How to play
Ten easy questions, four answers each. No game over: you always finish all ten. The trivia is simple. The rules are where it gets you.
Always onThe Gut Rule
Only your first answer counts. If you change your mind, your first pick is still the one that gets graded. Changing can never help you under the Gut Rule.
You pick Sydney, switch to Canberra, and still lose. Someone who sticks with Sydney also loses. Hesitation gets you nothing.
MutationReversal
The exact opposite of the Gut Rule. Sticking with your first answer no longer works: if you never change it, it counts as wrong. You have to change it, and your second answer is the one that counts.
MutationToo Eager
Lock in an answer in under 2 seconds and it counts as wrong, even if it is right. Read the question first.
The question card gives a tiny hint about this. Watch it.
MutationToo Slow
Take longer than 8 seconds to lock in and it counts as wrong, even if it is right. When it shows up alongside Too Eager, you have between 2 and 8 seconds. No pressure.
The card warns you about this one too, if you're watching.
MutationOpposite Day
The trap answer counts as correct and the real answer counts as wrong. Every question has one wrong answer that most people fall for. Today, that one wins.
Opposite Day grades whichever answer the other rules picked, so under the Gut Rule it is still your first pick that counts.
MutationShuffle
A few seconds in, the answers can swap places. It only happens if you haven't picked anything yet. The answers keep their meaning, but the button under your thumb might not be the one you were reading.
Shuffle never changes a grade by itself. It just makes it very easy for your first tap to land on the wrong answer.
When the rules change
The rules change every run. Which mutations show up, when they start and how long they last is different every time. A run opens with the Gut Rule alone, then the mutations arrive, sometimes two at once, and the ending is never safe.
Listen to Chip. He says something as every question appears. When a mutation is active, what he says hints at it, if you think about it. When nothing is active, he is just talking. Nobody tells you which hint means what: you learn his habits by getting burned, and the receipts tell you what each line was about. Learn his hints in the Codex.
The first time a mutation costs you a point, a New rule banner explains it, once per run. Every result says exactly which rule graded it, and the results page has a receipt for every question. If the game burned you, you can see precisely how.
Each run has a run code on the results page. Replaying it gives you the same questions and the same rules, so you can get your revenge or send it to a friend.
How you answer
On a phone or tablet
Tap an answer and Chip asks "Are you sure?" Tap Lock it in to answer, or Change to pick again. Every tap counts as a pick, so your first tap is your first answer.
With a mouse
There is no "Are you sure?" prompt. Instead, hover on an answer and its border fills. If the border completes all the way around (it takes 2.5 seconds without moving off), that answer is locked as your first guess and gets a Locked tag. Moving away before it completes costs nothing, so read as much as you like.
Click the locked answer and it is your only answer. Click a different one and that is your second guess. If nothing is locked, the answer you click is your only answer. Chip's eyes follow your cursor, so you can see him watching.
With a keyboard
Press 1 to 4 to choose an answer and Enter to lock it in. Every number you press is a pick, in order. Enter also moves to the next question.
Both versions punish the same thing: hesitation.
About Chip
Chip's face is locked while a question is up. Only his eyes move and he blinks, so there is nothing to read in his expression. His words are another matter. He reacts after the answer is revealed, and he has opinions.