Rules of the Inn

[Demo] Nights 1–3 are playable. In the demo you can write in the inn's Register who the earlier guests were and how they died; the demo's Register covers those three nights only. The full game is coming soon, with seven nights, multiple endings, and a longer Register.

The guests who obeyed the rules left nothing in the Register but their names.

At night you cannot leave your room in an old Japanese inn.

The rules on the wall are the only thing keeping morning within reach. But some nights a thing arrives wearing the name of a thing the rules describe, and then the correct rite is how you hand yourself over.

"If the shadow moves, lower your eyes." You have memorised that one.

So: did something move behind the paper screen just now, or did you imagine it?

Judge wrong, and morning will not come.

What you do

By night: watch the room from your futon. A faint sound, a shadow, a flicker in the lamplight—find what is wrong.

When you find it, perform the rite the rules demand. In the demo that means pouring oil into the lamp, not looking back, lowering your eyes, turning away from the hole in the wall, staring at the red stain, and lowering the lamp shade. The full game adds new rites after the third night.

While something is in the room, traces of earlier guests can surface by the walls and beside your futon. Stare at one to note it—but the thing does not stop while you stare.

By morning: open the inn's Register. Match the traces you noted against what is written in the margin, and write down, page by page, who each earlier guest was and how they died.

The rites are easy to memorise. What is hard is deciding, in the dark, whether you can take your eyes off the thing right now to note a trace.

The same thing won't necessarily come the same way twice

The full game has 34 kinds of anomaly and 40 individuals (the demo shows only some). Even the same kind can appear on a different surface, at a different size and distance, from one run to the next. On some nights, one of the rules on the wall cannot be read. The reaction that was fast enough last night may be too slow tonight. That is why you go back in—to find out how it comes for you next.

Every night the room gets heavier

Each dawn adds another rule. More to remember, more to watch.

By the seventh night of the full game, you'll realise how long you have been unable to take your eyes off the room.

Which dawn will you be given?

The full game has more than one ending. Your seven nights decide which morning you wake to. (The demo stops after night 3.)

Easy to pick up. Nowhere to run.

• Mouse plus the E key (lower or raise the lamp shade); Esc pauses. At night there is no movement and no inventory—only looking and the rites. By morning, the Register is waiting.

• In the full game, one run takes you through seven nights in a row.

• Text in Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese.

• Play with the lights off and headphones on.

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Note: This game contains dark scenes, sudden sounds, startling imagery, and flashing light.

If you have a heart condition, or are sensitive to light or sound, please lower the volume, play in a well-lit room, and take breaks.

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Streaming, Video and Let's Play Policy

I love watching Let's Plays! It genuinely makes my day when someone streams, records or uploads video of Rules of the Inn. If you post one, I will come and watch it. Play it however you like, and say whatever you like about it.

No application and no individual permission is needed. Please go ahead, within the terms below.

• Individuals and companies alike. If you belong to an agency, a studio or a talent management company, no additional permission is needed.

• Live streams, recorded videos, clips and short-form video are all fine.

• Any platform is fine (YouTube, Twitch, niconico, bilibili and others).

• You do not need to avoid spoilers. Please show the game all the way through to its hidden ending.

• You may monetise your video. You do not owe us any share of the revenue.

• You may use the game's video and audio exactly as they appear in the game.

Just these few things, please.

• Do not extract the music or sound effects on their own for use as material in unrelated works.

• Do not upload or stream footage of a modified build of the game.

• Please don't post videos whose main purpose is to let viewers watch the story footage alone, without commentary of your own.

• Please don't combine the game with content that is unlawful, or that defames any person or group.

One request, and only one: when you stream or post a video, a link to this store page would make me very happy!

Coverage of the demo alone is just as welcome as coverage of the full game.

Contact

Please get in touch about anything at all. Japanese or English are both fine.

• Steam community discussions (for public questions and thoughts) - reach it from "Community Hub" at the top of this page, then "Discussions".

These guidelines may be revised without notice. We accept no liability for any damages arising from your videos or streams.