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OVER THE MOON
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Title: Over the Moon.
Subtitle: a digital dating-horror game for people who love the moon maybe just a little too much.
Version: 1.1.
Designer: Speak the Sky.
License: This game is licensed under  CC BY-SA 4.0, available at  https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ .





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=====CONTENTS.

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION.
	1 1: Intro fiction.
	1 2: About this game.
	1 3: How to play this game.
	1 4: Moon phases and moon signs.

SECTION 2: PLAYING THE GAME.
	2 1: Setting up your profiles.
	2 2: Ready? No? Let's go!
	2 2 1: On any night that the moon is crescent or gibbous.
	2 2 2: On any night that the moon matches a moon sign.
	2 2 3: At the end of the moon cycle.

SECTION 3: DATING QUESTIONS!

SECTION 4: CREATING YOUR OWN QUESTIONS.

SECTION 5: STEAMY QUESTIONS.





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=====SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION.

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-----1 1: Intro fiction.

They were standing in a black-robed crescent waiting for you. That’s… unusual. But what a lovely shape! Just like the moon. Just like the lovely, wonderful, beautiful, incomparable, shining, delightful, marvellous moon.

Then the talking starts. ‘Apparently’, you have a problem. ‘Apparently’, you love the moon too much.

"Hey, we get you, we all love the moon. Everyone here loves the moon, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh yeah."

"Absolutely."

"Right, it's just... we think you might be going just a bit too far. We were thinking it might be a good idea if you found love a little, like, closer to home. You know, within a few thousand kilometres. So we made you a profile on this dating site, and..."

You have to admit, they have a point. You really do love the moon way more than they do. Not in an unhealthy way, though, right? Well, it doesn't matter. You decide to take this seriously, if only to please them. No bullshit, all sincerity.
You can make this work.

Little did you and your fellow moon-cultists SLASH coven-sisters SLASH moon-landing conspiracy theorists know, other groups with the same celestial idol had also gently or not-so-gently encouraged their own moon-sick acolytes to seek an earthlier love as well…


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-----1 2: About this game.

Over the Moon is a 2-player role-playing dating game by Speak the Sky (speak-the-sky.itch.io).

Each of you plays a moon cultist, witch, or other dark creature who loves the moon a little too much, and whose comrades decided to ‘fix’ this by online dating with ‘normal’ people… but you’ve just been matched with each other instead, and it’s up to you to see if you can make this work. Is the moon your one true love, a third wheel in the sky, or the ultimate wingmoon? Play to find out!

The game was originally designed and written for the Winter 2019 Moon Jam on itch.io, a game jam with the constraint that submissions needed to use the sky in their rules. It was also submitted to the Winter 2019 Ad Astra Jam (feelings in space) and the Winter 2019 Correspondence Jam (epistolary games) at the time of publishing.

To play this game, you will need an online messaging app (e.g. Discord) and a view of the sky at night.

If you’re uncomfortable with the direction the game is going in during play, just post the letter X. Always respect when your partner does this and ask what needs to be changed!


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-----1 3: How to play this game.

Over the Moon plays out over the course of a full real-world moon cycle, starting just after the new moon, and changes with the moon’s phase and visibility in the sky. That means the game takes around a month to play in its entirety.

The game starts on the night after the new moon (when the moon isn’t visible in the night sky), so plan ahead to start on that date, though if you want, you could start after any night of the moon’s principal phases (see later), or any night at all.

Each of you plays a character with a strong link to the moon, which they love a little too much. Here are some examples:
•	A moon cultist worshipping an ancient, terrible moon god
•	A witch, vampire, ghost, or werewolf
•	A stranded lunar spirit, moon rabbit, or man in the moon
•	An astronomer or little green moon-person
•	A mad scientist or mad artist
•	A moon landing conspiracy theorist
•	A ghost-hunting astronaut on ‘shore’ leave
•	Any other moon-loving sort of person you can imagine

You play the game using an online messaging app, though you won’t need to use many of the features – just private/direct messaging each other and reacting to one another’s posts with emojis for the first quarter moon, full moon, last quarter moon, and new moon (these are included in Unicode characters, which means they should be available by default in all apps).

Read through the rest of the rules before starting setup.

Good luck and have fun!


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-----1 4: Moon Phases and Moon Signs.

The cycle of the moon is roughly 29.5 days long and consists of 8 phases. Four of these – the ‘principal’ phases of First Quarter, Full Moon, Last Quarter, and New Moon – have special meaning in this game, where they’re called the Moon Signs.

Waxing Crescent. 0.1 to 49.9% lit.
First Quarter. (Moon Sign). 50% lit.
Waxing Gibbous. 50.1 to 99.9% lit.
Full Moon. (Moon Sign). 100% lit.
Waning Gibbous. 99.9 to 50.1% lit.
Last Quarter. (Moon Sign). 50% lit. 
Waning Crescent. 49.9 to 0.1% lit.
New Moon. (Moon Sign). 0% lit.





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=====SECTION 2: PLAYING THE GAME.

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-----2 1: Setting up your profiles.

First, fill out your Private Profile in-character, which is who you really are and what the moon means to you:

Private Profile start.

I am a [INSERT true age] [INSERT real identity] seeking [INSERT questionably dark goal].

The First Quarter is a BLANK Sign because BLANK.
The Full Moon is a BLANK Sign because BLANK.
The Last Quarter is a BLANK Sign because BLANK.
The New Moon is a BLANK Sign because BLANK.

Private Profile end.

Fill in the INSERTs and BLANKs with your character's details.

Choose which Moon Sign is Good, which is Bad, and which two are Ambiguous. Briefly explain what each Sign means to you and to your group. You can add more detail later.

Second, fill out your Public Profile in-character. You can write your own or use the template your cult SLASH coven SLASH ghost gang SLASH etc. made for you instead (or rewrite it as you like):

Public Profile start.

I am a [INSERT age] [INSERT my gender] seeking [INSERT partner genders]! [INSERT quality #1], [INSERT quality #2], [INSERT quality #3]. I love [INSERT interest #1], [INSERT interest #2], and [INSERT interest #3]. Looking for someone to [INSERT activity #1] or [INSERT activity #2] with. [INSERT emoji] Don’t message me if you’re [INSERT dislike #1] or [INSERT dislike #2]!

Also, I love the moon. It’s really important to me. Don’t message me if you hate the moon!

Public Profile end.

Fill in the INSERTs with your character's details (true or fake).

Examples:
Qualities: fun, driven, curious, wild, no-bullshit, kind, etc.
Interests: hobbies, pets, charity, politics, family, friends, etc.
Activities: watch films, go to gigs, get high, get rich, etc.
Dislikes: a player, a creep, a bot, 30 years older than me, etc.


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-----2 2: Ready? No? Let’s go!

Set up your Profiles on the night of the new moon. The next night (the first night of the waxing crescent moon), share your Public Profile with your partner. Keep your Private Profile secret – for now. Read their Public Profile, take a deep breath, say “we can make this work” out loud, and begin the game.


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---2 2 1: On any night that the moon is crescent or gibbous.

Ask your partner a Dating Question you haven’t asked yet.

Answer your partner’s question. However! If the moon is visible, replace the marked words in your partner’s question with ‘the moon’ or other moon-related words, and answer that question instead. Feel free to wait until night-time if you get the question during the day.

Answer with as much detail as you want, but only react to your partner’s answer with one of your Moon Signs:
•	If you liked it, use your Good Sign
•	If you disliked it, use your Bad Sign
•	If you have mixed feelings, use an Ambiguous Sign

If you don’t like a question (in-character), you can always say “Pass”. Don’t react to passes, only answers.


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---2 2 2: On any night that the moon matches a Moon Sign.

Explain what that Moon Sign means in your cult, coven, or belief, and whether and why it’s good, bad, or ambiguous.

If it’s an Ambiguous Sign, decide whether you feel like it’s actually a Good or Bad Sign for you at the moment when you talk about it, and explain your interpretation. For the rest of the game, every time you use or used that Sign, it has the meaning you interpreted instead.


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---2 2 3: At the end of the moon cycle.

Well, how did it go? Count up your partner’s reactions – if more are good than bad, they like you! Otherwise, not so much.

Whether or not either or both of you like each other, each decide whether you try to make this work.

Now count up how many times you used each Sign. Arrange them from most to least common, or least to most common. Take turns to narrate how your life goes on, together or alone, using the first Sign’s deeper meaning (not whether it’s good or bad) as inspiration. Do this again for each of your other Signs, in order, each time going further into your future, until you have no Signs left, to see where this encounter took you in life.





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=====SECTION 3: DATING QUESTIONS.

1)	What’s your favourite song? MARKED WORD: song.
2)	Should countries need the U N’s approval to declare war? MARKED WORDS: the U N.
3)	What’s your favourite food? MARKED WORD: food.
4)	Should apes be given limited ‘human’ rights? MARKED WORD: apes.
5)	Museum or theatre? MARKED WORDS: Museum, theatre.
6)	Is climate change real? MARKED WORDS: climate change.
7)	What’s your favourite film? MARKED WORD: film.
8)	Do you think most people would like to be like you? MARKED WORD: you (second time).
9)	Is it morally acceptable to clone animals? MARKED WORD: animals.
10)	Has science gone too far? MARKED WORD: science.
11)	What’s your favourite holiday destination? MARKED WORD: destination.
12)	Countryside or city? MARKED WORDS: Countryside, city.
13)	Would aliens want to contact us if they saw the internet? MARKED WORD: aliens.
14)	Rain or shine? MARKED WORDS: Rain, shine.
15)	Do people have a duty to help one another? MARKED WORD: people.
16)	Ketchup or mayo? MARKED WORDS: Ketchup, mayo.
17)	Do different people see the same colour blue? MARKED WORDS: colour blue.
18)	Should universal healthcare be a human right? MARKED WORD: universal.
19)	Cats or dogs? MARKED WORDS: Cats, dogs.
20)	How important is your star sign in your relationships? MARKED WORDS: your star sign.
21)	What’s your favourite animal? MARKED WORD: animal.
22)	Could a wood chuck chuck wood if it wanted to? MARKED WORDS: chuck wood.
23)	Is language political? MARKED WORD: language.
24)	Wizard or barbarian? MARKED WORDS: Wizard, barbarian.
25)	What’s your favourite form of exercise? MARKED WORDS: form of exercise.
26)	Is it okay to be married to more than one person? MARKED WORDS: more than one person.
27)	What’s your favourite book? MARKED WORD: book.
28)	Thriller or romance? MARKED WORDS: Thriller, romance.
29)	What’s your favourite colour? MARKED WORD: colour.
30)	Is it okay to steal money from a rich person? MARKED WORD: money.
31)	Eat to live or live to eat? MARKED WORDS: Eat to live, live to eat.
32)	Is voting an effective way to change the government? MARKED WORD: government.





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=====SECTION 4: CREATING YOUR OWN QUESTIONS.

If you don’t like the look of the questions on the list, you can come up with your own in one of these forms:
1)	“What’s your favourite BLANK?”
2)	“BLANK or BLANK?”
3)	A yes/no question about a serious or strange subject

Fill in the BLANKs with the details of your question.

Just make sure to note which parts are marked – and remember, anything you ask is fair game to ask back to you!





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=====SECTION 5: STEAMY QUESTIONS.

Here are 8 allegedly steamy questions to add to the 32 dating questions above, if you both feel like it:

1)	Top or bottom? MARKED WORDS: Top, bottom.
2)	Would you have sex with a clone of yourself? MARKED WORDS: a clone of yourself.
3)	What’s your favourite sex position? MARKED WORD: your.
4)	Clothes on or clothes off? MARKED WORDS: Clothes on, clothes off.
5)	Would you have sex on the first date? MARKED WORDS: the first date.
6)	What’s your favourite place to kiss? MARKED WORD: place.
7)	[Daddy SLASH Mommy] winky face (choose or change as appropriate) MARKED WORDS: Daddy, Mommy
8)	Would you eat ass, if your partner really wanted you to? MARKED WORD: ass. 

Only include these if you both agree to allow them before the game begins. Respect your partner’s boundaries and have fun!