Dreader

About Dreader

Dreader is a free browser game by Donitz, the maker of Burger & Frights. Its invitation is simple: it is a dark and stormy night, so how about a game? The game is a mouse maze, the kind where the cursor must travel through a narrow corridor without touching the walls.

You see a desk in a dark room: a glowing green CRT monitor, speakers, a keyboard and a window onto bare trees and storm clouds. The mazes appear on the screen one after another, each called up by a little command, and you steer through them with the mouse, carefully, because brushing a wall ends the attempt.

The maze is only half the game. While your eyes are on the screen, the room around you changes: something touches the window, knocks, walks, and finds places to wait. The tension comes from having to keep a steady hand while you can feel that you are no longer alone, and from what happens when you slip.

It is short and uses only the mouse. The maker warns that it contains flashing lights and stripes and may be unsuitable for people with photosensitive epilepsy.

How to play Dreader

1. Click to begin and move the mouse to the start of the maze.
2. Guide the cursor along the corridor to the exit without touching the walls.
3. Go slowly through narrow parts and keep going maze after maze.
4. Reach the end of the last maze to finish.

Tips

• Use a real mouse rather than a touchpad for steadier control.
• Keep your eyes on the cursor, whatever you hear around you.
• Play with headphones; the sounds of the room are the scare.
• Read the photosensitivity warning first if flashing lights affect you.

Questions