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Own the building, or live in it.

Every life has a story. Not every story is seen.

Every building has two sides: the owner who keeps it standing, and the people who make a life inside. Play either one.

You've just taken over Riverside House: six empty flats, €4,000 in the bank and a lift that needs servicing. Set the rents, choose who moves in, keep the place in repair. Then let the days pass and read what becomes of the people behind each window.

You've just moved into Flat 2A at Riverside House. Rent is due on the 1st, your pay arrives mid-month, and the landlord sets the price. Find work and keep it, make your savings last, get to know the people on the stairs, and decide when to stay, push back or move on.

Take the keysFind a flatSee how it plays

Plays in your browser. Your building is saved to your account.

In development. Resident mode follows the owner game. This is where it's heading; details may change.

Riverside House3A3B2ATO LET2B1A1BYOU

Select a window to look in

A building that lives between your decisionsA life that doesn't wait to be told what to do

You don't steer anyone's day. You shape the conditions they live in, then step back and see what they make of it.

You make the choices that are yours to make. The landlord, the job market and the neighbours make theirs.

  1. 1

    Look around

    Check the flats, the people, the books and the latest diary pages. Who is worried? Which boiler is about to go?

  2. 2

    Decide

    Set a rent, accept an applicant, call a plumber, plan a renovation. A few choices that matter, not a hundred chores.

  3. 3

    Let time pass

    Advance one day or seven. Each day plays out in order, so Tuesday's bad news shapes Wednesday's choices.

  4. 4

    Read the diary

    What happened in the building, to whom, and why. Every entry is tied to something real.

  5. 5

    Close the month

    On the 1st, rent and bills fall due and you get a summary: what came in, what went out, what needs you.

  1. 1

    Take stock

    Your savings, your job, your mood, and who you can count on in the building.

  2. 2

    Decide

    Look for work, cut back, answer the landlord, knock on a neighbour's door. Your choices, your consequences.

  3. 3

    Let time pass

    Advance one day or seven. Payday, a broken boiler or a letter under the door can all land in the same week.

  4. 4

    Read your diary

    Your side of the story: what happened to you and the people around you, and why.

  5. 5

    Make rent

    On the 1st, rent and living costs come out. Whatever's left is yours to keep, or to lose next month.

Nothing happens while you're away. The building waits for you, for as long as you like.

Your tenants aren't numbers. They have plans of their own.You're one of them. So is everyone on the stairs.

Every resident has a job (or is looking for one), their own savings, a temperament, a goal and a memory of what you've done.

You have a temperament, a goal and a memory of your own. So does everyone else, and none of them are waiting for you.

AC
Ana CostaYou, Ana Costa
Flat 2A · Looking for work
Struggling
Speaks up for herselfTakes change in her stride

Goal: find work before the savings run out

"The café closed in Month 3. She hasn't told her mother yet."

"The café closed in Month 3. You haven't told your mother yet."

MS
Miguel Santos
Flat 3A · Night-shift nurseFlat 3A · Your neighbour
ContentClose friend
Always up for a chatAmbitious

Goal: work his way up to ward manager

"He and Ana started talking on the stairs. Now he checks on her most evenings."

"You started talking on the stairs. Now he knocks most evenings to see how you are."

JP
João & Rita Pereira
Flat 1B · With their son DanielFlat 1B · Downstairs
WorriedNodding terms
Careful with moneyKeeps to themselves

Goal: put something aside every month

"Daniel starts school in the autumn. Every euro is already spoken for."

"Rita told you their rent is going up €60. You wonder whose letter comes next."

Residents decide for themselves. They cut back when money is tight, push back on a rise they think is unfair, make friends and fall out with neighbours, have children, split up, and sometimes simply move on. You see their mood and what they're aiming for, not every thought in their heads.

Your neighbours live by the same rules you do. They lose jobs, fall in love, have children and leave. A friend can help you through a hard month, and a friend moving away can make you wonder why you're still here.

The diary is where the story lives

Each time you let time pass, the diary tells you what happened in the building, and why.

Your diary keeps your side of the story: what happened to you, what you heard on the stairs, and why.

Causes, not just eventsWhen someone falls behind on rent, you'll know whether it was a lost job, an unexpected bill or the rise you announced in the spring.
Chains you can followA neglected leak, a worried tenant, a notice to leave, an empty flat in winter. Small things add up, and you can trace them back.
Your own reasonsWhy you said yes to the rise, why you couldn't sleep, why you finally called the landlord about the boiler.
Only what you could knowYou see your own finances in full. Other people's, only as much as they let slip.
A record that staysPeople who leave aren't erased. Their story stays in the diary, from the day they moved in to the day they handed back the keys.
Day 12 · Month 4 · Year 0Owner's diaryAna's diary

Try it: a few weeks in Riverside House

  1. Three applications for Flat 2B

    Two couples and a student offered between €640 and the asking €700.

    Why: Flat 2B is listed at its market rent.

  2. Rise announced for Flat 1BAlso in Ana’s diary

    The Pereiras will pay €710 from Month 5, up €60.

    Why: Their rent was €40 below the market rate.

  1. Paid, for now

    Café wages came in and the rent went out. That leaves €310, which is about normal for me.

    Savings €310

  2. The Pereiras’ rent is going upAlso in the owner’s diary

    Rita told me at the post boxes: €60 more from next month. Mine hasn’t changed. Yet.

    Worried about rent
Let a few days pass. Entries marked with a link icon happen in both diaries: switch sides to compare.

You hold the keys, not the stringsYou can't fix the boiler. You can decide what to do about it.

Every choice costs money, goodwill or both. The building has to pay for itself, and the people in it have to want to stay.

Someone else owns the walls around you. What happens inside them, and whether you stay, is up to you.

Fill the flats

List a flat at an asking rent and wait for applicants. Accept them, turn them down, or make one counter-offer and see if they take it.

Set the rent

Every flat has a market rate. Charge more and tenants feel it. Announce a rise and they may accept, ask for less, or hand in their notice.

Keep it standing

Flats wear out and things break: a tap, a boiler, a flood from upstairs. Repair quickly, renovate when it's worth it, or upgrade a flat.

Choose the terms

Open-ended tenancy or a fixed year at a locked rent. Forgive a debt, or, after months of arrears, serve an eviction and live with what it costs.

Earn a reputation

Residents talk. Quick repairs and fair dealing draw applicants; steep rises and neglected leaks drive them away.

Settle the landing

When neighbours clash, a complaint lands in your inbox. Step in and mediate, or let them work it out.

Find a home

Start as an adult, alone or with family, and choose a flat from what's on the market at the rent the landlord asks.

Earn a living

Jobs come and go. Lose one and the last pay covers only the days you worked; find one and the first pay does the same.

Make ends meet

Rent, living costs and the odd surprise bill: a dentist, a car, a family emergency. Spend less, save more, or fall behind.

Answer the landlord

When the rent goes up, accept it, ask for a smaller rise once, or give notice. Saying no has a price, and so does saying yes.

Know your neighbours

Some become friends who ease a bad month. Some get on your nerves. Either way, they'll shape whether this place feels like home.

Build a life

Fall for someone across the landing, start a family, or decide one day that it's time to go somewhere else.

€4,000What you start with. It has to last until the first tenants arrive.
6 flatsA different building every game, from studios to three-bedroom family flats.
30 daysHow long the bank will let you stay in the red before it's over.
The 1stRent is due, whether or not payday has come yet.
One push-backWhen the rent rises, you can ask for less once. Then it's accept, or leave.
2 monthsOf unpaid rent before the landlord is allowed to ask you to go.

Two sides of the same front door

One building, two ways in: run it as the owner, or live in it as a resident. Each is its own game, with its own save.

Owner

Run the building

Available first
You look after
Six flats and everyone in them
Your money
Rent in, bills and repairs out
You worry about
Empty flats, leaks, tenants who can't pay
You can't control
Who stays, who leaves, and why
It ends when
You choose to stop, or the bank does

You're reading the owner side

Resident

Live in it

In development
You look after
Yourself, and your family if you have one
Your money
Wages in, rent and living costs out
You worry about
Your job, your savings, the next rise
You can't control
The landlord, the boiler, the neighbours
It ends when
Still being decided

You're reading the resident side

The two modes never share a world. Your owner game and your resident game are separate stories, and nobody else plays in either.

What to expect

Your pace

Time only moves when you press the button. Play for ten minutes or an evening.

Small and close

One building, a handful of households. Small enough to know everyone by name.

Quietly human

Hopeful, sometimes bittersweet. No monsters, no jump scares, just people.

In your browser

Nothing to install. Your games are saved to your account so you can pick them up anywhere.

Questions

What kind of game is this?

A life simulation set in one small apartment building. As the owner you run the building and the residents run their own lives; as a resident, you're one of those lives. The fun is in the stories that come out of the two meeting.

Can I play both modes?

Owner mode comes first. Resident mode is in development and will follow, played on the same account but as a separate game with its own save.

Does the game keep running when I close the tab?

No. Time only passes when you choose to advance it, by one day or seven. Come back in a week or a year and everyone will be exactly where you left them.

Can I lose?

As the owner, yes: if your cash stays below zero for 30 days, the bank ends your game. You'll get a warning the moment you go into the red, and time to turn things around. How a resident's story ends is still being designed.

Is every game the same?

No. The flats are different sizes each time, different households arrive, and the people around you make their own choices. Two games that start alike drift apart quickly.

Can I play with friends?

Bricks & Souls is a single-player game. Each building, and each life in it, is yours alone.

Which currency does it use?

You choose when you start a game, and prices are scaled so it plays the same in any of them.

Six windows are waiting for someone to turn on the lightOne of those windows could be yours

Create an account, name your building, and list your first flat.

Create an account now and start with the building. Your account will be ready for resident mode when it opens.

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