The Fix

A Solo Game About Why Getting Out Is So Hard

Content note: This game explores themes of emotional overwhelm, coping mechanisms, burnout, and the cycle of trying to escape difficult life circumstances. The system trends toward chaos through complacency and toward escape through persistence — the variable is time. It's designed to be reflective, not prescriptive, but if these themes hit close to home, play with care.

Your bowl is You.

Everything toxic, unstable, or unresolved you’re carrying lives there.

Every month, you draw from it and place a cube on your timeline.

Every three months, the world pushes back.

Every year is another chance to get yourself out of the mud.

What you need

• Players: 1
• Time: 15–30 minutes
• Age: 10+
• Components: 45 coloured cubes, 3 bowls, 12 Capacity markers

This is the first public rules release — feedback and playtest reports are welcome.

Objective

Shift your life from toxic Red to stable Green.

You get out when:

• Your Capacity is 6 or higher
• Green stability outweigh Red toxicity in your You Bowl
• You’re no longer relying on Black coping cubes in the final stretch of the year

Until then, you persist. 

How It Plays

Each month you choose one action:

1. Grind – Face the day and see what it costs.
2. Build – Pay Capacity to remove Reds and strengthen stability.
3. Cope – Survive the month that could crash you to collapse through Numbing or Retreat.
4. Sacrifice – Burn an asset to buy time or energy.

Three Reds in a row triggers a Crash. Your year resets. You lose Capacity. You lose stability.

Then comes the real choice: Battle on — or walk away.

What’s Inside the Rules

• Complete setup for all bowls and Capacity
• Full action breakdowns (Grind, Build, Cope, Sacrifice)
• Crash and Year End conditions
• Variants: The Bankruptcy Spiral, The Sole Provider, The Headwind
• Play Your Own Life — map your real situation into the system

Download the rules, grab some cubes and bowls, and discover what persistence actually looks like when the system pushes back.

AI disclosure: This project uses generative AI only for minor text‑clarity editing and a camera image title; all rules, design, and examples are human‑created.