This is a game about people who have been abducted from their normal lives, had their memories fucked with, and are now being subjected to experiments by mysterious beings for unknown purposes.

Prologue
Before the game proper begins, you need to:
●	Gather some materials including people with which to play
●	Create the Clinic
●	Create the Staff 
●	Create the Subjects 
●	Create Hypotheses
●	Deal the cards

What you need
Four to six people (including yourself), a standard deck of playing cards with the jokers shuffled in, pencils, and paper.

The Clinic
You are trapped in an unfamiliar location referred to as “the Clinic”. This facility models itself after a hospita, but it is not what it seems.  The PCs and other patients are referred to as “Subjects”.  Subjects undergo treatments and experimentation while in the Clinic.  Under no circumstances are Subjects allowed to leave the Clinic. All entrances and exits are closely monitored by the Staff.

You will collaboratively detail the Clinic together before beginning play. To do this, take turns choosing a question from the list below, reading it aloud and then answering it for the group.  Each player will get one question to answer.  You can repeat questions so long as it makes sense.

●	What prevents you from leaving? 
●	How does the staff maintain surveillance of the Subjects?
●	What hints do you have that the Clinic is not located on Earth?
●	What ominous features of the Clinic suggest dangerous or nefarious purposes hidden from the subjects?
●	What features of the Clinic are ineffective attempts to reassure the subjects that they are safe?
●	What state of repair is the facility in?  Is it well maintained, or dirty and run-down?
●	How advanced is the Clinic, technologically?  Is it filled with amazing, advanced science fiction gadgets, or do the staff mainly use weird old steampunk tools and equipment? Or something else?

Once you get into the game proper, anyone can invent additional details about the Clinic, subject to group approval.  These new details should be consistent with what is already known.  If there is ever a disagreement about a detail of the Clinic, choose the option that is worst for the player characters, with the current Staff player breaking ties if needed.

Staff
The players will also collaboratively detail the Staff of the Clinic. These strange individuals appear human, for the most part.  They are studying the Subjects, attempting to change their fundamental natures.  The Staff hides their nefarious motives behind a thin mask of apparent concern, but no one is fooled for very long.

Just like with the Clinic, you will each take a turn choosing one question and answering it.  The four questions marked with playing card suits are required.  Make sure they get answered.  Note their answers and what suit they are associated with. Those four answers become the Traits the Staff is interested in testing.

●	What do the Staff look like? Do they have uniforms? 
●	What about their appearance suggests an inhuman nature?
●	In what way do the Staff seek to reassure the players as to their good intentions?
●	What positive trait do the Staff completely lack? (Hearts)
●	What human trait do the Staff wish to understand in great detail? (Clubs)
●	What negative trait does the staff seek to encourage and foster in the subjects? (Diamonds)
●	What positive human trait does the Staff seek to eradicate from the Subjects? (Spades)

Example Traits
Kindness, Selfishness, Empathy, Sexuality, Hope, Fear, Anger, Hunger, Distrust, Greed, Morbidity, Narcissism, Curiosity, etc. Make up your own.

Subjects
To create your players characters and NPC Subjects, you will create a set of descriptors.  Write three descriptors, each on a scrap of paper or note card. Just a few words. The way you’d describe someone you saw in the grocery store if you didn’t know anything about them. For example, “heavyset and older.” Or “always nervously looking around.” Or “stinks like cat pee.” Or “shy, wears glasses.”  It’s best if your descriptors don’t specify gender or ethnicity, as that might conflict with other descriptors, limiting player options.

When you have three descriptors written, pass them to the player on your right.  Take the descriptors from the player on your left and choose one.  Write a brief memory prompt on it.  Each memory prompt is a fragment, an image or a question about your past.  Place that descriptor/memory pair in the center of the table where everyone can reach. Pass the other two descriptors on to the right, and write another memory prompt on one.  Pass again and write a memory prompt on the last descriptor.

Examples Memories
Learning to ride a bicycle, the taste of ripe red berries, freezing in the snow, pure terror as a shadowy figure approaches, being embarrassed in front of everyone you know, etc.

Once everyone is done creating memory/descriptor pairs, you begin to combine these into Subjects.  Player character subjects will be a combination of two descriptors and therefore two memories.  Each player should choose two sets of descriptor/memories.  The memories might conflict with one another, because the Staff has been messing with your mind.  But the descriptors have to cohere together to make a character you might meet somewhere.  Take the two cards and explain how those four pieces of information fit together for your character.

(Generally, it’s fine for everyone to discuss and grab descriptors in a free form manner.  If two players want the same descriptor or memory, you can always take turns grabbing traits from the pool.)

Write down a last name (which is on your hospital uniform) and what a person notices about you when they meet you.

For the remaining traits, these form the NPC Subjects.  NPCs only get a single descriptor and a single memory.  Write a name for each one on the slip of paper with the descriptor and memory.  During play, any player can take control of these characters in a scene and roleplay them as needed.  But no NPC Subject can ever effect real change in the Clinic. Anything they attempt is doomed to failure.

Once everyone is done, take turns reading what you have aloud.

Hypotheses
For each of the four Traits the Staff is studying, the player on your right selects a Hypothesis from the list below.  This tells us what the Staff thinks of how you relate to the Trait.  The player on your right makes these Hypotheses based on the descriptors and memories you have.  You have no input on their Hypotheses.  Staff players should be arbitrary, cruel and sometimes completely wrong.  These Hypotheses should go on a large master list called the Chart, visible for all players to see and consult.

Hypotheses: 
●	Trait is a dominant force in their life
●	Embodies this trait
●	Completely unaffected by the trait
●	Afraid to show this trait
●	Hates this trait
●	Desperately desires this trait
●	Must be taught this Trait, through fear and pain

Final Setup
When this is complete, every player creates a Memory for their Subject. Detail what this Memory is, and add it to your list of Memories. 

Everyone draws two cards from the deck and keeps it in their hand, hidden.  

Then you begin having rounds of scenes. Deal four card out from the deck, faceup.  These represent potential scenes that could a player can choose to have.

Rounds
Most of the game consists of rounds. Each round contains a number of scenes. After one round ends, then either a new round begins or the game goes to the epilogue.

Give each player two tokens at the start of each round.  (These tokens make sure everyone gets roughly equal screen time in the game.) You spend tokens to frame a scene focusing on your character, or to include yourself in another player’s scene.

When all the players are out of tokens, then the round is over, and a new round begins.  Reshuffle the discard pile and the faceup scene prompt cards into the deck. Deal out new cards faceup for scene prompts, with one fewer faceup card than before.  If this would mean there are zero cards faceup, don’t begin a round, but instead go into the epilogue.

If you didn’t reach epilogue, then give each player two tokens again and start the new round.

Important rule
If a player ever has more cards in hand than there are players in the game, then they must discard.  Discard cards in this order: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades, Jokers.

Scenes
At the start of every round, you receive two tokens.  You can spend these to become the focus character for a scene, or to insert your own character into another player’s scene.  There’s no required order for players to go in.  Whoever has an idea for a scene can pay a token to begin a scene.

To be the focus character, first you pay a token.  Then you select one of the faceup cards as a scene prompt, based on the chart below.  Use the information there to set the scene, describing what is happening and who is present when the scene begins.  The scene should, if at all possible, be about the trait associated with that card’s suit, particularly the Staff’s actions in the scene.

●	Ace	Making an escape attempt
●	2	Investigation
●	3	Accidental discovery
●	4	Punishment for minor infraction
●	5	Interaction in the dayroom
●	6	Violating the rules
●	7	One on one therapy with a Staff member
●	8	Group therapy: conflict between subjects
●	9	Group therapy: cohesion
●	10	Staff mutilates or kills an NPC subject 
●	J	Individual treatment: reminiscence
●	Q	Individual treatment: torture
●	K	Testing, painful, horrifying testing.
●	Joker	Group therapy: Dire Omens

When your Subject is the focus character, you are the focus player.  The player on your right will be the Staff player for the scene.  

If the card you chose was a number card (Ace through 10), then you must include another player character in the scene if possible. That PC’s player must pay a token. (You cannot choose the Staff player’s Subject as the second Subject in a scene, not the Subject of a player who lacks tokens.)  

If you chose a face card (Jack, Queen, King) then no other PC is present; it’s just you and the Staff. On a Joker, all PCs are present but only you have to pay a token.

Other players may also choose to insert their Subject into your scene, during framing or later during the course of the scene, by spending a token.

Once you frame a scene, everyone freely roleplays out the actions you outlined and the consequences thereof for as long as seems reasonable. Scenes should be relatively short, subject to individual playstyle and group taste.  In general, less than five minutes is better, more than ten minutes is too long. 

If you attempt an uncertain action during a scene, then you need to consult with the mechanics below.  You can only go to the uncertain action mechanics once per scene, so you should wrap up a scene quickly after doing so.  You can always end on a cliffhanger if there is still more to do.

At the end of your scene, discard the card you chose to frame the scene, and replace it face up with a new card from the deck.

Scene prompts in more detail:
●	Ace	Making an escape attempt
○	You try to get out of the Clinic.  This is inherently a difficult and dangerous act.  It also has some special mechanics.
○	The first time any Subject tries to escape, each player will create one obstacle that must be overcome to get out.  Overcoming each is an uncertain action, subject to the normal rules (except that you will have multiple uncertain actions in a single scene). Even a single failure means you’re unable to leave the Clinic. 
○	If you fail, any obstacles you did not overcome remain and must be dealt with in later escape attempts.  Note them down somewhere.
○	For later escape attempts, the group of players will create one fewer obstacles each time.  So if you have 5 players, the first attempt will have 5 obstacles.  The second attempt will involve 4, plus any that remained from the previous attempt.  The third attempt will involve 3 obstacles and any remaining obstacles. Etc.
○	If a Subject fails to escape, the Staff will likely punish them severely. This is best handled as a separate scene.
○	If you succeed in escaping, then you can continue to play as Staff, to add details to a scene, and to roleplay NPC Subjects.  Your relationships with remaining Subjects may even still apply to an uncertain action.  But you don’t get any tokens and won’t be the focus of any more scenes until the epilogue.
●	2	Investigation
○	You try to figure out what's happening to you, who you were, the nature of The Staff and Clinic, other mysteries.
○	If you are successful in an uncertain action in this kind of scene, you may use as your reward a revealed fact about the Clinic or The Staff. It must be fitting for the events of the scene, and is open to veto by the group if it violates someone's aesthetic sense severely enough.
●	3	Accidental discovery
○	While going about daily life in the Clinic, your Subject discovers something significant. It might be about you or it might be about the Clinic,Staff or another Subject.
○	Memories are the most likely bonus outcome in these scenes.
●	4	interaction in the dayroom
○	Subjects are relaxing in the dayroom or other area, interacting with each other with minimal supervision by the Staff.
○	Relationships are the most likely bonus outcome in these scenes.
●	5	A reminder
○	Something within the Clinic causes the Subject to recall an event from their past, before they came here.  What reminds them?  Who do they tell?  What will they do about it?
○	With a successful uncertain action, the Subject can earn a new Memory.
●	6	Minor infraction
○	The focus character has violated a minor rule of some sort.  The rule might be trivial.  There might have been no way for the Subjects to know of the rule.  Nonetheless, the Staff is going to have to correct this behavior, through cruel punishment.  The Staff player will have to invent suitable punishment for the Subject.
●	7	Major infraction
○	The focus character is breaking one of the Clinic’s rules.  What rule are they breaking?  Why?  Are they hoping to avoid notice, or are they flagrantly violating the rule to spite the Staff?
●	8	Group therapy: conflict 
○	The Staff works to erode any connections she has witnessed building. She uses anything she can find to cause strife within the group.
●	9	Group therapy: cohesion
○	The Staff tries to highlight the things that unite the Subjects.  Subjects are drawn together through shared desires, goals, or memories.  Relationships are the most likely bonus outcome in these scenes.
●	10	Staff kills an NPC subject 
○	The staff’s murderous behavior might be explained or it might be arbitrary, but the focus character is aware of this behavior, even if the other Subjects are not.
○	Each time this occurs, the Staff’s cruelty must be worse than the time before.  If no NPC subjects remain, the Staff will harm a PC Subject.
●	J	Individual treatment: reminiscence
○	The Subject has a solo session with one of the Staff.  The staff member encourages the Subject conform to the Hypotheses, and asks many questions about the Subject’s thoughts and feelings.
○	Memories are the most likely bonus outcome in these scenes.
●	Q	Individual treatment: torture
○	The focus character is taken away to undergo painful procedures, created mainly to cause pain rather than to test anything.  Staff player describes the procedures. 
●	K	Painful, horrifying testing.
○	The focus character is taken away to undergo strange tests, whose purpose may or may not be apparent.  Staff player describes the procedures.
●	Joker	Group therapy: Dire Omens
○	While in group therapy, the Staff presence gives away a detail that makes it clear the Staff does not has positive intentions towards the Subjects.  NPC Subjects likely panic at the knowledge that they will never leave the Clinic alive.

Playing the Staff
During play, each of you will play the Staff at different times. In any given scene, the player to the right of the focus player will be in control of the Staff. That player is responsible for narrating the Staff’s actions, speaking for the Staff and, most importantly, putting pressure on the PCs to act. The Staff should be creepy antagonists for this story.  They want to do harm to the PCs, which forces the PCs to act in response.  Threaten them, but leave openings for the PCs to still act.

For all scenes, The Staff must be paying attention and noting on the Chart when Subjects act according to a Hypotheses or against a Hypothesis.  

When Subjects attempt an uncertain action, sometimes you may want to give them positive answer cards.  This entices them to conform to your Hypotheses in the future, to get additional positive answers.  Other times, you’ll want to give them your negative answers cards, to clear your hand of negative cards and to make clear that meddling with the Staff is dangerous.

Memories
Memories let you turn a card face up before any card swapping occurs.  Cross out the Memory when you do this.  Explain how that memory relates to the action or inspires you to do better.  When you use a Memory in this way, feel free to expand on the Memory, explaining the context where you saw that image or experienced that feeling, and how it relates to the current situation.

Memories can be contradictory to other Memories you have.  The Staff has messed with your minds, possibly giving you Memories from two or more Subjects or implanting false Memories in your mind.
Relationships
A Relationship connects two PC Subjects together on an emotional level.  A Relationship is shared between both Subjects: when I have a Relationship with you, you also have the same Relationship with me.

You begin with zero Relationships, but you can gain them in play through the Yes, And… or No, But… cards. When you gain a Relationship due to one of these cards, the card interpreter chooses one of the listed relationships, and name the Subject it applies to. 

Some relationships might be shared memories of your past outside the Clinic.  Some relationships might be developed while inside.

Relationships
ex-­lover, exchanged blows, mentor, donor, sibling, drinking buddy, rival, enemy, sexual attraction, dominated by, boss, childhood friend, kin, covetous of, ally, betrayed, tension, envy, trust, respect

You cannot have a relationship with an NPC Subject or Staff member.  They are just there for fictional background color.

Uncertain actions
Once per scene when the focus character attempts something difficult or uncertain, another player may ask the focus player to draw a card.  

Phrase your action as a Yes or No question, like “Do I manage to sneak past the orderlies on their coffee break?” or “Do I keep my secrets from the Staff even under torture?”  

Phrase the question so that the Yes answer is you achieving your goal, and the No answer is not. Don’t ask things like “Do I fail?’ or “Do I crack under pressure?” You want the positive answer to mean a positive outcome for your character.  

Then draw some answer cards from the deck, but keep the cards face down for the moment. You draw one card by default. Draw an additional card if someone you have a relationship with is also involved in the action, either helping or hindering you. 

Before the cards are revealed, other characters get to manipulate the cards.  The order goes like this:
●	At any time, any player can cross off a Memory to turn one face down card face up, revealing it to everyone.
●	If you are acting in accordance with a Hypothesis about you, or if a Staff member is in the scene, then the Staff player can choose to swap a card.  
●	If you have a relationship with someone involved in the scene, then that person gets to examine and possibly take one card.  
●	Then the focus player gets to replace a card with one from their hand, without looking. 
●	Then cards are revealed and one is chosen as the answer.

The sequence in more detail
●	At any time in the sequence, any player can cross off a Memory to turn one answer card face up, revealing it to everyone. 
○	Each Memory can be used once and only once.  Cross out the Memory, describing how it relates to your action. You could do this multiple times by spending multiple Memories on a single action.
●	If you are acting in accordance with a Hypothesis about you, or if a Staff member is in the scene, then the Staff player gets to swap cards.  
○	The Staff player looks at all the answer cards and can choose, if they wish, to swap one card with a card from their hand. The Staff player takes that card into their hand and places the card of their choice from their hand among the answer cards.  Staff players do not have to reveal what was exchanged.  (This is a good way to get rid of No cards from your hand.)  After swapping, the Staff player should mix around the cards so that it isn’t obvious which card was swapped.
●	If you have a relationship with someone involved in the scene, then that person gets to manipulate the cards.  
○	That character’s player gets to look at one of the answer cards.  If they want, they can take the card into their hand to save for later. Or they can leave it for you to take.  That player does not have to reveal anything about the card.  (The relationship player does not replace a saved card with one from their hand.  Saving the card increases their hand size but decreases the options available to the focus player.)  The focus player does get to know which card was examined.  
○	Only one relationship can be involved in a scene.  If the focus player has multiple Relationships, she chooses one Relationship that applies for this scene.
●	Then the focus player gets to replace cards. 
○	Before revealing, you may take a card from your hand and use it to replace a card on the table.  The answer card is revealed and discarded, and the card from your hand is added to the answers instead. 
○	You may not know what the answer card is, so you might accidentally spend a good card to discard a great one, but you might also use a mixed result to avoid a terrible one.

After each involved player has had a chance to manipulate the answer cards, the focus player reveals any remaining cards and chooses one to be the outcome.  The outcome is determined by the card’s suit (value does not matter) according to the table below.  The other card, if there is one, is discarded.

Hearts		Yes, And…	Describe the action succeeding and an additional positive outcome.
Diamonds	Yes, But…	Describe the action succeeding with a negative side effect.
Clubs		No, But…	Describe the action failing but a positive side effect.
Spades	No, And…	Describe the action failing and an additional negative 
outcome.
Joker		Perhaps	The Staff player makes you an offer.  If you accept, then you 
				succeed.  Otherwise, you fail.

On a Yes answer, the focus player for the scene will interpret the card and explain how it applies to the scene, but other players might offer suggestions on what it means.  On a No or PErhaps answer, the Staff player interprets the card.  Positive outcomes and side effects might include gaining a new Memory or Relationship, or discovering useful information or achieving a secondary goal of some sort.  Negative outcomes and side effects might include unwanted attention from the Staff, destruction of valuable resources, or discovery that something you believed true was a lie. 

Epilogue
In this scene, the Staff’s tests and procedures are finally complete.  This is the end of the game. If the group has not escaped by this point, this is their last moments of life as the person they were. 

Each PC Subject will get an epilogue scene.  

If a Subject is still trapped within the Clinic, the Epilogue concerns how the Staff transforms them into a Staff member, or kills them as a failed experiment or otherwise conclusively ends the Subject’s tenure in the Clinic. The Staff will never, ever allow a Subject to leave the Clinic, even in the epilogue. 

If the Subject escaped, the epilogue will concern what they find outside the Clinic: where they find themselves, how they attempt to get back to their ordinary lives, etc.

If a Subject has died, then the epilogue will concern how they are remembered and the impact they made upon the world.

Each player will do this in turn: Hand their cards to the player on their right. Then begin describing the best possible epilogue for your character that you can imagine, given the situation your PC was in at the end of the last scene.  After each sentence or detail, the player on your right will play one of the cards from your hand and modify it based on the suit (Yes And, Yes But, No And, No But). Thus, the more Yes cards you had in hand, the more your epilogue is positive and like the one you hoped for.  The more No cards you had in hand, the worse your epilogue will be.  Keep describing your epilogue until the other player has played all the cards from your hand.