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⭐ 0
😊 50
12:00 PM
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Day 1
🔊 Sound Settings
Click anywhere to enable audio
📓 Block Directory
📸 Moment Gallery (0)
🛒 Block Shop
📅 Event Calendar
Day 1
Monday
🌸 Spring
📍 Happening Now
No active events
📆 Weekly Schedule
📋 Monthly Events
🎊 Seasonal Celebrations
Events bring bonus visitors & rewards!
THE BLOCK TIMES
Day 1, Spring
"All the News That's Fit to Watch"
📋 Today's Event Log
✍️ Editor's Desk
📊 0 events today
Edition #1
✍️ Writers at work...
🏘️ Backyard Block v0.56.0
Arrow keys or drag to scroll | Click characters to discover them
Click on sidewalk to place
Click workers to view profile
Click to dismiss
✕
Mini-Game
Score: 0
🏘️ Backyard Block 🏘️
Build, discover, and watch your block come to life.
v0.47.0
📖 How to Play
🎯 Your Goal
- Watch your block come alive - Observe characters, pets, and vehicles
- Discover everyone - Click on characters to learn about them
- Grow your neighborhood - Buy upgrades and expand your block
- Capture moments - Use 📷 to photograph special scenes
⌨️ Controls
- Arrow Keys / A,D: Scroll left and right
- Click/Tap: Interact with characters and buildings
- Drag: Pan the camera
- Space: Pause / Resume
- P: Toggle Photo Mode (rectangle selection)
- N: Open / Close Newspaper
- M: Toggle Matrix Mode (debug visuals)
- ESC: Cancel placement or exit Photo Mode
🏪 Buildings & Street
- Two rows of buildings - Upper and lower sides of the street
- Buildings level up with visitors - more income!
- Crosswalks - Watch characters cross the street!
- Street features (benches, lamps) attract activity
- Your block expands automatically at milestones:
- Day 8: Growing (1200→1800 width)
- Day 31: Established (→2400)
- Day 91: Thriving (→3000)
- Day 181: Landmark (→3600)
🏬 Building Types
- 🏪 Bodega: Always open, satisfies hunger
- ☕ Coffee Shop: Morning rush, rest & hunger
- 🥐 Bakery: Opens early, fresh bread draws crowds
- 🍽️ Restaurant: Lunch/dinner, great for socializing
- 💈 Barber Shop: Community hub for social needs
- 📚 Bookstore: Quiet reading, has a resident cat!
- 🖼️ Art Gallery: Cultural enrichment for purpose
- 📖 Library: Study & rest, multiple librarians
- 🧺 Laundromat: Neighbors chat while washing
- 🌻 Community Garden: Green space, rest & social
- 🏛️ Community Center: Hub for events & prestige
- 📰 The Block Times: Daily news & block log
- 🎭 Comedy Club: Evening laughs & comedy shows
- 🧹 Sanitation Depot: Reduces litter spawns
- ♻️ Recycling Center: Earn more from cleanup
- 🎮 Arcade: Play Whack-a-Critter!
- 🔮 Fortune Teller: Daily fortunes & luck bonuses
- 🎸 Music Shop: Play Jam Session!
- ⚽ Sports Bar: Play Block Trivia!
- 🚒 Fire Station: Emergency response, prevents fires
- 🦁 City Zoo: Family attraction, animals escape!
- 🏥 Community Hospital: Healthcare heroes
- 🪦 Old Cemetery: Rest in peace... or not?
💼 Jobs & Employment
- Businesses hire workers - Watch them commute to work
- Shift system: Morning, afternoon, evening shifts
- Staffed buildings generate 20-30% more income!
- Click workers to see their job title and shift status
💰 Economy
- 🪙 Coins: Earn from buildings and milestones
- ⭐ Reputation: Grows with discoveries and events
- 🛒 Shop: Buy features, upgrades, and decorations
👥 Life Simulation
- Characters have needs (hunger, rest, social, purpose)
- They seek food, benches, and conversation when needs are low
- Block happiness affects spawn rates and events
🎯 Daily Challenges
- New challenge every day - check the 🏆 Achievements panel!
- Watch for specific characters, weather, or activities
- Complete for bonus coins - challenges reset each day
📸 Poetic Moments
- Special scenes appear - golden hour, rain walks, connections
- Click 📷 when you see ✨ to capture the moment
- Build your gallery of neighborhood memories
👥 Relationships
- Characters form relationships when they meet
- Levels: Strangers → Acquaintances → Friends → Best Friends
- Friends stop to chat when they pass each other
- Watch for emergent stories: dog walker pals, coffee romances!
- Click characters to see their friendships
🌭 Vendors & Performers
- Street Vendors: Hot dogs, coffee, ice cream, flowers, pretzels
- Performers: Sax players, guitarists, living statues, breakdancers
- Vendors & performers draw crowds and earn tips!
- Place Busker Corners to attract more performers
- Seasonal vendors (ice cream = summer, flowers = weekends)
📅 Events & Calendar
- Weekly Events: Farmers Market (Sat), Trivia Night (Wed), Open Mic (Fri)
- Monthly Events: Block Meeting (1st), Street Cleanup (15th)
- Events bring bonus visitors and coin rewards!
- Click 📅 to open the Event Calendar
- Active events show a banner at top of screen
🎲 Starting Scenarios
- 30% chance for a special themed start
- Examples: Hipster Haven, Night Owl Alley, Artist's Block
- Each scenario has unique buildings and modifiers
- Some are harder (Ghost Town) or easier (Foodie Paradise)
🏃 Population Flow
- Characters will leave if their needs go unmet too long
- Hungry, unhappy, or homeless characters may depart 😢
- Build housing to give residents homes
- Build food sources (bodegas, cafés) to keep them fed
- Watch the 🚶 total characters stat in the top bar
- Earn achievements for retention or for seeing departures
♿ Accessible Characters
- Wheelchair users: Manual and power chairs
- Blind persons: Navigate with white canes
- Service dog handlers: Guided by their companions
- Deaf persons: Communicate through sign language
- Crutches users: Temporary mobility aids
- Your block is for everyone!
🏢 Building Details
- Click any building to see detailed info
- View effects: hunger, rest, social, purpose impacts
- See current workers with shift status (🟢 working / ⚪ off)
- Click worker chips to view their full profile
- Newspaper building opens both the news AND building info!
- Buildings show income bonuses and visitor stats
🚒 Fire & Emergency
- Fires can start on buildings randomly
- Fire Station: Reduces fire chance by 70%!
- Firefighters: Respond automatically to fires
- Fires grow from 🔥 small → 🔥🔥🔥 large if not fought
- Multiple firefighters extinguish fires faster
- Earn 50 coins when fires are extinguished!
🦁 Zoo & Animals
- City Zoo: Largest building, family attraction!
- 10 animals: Lion, Elephant, Giraffe, Monkey, Penguin & more
- Animals escape! Watch for them wandering the block
- Dangerous animals (🦁🐅🦛) cause characters to panic
- Zookeepers: Respond to capture escaped animals
- Earn 30 coins when animals are safely returned!
🎮 Mini-Games
- Arcade: Whack-a-Critter! Click critters for points
- Fortune Teller: Draw a card for daily bonuses
- Music Shop: Jam Session - match the pattern!
- Sports Bar: Block Trivia - test your knowledge
- Click buildings with games to play them
- Earn coins based on your score!
📷 Photo Mode
- Press P to enter Photo Mode
- Click and drag to select and capture a region
- P or ESC: Exit Photo Mode
- Photos are saved to your downloads folder!
👁️ Watch Mode
- Choose Watch Mode from the startup screen
- All characters are auto-discovered — no clicking needed
- A pre-built block with many buildings, just sit back and watch
- Great for relaxed observation and leaving in a tab
🧹 Street Cleanup
- Litter appears on sidewalks over time
- Click litter multiple times to clean it up
- Earn coins for each piece cleaned!
- Recycling Center: Boosts coin rewards by 50%
- Sanitation Depot: Reduces litter spawns by 30%
- Dirty streets attract rats - watch out for Rat Kings!
🚴 Delivery System
- Delivery workers appear throughout the day
- Types: Bike couriers, scooter drivers, delivery vans
- Peak hours: Lunch (11:30-1:30) and Dinner (5:30-8:30)
- Watch them navigate to restaurants and apartments!
⛈️ Natural Disasters
- Tornado: Characters seek shelter, debris flies!
- Flash Flood: Water rises, boats appear for rescue
- Heatwave: Fire hydrants spray to cool everyone down
- Survive disasters to earn achievements!
🚗 Street Incidents
- Car crashes: Vehicles may collide on the street
- Pedestrian accidents: Watch for jaywalking mishaps
- Emergency response: Ambulances and police respond
- Nearby characters react with panic!
🔧 Tips
- Game auto-saves every 30 seconds
- Night owls and ghosts only appear late at night
- Fortune readings give daily luck bonuses!
- High scores in mini-games earn more coins
- Different weather attracts different behaviors
- Check the 📅 calendar to plan for events
- Place benches near busker corners for crowds
- Build Fire Station early to prevent fires!
- Zoo attracts families and kids - great for happiness!
- Clean up litter to keep cleanliness high
- Try Watch Mode from the startup screen for a relaxed experience
Unknown
Resident
"Just another day in the neighborhood..."
😊 Happy
🚶 Walking
tap anywhere to dismiss
MATRIX MODE (M to toggle)
⚡ MATRIX MODE
FPS:60
Characters:0
Pets:0
Workers:0
Buildings:0
Features:0
Events:0
Time:8:00
Season:Spring
Day:1
⚡ Spawn Controls
🐦 Bird Controls
🌤️ Weather Controls
🌸 Season Controls
⏰ Time Controls
💰 Economy
🎭 Events
🌟 Special Events
🔍 Hidden Events
🎨 Mural System
🏆 Prestige
🚚 Delivery
🔥 Fire & Emergency
🌪️ Disasters
🦁 Zoo & Special
🌳 Environment
💥 Street Incidents
🧟 Zombie Outbreak
Outbreak:DORMANT
Infected:0
Survivors:0