Quiet Archive: Fortune Lane

About Quiet Archive: Fortune Lane

Quiet Archive: Fortune Lane is a solo card game set in a clockmaker's workshop long after closing, with one lamp over the bench and a rack of five pocket watches waiting to be mended. Nineteen watch parts lie on the green baize in two towers of three tiers over a shared row, with a round brass movement plate waiting at the front.

The lowest part of each tower, and any part on the shared row that nothing covers, is open. Set an open part on the movement plate when it is one rank above or below the part already there, with the Ace and the King meeting. Three velvet trays keep a part aside, and the parts drawer holds twelve more to draw. Clearing a tier turns the worth of the four kinds of part, hairsprings, jewels, winding crowns and balance wheels, one step round.

Every part you set adds charge to the case you are working on, 8 points, then 16, then 24, up to 64 a part, and winds the mainspring a turn tighter. Every part you draw from the drawer or put in a tray lets the spring run a turn slack. At three turns of slack the spring runs down and the open charge is lost. Close the case, always allowed, and the charge is fixed in your score and the spring is new again. A gauge shows the slack and how likely a draw is to give you a part you can set at once, counted from the parts you can see. Score only: nothing is staked.

A lane is five deals, one for each watch on the rack. Before every deal two rule cards lie face up and you take one for that deal; the points of all five are added down the lane. A deal won starts its watch ticking, a deal lost leaves it stopped behind a cracked glass. Every deal is checked by a solving player before you see it, and the lane saves where you leave it, in this browser only.

How to play

Before each deal take one of two rule cards. Tap an open part, or drag it to the movement plate, when it is one rank above or below the part on it. The Ace and the King meet.
Every part set in a run adds charge: 8 points, then 16, then 24, up to 64 a part. Press Close case (or B) to fix the open charge in your score and make the spring new.
Each part drawn from the drawer, or put in a tray, lets the spring run a turn slack; each part set takes a turn back. At three turns of slack the spring runs down and the open charge is lost.
Keep a part aside in a tray: drag it there, or tap it and then the tray. Draw from the parts drawer when no play is left; the gauge shows how likely the draw is to help.
Clear every tier to win the deal, and start all five watches to finish the lane. Press H or the Hint button for a good move, and U or the Undo button to take a move back.

Controls

Tap a part, or drag it to the movement plate — set it
The Close case button, B or RT — fix the open charge in the score
Drag a part to a tray, or tap it and then the tray; R — keep it aside
Tap the parts drawer or press E — draw a part
Arrow keys or WASD, then Space or Enter; D-pad or stick, then Ⓐ — play
Undo button, U or Ⓨ — undo; Hint button, H or LB — a hint
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What is the charge?

The points of your current run that are not in your score yet. The first part of a run adds 8, the second 16, the third 24, up to 64 a part. Close the case to fix the points in your score.

When does the spring run down?

When it has run three turns slack in a run with charge open. A part drawn or put in a tray adds a turn of slack; a part set takes one back. When it runs down the open charge is lost, and closing the case makes the spring new.

What does the gauge show?

The turns of slack, and when the spring is close to running down, how likely your next draw is to give no part you can set. It is counted from the cards you can see on the table, never from the order of the drawer.

What is a lane?

Five deals in a row, one for each watch on the rack. Before each deal you take one of two face-up rule cards, and the points of the deals are added together. Nothing is staked.

Does it save my game?

Yes, in this browser only, open charge and lane included. Your unfinished lane, best scores and badges are never uploaded.