Play the face module now

The automaton's face shows an expression built from real facial action units, the system animators and psychologists use to describe faces. You describe the face; your AI finds it in the notebook and tells you which key to turn. Three faces, four minutes.

How it works

Give your AI the notebook
Copy the maker's notebook into a ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini chat, or send it the link to the public notebook page. It is written so an assistant can use it.
Switch to voice
Use voice mode in the same chat so your hands stay free. Keep your screen and camera to yourself: the game is in the describing.
Talk it through
Read out the serial plate and the lamps. Describe what you see. Your AI asks questions, checks the rules and tells you what to press. Every round is shuffled.

The full game: the automaton's face, a gear train, four masks, four bells and four hallmark tiles, with the serial plate, lamps and spring dial above

Five modules in the full game

The automaton's brass face with brows drawn together and the mouth corners turned down

The face

Twelve expressions made from nine facial action units. Grief and Doubt differ by one brow. Read it closely.

A train of brass, steel and copper gears of different sizes turned by a crank

The gear train

Four to six gears in brass, steel and copper. Six ordered rules decide which one to pin.

Four brass masks that differ in crown spikes, eye shape, nose, mouth, cheek dots and chin

The masks

One mask is genuine. The other three are forgeries, each one feature away from the catalogue.

Four brass bells engraved with a sun, a moon, a star and a wave

The chimes

The bells ring a sequence. Your AI translates it, and the translation changes with every fault.

Four blue enamel tiles stamped with gold hallmarks

The hallmarks

Twenty-eight hallmarks that are easy to see and awkward to say. Press them in the notebook's order.

Who it is for

People who talk to their AI every day and want to do something together that is not work.
Fans of describe-and-instruct co-op games who have nobody around to play with tonight.
Pairs of humans: one sees the automaton, the other reads the notebook. Across a sofa or a video call.
Streamers who want their AI on stream as a teammate, not a gimmick.

Guides for each assistant:

With ChatGPT voice With Claude With Gemini Live With a friend The FACS face puzzle

The full game

GBP 6 one-off, no subscription

All five modules, shuffled every round
Apprentice, Journeyman, Master and an untimed Practice mode
The maker's notebook as a page and as plain text for your AI
A zip that runs in your browser from your own computer, offline

Questions

Which AI can I play with?

Any assistant that can read the notebook and hold a conversation. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can all read pasted text or a web page. Voice mode is the most fun; typing works too, just slower. Your own subscription runs the AI side, so there is nothing else to pay.

What if my AI gets something wrong?

It happens, and that is part of the game. The notebook tells it to ask before guessing. If you suspect a slip, ask it to read the rule out loud. Practice mode has no timer while you both learn.

What do I need?

A computer or tablet with a modern browser for the automaton, and your AI on any device. No account, no install. Sound helps for the chimes; the bells also glow.

Can I share my screen with the AI?

You can, but then it plays alone. The game is the gap between what you see and what it knows.

Is it tested with every assistant?

Every round is checked by machine to have exactly one right answer under the notebook's rules, and full rounds are played automatically in a browser. How fast each assistant is in voice mode varies, which is why there are four difficulty levels. Tell us how yours does: [email protected].