Beyond the Old Road

Your first steps

Follow a story.
Then create your own.

Play an adventure

Open the game, choose an adventure, leave “Include sample story” checked, and select “Generate new map” to start fresh. Export an existing game before replacing it. Click touching hexes to travel. Use the story choices, Talk, Search, and your current objective to find your way.

Play with friends

Choose “Play online” and sign in with Google or an email account. A host creates the session and approves friends joining. Players control their assigned characters; the host leads shared travel and story decisions. A party supports up to six characters.

Assign the Adventure Master

Locally, choose “Adventure Master · locked,” set a name and PIN, and unlock editing. Lock Master access before handing the computer to players. This local lock protects normal use of the controls; someone who controls the computer’s files or browser storage can bypass it.

Online, the host begins as Master and can assign another approved player in the role bar. The assigned Master chooses “Edit adventure” to pause shared actions, edits a working copy, then chooses “Apply online changes” or “Cancel online changes.” The host can cancel an abandoned editing session. The full adventure and notes are restricted to the host and Master; players receive a revealed view.

Develop an adventure with collaborators

Open the development studio for tools outside the game. Local development drafts have their own storage and never replace a saved game. The standalone writer, map, and art tools do not require an Adventure Master PIN.

Sign in with Google, create a workspace from your draft, and copy its invitation link. Collaborators sign in and request access. The owner approves them in Invitations & collaborators. All approved collaborators can use the development tools and read that workspace’s adventure.

Apply changes inside the tools, then choose Save shared draft. If someone saves a newer revision, download your local copy before loading and combining the latest shared draft. Shared drafts are not automatically merged.

Submit complete adventure creates a fixed review snapshot with story, connected maps, encounter layouts, and applied artwork. The developer can mark the submission reviewed and publish it directly to the game library. Players then choose it through Start new adventure. Download/import remains available as a manual alternative. Submitting never changes a live session; in-game Master editing remains available.

Write a story

Open the writer tool. The standalone story tool edits a development draft. Select a hex and write its place description, character dialogue, scenes, and choices. “Save draft” keeps your draft in this browser. “Download draft” gives you an editable file; “Export writer’s brief” gives you a readable copy.

The developer can create a blank project from the developer backend. Invited collaborators work in that project’s draft. Apply tool changes to the development draft, then save or submit the complete adventure for review.

Build and connect maps

Open the map creator to enter Studio’s Build map tab. Add a world, location, or encounter map; choose a starting layout; paint terrain, walls, and paths. Use Connect maps to create entrances and select arrival hexes. Review the draft before applying and playtesting it.

Keep your saves

Use “Saves & recovery” for named snapshots and “Export project” for a portable JSON backup. Local saves belong to a browser and website address. When moving between website addresses, export your saves and import them at the destination. Download Studio drafts separately before moving.

Writer and map tools share the same Studio draft on this website. Coordinate one draft between collaborators; importing a draft replaces the working draft rather than merging it. Finish active encounters before authoring. Online, start an editing session as the assigned Adventure Master.

Developer projects

Use Developer sign in from the product page to create and manage private adventure projects. The primary developer creates projects and approves collaborators. Invited writers and artists sign in with their own Google accounts, then use the project’s story, map, and art tools. Submit complete adventures for review before importing them into the game.

Publish and play released adventures

The developer can preview submitted adventures, mark them reviewed, and choose Publish to game library. Each release receives its own version. Use release history to restore a previous version or retire an adventure from new games.

Players choose Start new adventure to browse included and published adventures. Each new game keeps its own complete adventure copy. Later publications never replace an existing game’s story, maps, artwork or progress. My saved games lets players resume or export browser snapshots; the current game is backed up before switching games.

Play offline and install the game

Open the game while connected and wait for “Offline ready” at the bottom of the page. Choose “Offline / install” for installation instructions. You can then reopen the game and play local adventures without internet, including after closing the browser.

In Start new adventure, choose “Download for offline” for published adventures you want to keep available. Included adventures and your existing local saves are available once the app is ready. New releases do not change a game you have already started.

Sign-in, online multiplayer, shared projects, publishing and new downloads require internet. App updates wait until you choose “Save and update game”; saved games and downloaded adventures are retained. Browser storage can be cleared, so export important saves through My saved games. An installed app may have separate storage; use export and import to move a game.