Deniable
A game of modern power, from the novels by W. Alan Rose
You begin as Walter Beck: physician, benefactor, the man who asks for nothing. Found on a church step in Buenos Aires in 1957, raised above a ship chandlery, watched every second Monday by a man in a gray hat, and sent to America with a new name and one instruction: become necessary, and never be seen.
Deniable is a swipe-left, swipe-right game of modern power, adapted from W. Alan Rose's two linked series of novels, The United States of Supreme Democracy and The Marius Protocol. One card at a time, keep four forces in balance. Lean too far either way and it is over.
Eighteen chapters, one for every novel, and about 2,700 cards. In the first series you are Beck, capturing a government by courtesy and paperwork, until the country he built turns on its own people. Then the game changes hands: you become Nell Hale, a records officer who must look loyal while she quietly keeps the truth, and in the second series you pass from desk to desk among the people who keep the record of a polite, frightening new order. Some offers come back stronger each time you refuse them. Some calls are better left to ring. And whatever a witness writes about you goes into the Record, which never resets when you lose.
- Two series, eighteen chapters, about 2,700 cards
- Each chapter opens when you finish the one before it
- Every quotation in the game is from the novels
- One purchase: no ads, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions
- No accounts, tracking or data collection
- Works offline, and saves after every card
- Sound and vibration, both optional
Need help?
Email us at support@wbdpublishing.com. We usually reply within two business days.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play?
Each card is a moment in a life. Swipe it left or right, or tap one of the two choices under it. While you drag, dots under the four meters show which ones your choice will move. If any meter empties or fills completely, the attempt ends.
What happens when I lose?
You go back to the start of the act you were in, not to the beginning of the chapter. The Record keeps everything the witnesses wrote about you, and each note makes the next attempt start a little more noticed.
How do the chapters open?
Chapter One of the first series is open from the start. Each chapter opens when you finish the one before it, through both series. To read ahead, open About and tap Open every chapter twice; the story is best in order.
Is everything included?
Yes. Deniable is a one-time purchase with all eighteen chapters in the app. There are no in-app purchases, ads or subscriptions.
What do the colored edges and the heartbeat mean?
They warn you that a meter is close to one end. Each meter has its own color, the warning grows stronger the closer you get, and the meter's icon pulses, so you can see the warning without relying on color.
Is it suitable for children?
No. You begin as the villain of the novels, a man helping old families with a dark history place their people in an American government, and later chapters follow the people who kept the record of the regime's crimes. Nothing is shown graphically, the game never shows how any atrocity was carried out, and you never choose to harm anyone, but it is written for older teens and adults.
Are the characters real people?
No. Deniable is fiction. Its characters are invented, and any resemblance to real people is coincidental.
How do I start over or erase my progress?
To replay a chapter, choose it from The chapters on the title screen; if you are partway through another, tap it again to confirm. To erase everything, including the Record, use About on the title screen.
Is there an Android version?
Deniable is coming to Google Play with the same chapters and the same one-time price. This page will link to it when it is live.