Maple County

About Maple County

Maple County was made in 2021 by Thorne Baker, who went on to act in, write for and compose music for the analog horror web series The Mandela Catalogue, which the game is based on. It is free to download, at a price you choose, from his itch.io page.

The whole game is a tape. It opens on a Maple County Police Department title card, introduces itself as an interactive training tape for the officers, and walks you through exercises that begin with assessing the threat. You are shown faces in grainy black-and-white photos and asked to make your selection: which is a person, and which is an Alternate wearing a person's face.

The horror is in the format: official title cards, low-resolution photos that are hard to read, and the creeping sense that the tape knows more about what is coming than it says. It plays for minutes rather than hours, which is the main thing its players wish were different.

It suits fans of The Mandela Catalogue and of analog horror told through found tapes, and players who liked judging faces at the door in That's not my Neighbor or No, I'm not a Human and want a darker, shorter take on it.

How to play Maple County

1. Download Maple County from itch.io, paying what you want, and unzip it on your PC.
2. Start the tape and watch the Maple County Police Department's introduction.
3. When the tape asks you to make your selection, study both photos closely.
4. Click the one you judge to be a real person, not an Alternate.
5. Watch the tape to its end to see what the training was preparing you for.

Tips

• Play in the dark with sound on; much of the effect is in the tape's noise and pacing.
• Look closely at each photo before you choose.
• It is short, so play it in one go.

Questions