Loved it. Would have liked the messages to be there after closing the codebook as it would make the next one disappear.
Play game
False Flag's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #150 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Innovation | #335 | 3.350 | 3.350 |
| Overall | #431 | 3.358 | 3.358 |
| Audio | #552 | 3.150 | 3.150 |
| Gameplay | #563 | 3.100 | 3.100 |
| Enjoyment | #579 | 3.250 | 3.250 |
| Visuals | #750 | 3.300 | 3.300 |
Ranked from 20 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does the game fit the theme?
Its a military message handling sim game. You decide whether incoming messages are trustworthy and to be approved, or rejected. ~15 minutes playtime, start to finish.
What code and assets did you not make from scratch during the jam (if any)?
I have linked all external assets in the credits in the game. They are links you can click to open in a new tab.
How many people worked on the game?1
Comments
The blend of Papers Please inspection gameplay with Caesar cipher decoding, radio intel, and map board tracking creates such an addictive, high-intellect military surveillance loop! Incrementally layering tools like the codebook across 3-minute days gives a fantastic sense of progression as a solo dev project.
A few tutorial, UI overlay, and onboarding polish ideas for post-jam updates:
- Visual Onboarding & Hints: Add interactive highlighted steps or diagram-based tooltips during Day 1 so decoding and verification steps click immediately for new players.
- UI Layering & Codebook View: Fix the UI overlap where incoming messages hide behind open codebooks, allowing messages to preview on-screen without requiring window toggles.
- Progression Pacing: Spread new tool unlocks across more days in an expanded post-jam release so players have more room to master each decoding mechanic.
Brilliant cryptography concept, awesome atmosphere, and impressive solo execution! If you get a free minute, I'd really appreciate your feedback and rating on my solo jam entry as well: /jam/brackeys-16/rate/4953523
Submitted
Star CubeI had the same issue with mine game, as developer - you take certain things for obvious. Thats where playtesters are super valuable and can they are able to point out what they find unclear or difficult. Still, I'm really impressed that, as a solo developer, you managed to get everything done (which I couldn't do) in given time.
I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing, but achievements just kept popping up haha :D
Submitted
DEAL ME A LIECool idea mixing Papers, Please stuff with radio intel and cipher decoding. I liked how the days are only 3 minutes and new tools like the codebook/map board get added over time, it fits the signal theme pretty nicely. It was a little confusing at first from what to check first, but once it clicks it's super satisfying, nice work :D
Submitted
TurncoatsVery fun has a lot of complexity and replayability, with the first days unlocking new mechanics is really cool as you feel the progression. (If this ever gets expanded however i'd suggest spreading out tutorials/new mechanics a bit as it can still get overwhelming to some).
Submitted
Temporary trustHad a hard time to wrap my head around it at first but once I got it, it was great! Congratz for the game
Submitted
Shifty lil'WizzlersVery good! Love how the mechanics are layered on slowly and not all at once!
Submitted
Weaponized IncompetenceThis is as it's described, similar to Papers Please, but with a military atmosphere and I love it, I would totally play an extended version of this!!!
Submitted
No Sleep HouseThank you so much for playing! The idea came from wanting to develop a game with cryptography themes, and then the Brackey's Jam provided a nice opportunity to merge it into a Papers, Please! style game! I have several ideas I shelved or deferred because of the time limit, so thank you for the kind words towards its future!
I really liked this game! Very impressive for only one person in this timeframe. Very polished. There was a few bugs I encountered like the message wouldn't pop up if i had the codebook up. Otherwise very nice!
Submitted
Shifty lil'Wizzlers
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