Paper Letter: Small Impossible Things

About Paper Letter: Small Impossible Things

Paper Letter: Small Impossible Things is an illustrated interactive story set in the Tidewrack Museum of Lost Objects, a tin-roofed ferry shed on a tidal island reached by a causeway at low water. You are the night cataloguer with a lantern, a typewriter and one night to write four labels. The curator, Miss Crane, speaks only in catalogue entries. Each of the four objects is gently impossible: a brass compass that does not point north, a ticket that is always for the next ferry, a lamp that lights for fear and not for courage, and a teapot that is never empty. Each came with three diary pages written by the people it was lost between, and the pages do not agree. You read them in whatever order you like, and lay the two that contradict each other side by side to work out what really happened. Then you type the label in one of three voices: the kind one, the true one or the short one. Miss Crane remembers the voice of every label, the objects react to it, and the night closes in the voice you used most. A new twist each session changes what is in your way, and there is a daily challenge. Nothing is timed against you, you can go back to an earlier choice, every line is announced to screen readers, and the text goes up to Largest.

How to play

Press Next or tap the text to read on, and tap a choice (or press 1 to 5) to answer. Z or the Back button returns to your last choice.
Open a case from the shed. Read its three diary pages in any order. They disagree on purpose.
Open the pages (E, or the Pages button) and pick two to hold side by side. A pair that fits shows what really happened, and opens the typewriter.
Type the label in a kind, a true or a short voice. The curator remembers it, and so do the other objects.
Close the shed once at least two labels are typed. The closing depends on which voice you used most.
Change the text size with T or the Text button. Your story saves as you go, and Restart begins a new one with a new twist.

Controls

Tap the text, or press Enter, Space or Ⓐ — next
Tap a choice, or press 1 to 5 — choose
Z, Backspace or Ⓑ — go back to the last choice
E or Ⓨ — pages; L or Ⓧ — what the catalogue says so far; T — text size
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How long is a story?

About fifteen to twenty-five minutes, in four small cases. There are four closings, so you will want to type your labels in a different voice and play again.

What are the diary pages for?

Each object came with three pages by the people it was lost between. They disagree. Two of them, laid side by side, show what really happened and explain the impossible thing. The third is there for colour.

Is anything timed?

No. A few choices show a quick-answer window for a small extra, but a slow answer loses nothing and never removes a choice. You can turn the window off in Settings.

Can I take a choice back?

Yes. Press Z or the Back button to return to your last choice with everything as it was, as often as you like.

Can I play with a keyboard or a screen reader?

Yes. Every line, choice and page is announced, every button works with the keyboard or a controller, the text size goes up to Largest, and reduced motion shows each line at once.

Does it save?

Yes, in this browser: the story you are in, the endings you have seen and your settings. Nothing is uploaded.