flies in a jar

About flies in a jar

flies in a jar is a free browser game by Jet Simon, who made its art and code for GitHub Game Off 2021. The maker names Don't Feed the Monkeys as a big inspiration. It is set in 2007: you are a security guard at a mysterious agency called the FCL, and tonight is your first night on the job.

You never leave your desk. In the dark you have a keyboard, a mug, a keypad and a monitor with a green Securitech desktop, an email client and a light control program. Switching between camera feeds shows you a lit jar full of flies and other rooms that only open up as you go. The emails come in code, and solving them and the light controls unlocks more cameras and more of the story.

The tension builds slowly: grainy footage, low sounds, and the feeling of watching something you were not meant to see. Then the camera views start to show things that make players jump, a man in camera 2 most of all. A couple of puzzles ask you to use the real internet or your own computer to solve them; you never need a real phone.

The maker recommends playing with the sound on. The browser version is free; the English Windows download costs at least 1 Canadian dollar, and a free Spanish translation by Agustina Celestino is available. It suits players who like SCP-style secrets, ciphers and short found-footage scares.

How to play flies in a jar

1. Click Play Now and sit at the security desk.
2. Press 0 to use the computer and read your emails; Tab returns to the desk.
3. Press the number keys to switch between the CCTV cameras, and look around with the arrow keys or A and D.
4. Solve the codes in the emails and the light control to unlock new cameras.
5. Keep investigating until you learn what the agency is keeping.

Screenshots

Tips

• Play with sound on, as the maker recommends.
• Some puzzles expect you to use your real browser; keep a tab open.
• The emails use a simple shift cipher; a pen and paper helps.
• If you cannot walk or switch views on camera 3, go back to the desk view first.

Questions