the landscape under its vulcanized treads. As loud and strong as it is, you don't spot the oversized lizard until it's too late -- for the lizard: in the sideview mirror you see its twitching remains burbling foul dark blood onto the sand. Definitely unusual. You report back and later hear from your motorcycle handler that Carfora was pleased to hear it. And Carfora, you're told, is <i>never</i> pleased.

1 change point, 2 more needed to reach level 3.

Gunslinger has increased to 2!

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge!

2 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 4.

Gunslinger has increased to 3!

You've gained 2 x Reputation (new total 4).

You've gained 1 x Dollars (new total 2).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


The Skunk Brothers Farm

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops! In the distance purple mountains; in the foreground amber waves of grain! And everywhere the scent of yeast and its vast gassy microscopic hunger, and the buzzing of bees by the gated clover, and the low humming churn and splash of beer and whiskey being made as fast as Darren and Lloyd and the whole Skunk family can make it.

Increase your Helping the Skunk Brothers Quality to open up new branches!

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The call goes out through Amarillo: the Skunk well's gone dry! Suddenly every idle hand is laid on jars and jugs and even glasses of water. There's no money in it, you're told, but no one can imagine the Skunk Brothers vats going unwatered. Perhaps you should lend a hand.

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A high-risk challenge

Demand for Cornskunk sour mash bourbon has climbed over the last few months. Theories abound; production volume has exploded; the brothers Skunk are being tightlipped about the whole thing.

To handle logistics, Lloyd Skunk is looking for a few good drinkers to hit all their distributors and come back with orders. It's not glamorous and it doesn't pay, but it will keep the whiskey flowing.

That Cornskunk Taste

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

Darren Skunk -- quiet thoughtful alchemist! brewmaster, taste-maker! -- needs taste-testers for a new batch of bourbon. He's taking anybody, no special training required. Which means you could get involved. For charitable reasons, of course.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Heckled

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A tough challenge

Sales is a challenge, even for liquor. Outside the High Noon Saloon you're heckled by a pair of ancient barflies; they tell you, at length and volume, that Cornskunk used to cost less and taste better and come hand-delivered by the brothers Skunk themselves, which (the barflies say) was a touch of class in a tumbled-down world. Once you finally disengage there's no time to hit the east side hotels. And more's the pity: their orders, according to Lloyd Skunk, would not have been small.

2 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 3.

Cityslicker has increased to 2!

Cityslicker 1 failed in a challenge! (When you try a challenge that's difficult for you, you learn more even when you fail.)


Pinned

Pinned


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Pinned

Pinned