Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky. There are things to see and explore beyond the Roughriders' barricades. And unexpected dangers. Which nearly anyone will tell you can add spice to an otherwise humdrum life.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Bird-Watching

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

Out in the Scrublands you find yourself under an unmistakable human shadow. You look up and shade your eyes: there in the dry scraggly tree just off to your side is a small woman in khakis with binoculars in hand. "A burrowing owl!" she calls quietly to you. Her binoculars are pointed at an unremarkable patch of ground. What's this, then?

            4
            You need Doc 4 (you have 4)

            4
            Unlocked with Doc 4 - you have 4

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A very modest challenge

Sometimes nature is best seen from a distance. On the east side of Amarillo is a quiet wealthy neighborhood full of two-story houses with front porches and sweeping views of the desert. The Heywoods' porch is a notorious hang-out/salon for retirees, mostly old men and the widow Heywood herself; they spend their days playing rubbers of bridge, smoking cigars and emptying bottle after bottle of Cornskunk's best.

Rumor has it that the widow Heywood is also a first-class birdwatcher and liberal with her binoculars. If you can talk your way onto her porch, you could get all the nature you want without risking an unfriendly few moments with a rattlesnake.

            3
            You need Doc 3 (you have 4)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 4

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Miz Nils turns out to be the Jackrabbits' resident naturalist. She recommends a walk through the Scrublands north of Amarillo to get a feel for what grows around here. It might look hot and dry and dead, she says, but keep an eye: the scrub is teeming, alive, and way better at surviving in the desert than any person.

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 4


Yes, an Owl!

Bird-Watching

Doc

Mental Style.

A very modest challenge

            4
            You need Doc 4 (you have 5)

            4
            Unlocked with Doc 4 - you have 5

The woman in the tree points with all the certainty of a hunting hound. And there it is!  What a tiny fellow! A little larger than a robin, feathers brown with white speckles. Other than the oddness of it being an owl on the ground during the day, you're unsure why the woman in the tree sounds so excited.

0 change points, 6 more needed to reach level 6.

Doc has increased to 5!

You succeeded in a Doc challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 2).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


Once This Was a Place

Street musicians and bakers and the everpresent watercarriers brush shoulders and elbows with bankers and businessmen and the occasional functionary from the Hexagon, easily spotted by the earbug and black sunglasses and perpetual worried expression. Don't mind them darling -- this you often hear from a mother to her children. Keep your eyes on the architecture. See the charming old brickwork? Once this was a place that lived and grew.

You have moved to a new area: Downtown Amarillo


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

A whispered tale in dark corners! The bane of riverfishers and paddyfarmers: a terror swum up from the Gulf itself before crawling slowly to brackish land. A woman's body, either sleek as a seal and bare as your cousin or oldish with wrinkled dugs -- and the limbs of an octopus, all squiddy and chitinous. Seductive and wilesome is the creature. But cold-blooded and cunning. As the story goes, it stalks the waterways south of Amarillo, hunting the wet with its slurping limbs.

Pinned

Pinned

The Menace of the Minor Key

A Killer in the Flesh, the wanted poster reads. Wanted Dead: the Octopus-Woman of Brightside Springs, Squiddy Sally. Those who would help, inquire at the High Noon Saloon.

Asking around about this Squiddy Sally yields folk-tales and hearthwhispers. Strange tracks on the ground all around the springs. A goat, no a donkey ripped clean in half. Missing people, all presumed to be dead by her ripping beak. Zero hard info.

Playing this branch will start The Ballad of Squiddy Sally, a tale of everyday suffering in the time of monsters.

This branch costs 25 Reputation to play.

            25
            You need 25 x Reputation  (you have 2)

            25
            Unlocked with 25 x Reputation  - you have 2


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Banditos and Harvestmen

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 1 - you have 1

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position...

The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Truth in the Tanglewood is:

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent...

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...

Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle...

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...


The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent. Deliciously indulgent. And prohibitively expensive unless you know someone. Or <i>are</i> someone. It doesn't tower, does the Richmond-Weisz. Rather it holds its fine chin above the crowds in downtown Amarillo. A handful of rooms? O yes. Occupied? O yes. The finest of hotels? Doubt discredits the doubtor. Step briskly along.

Pinned

Pinned

A Room at the Richmond-Weisz

A room for the day? Non, monsieur -- the expense alone! And also they are booked. Overbooked! See the unmoored businessmen sulking by the fountain in the lobby?

But what is that on the gentleman's lapel? The star of the Pony Express? Well! What modesty and dignity not to speak of it!

No, we are assuredly overbooked for the day -- but for a few precious moments? Perhaps something could be arranged.

This will buy you a few precious moments at the Richmond-Weisz at a cost of 200 Reputation.

            200
            You need 200 x Reputation  (you have 2)

            Unlocked when Pony Express is:

Greenhorn

Messenger

Rider

Old Hand

Cowboy

            200
            Unlocked with 200 x Reputation  - you have 2

            Unlocked when Pony Express is:

Greenhorn

Messenger

Rider

Old Hand

Cowboy


Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Back Home

You make your way back to Burrow and Briar, the one place in town that's always hopping.

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Guest Room

Burrow and Briar

A shabby tuckaway at the corner of Burrow Street and Briar Lane. Home to the Jackrabbits, a local gang of rough characters with hearts of -- not gold, but perhaps another less precious metal that still glitters in the proper light.

Your own personal space here in Amarillo. A bed, a desk, a lamp, a window. It's not much, but for now, it's home.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to the Guest Room

There's no lock, but the Jackrabbits respect your privacy.


A Little Rest

There now. Softly now. A little rest from the dust and toil.

You have moved to a new area: The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar

You moved to a new setting: The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Change Your Avatar

Your avatar is the picture next to your character name on your sidebar. You can change your avatar below.

Everyone has access to the basic Style avatars. Subplots and other story choices will unlock different avatars. Try to see which you can find!

Pinned

Pinned

Gunslinger

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 2)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2

Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1.

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 5)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 5

Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1.

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1

Investigator of Harvestmen

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 1.

            1
            You need The Harvestmen 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with The Harvestmen 1 - you have 1

Walker on Hallowed Ground

Unlocked with Hallowed Ground 1.

            1
            You need Hallowed Ground 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Hallowed Ground 1 - you have 1


Your Avatar

Gunslinger

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1.

You are a Gunslinger!

Your Avatar has changed!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Guest Room

Pinned

Pinned

Leave the Guest Room

Back into it, then, better-equipped than before, better-rested and -prepared.


Back to Burrow and Briar

Leave the Guest Room

The Guest Room

Your own personal space here in Amarillo. A bed, a desk, a lamp, a window. It's not much, but for now, it's home.

The Jackrabbits take no note of your coming and going. There are always new faces about -- coming off patrol, making sandwiches, lazing in the afternoon sun through the cracked and blinded window.

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


A Smallish Pilgrimage

St. Francis's isn't hard to get to. Just find a well-dressed gangster and tail him. You follow that tried and true method and soon find yourself on the doorstep of the church.

You have moved to a new area: St. Francis's


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle. The life of the party. One odd Jackrabbit. But very little escapes his tiny cheerful eyes.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

The Power of Confidence

Seeing Jack Ishiguro move through a crowd -- sliding unimpeded, shoulder slouching, confidence glowing off him like heat from a lamp -- is quite the thing. People smile and swoon and flutter when he bumps into them. And not just women. A friend to all, is Jack Ishiguro, and universally charming. You could learn a thing or two.

You Scratch My Back

A recurring theme in Jack Ishiguro's many upbeat rambling conversations is how he's lean on cash. Liquid assets. Valoota. He never quite explains what he needs the money for, but you get the impression that his life would be somehow even cheerfuller if he had it.

And not empty-handed is Jack Ishiguro, no beggar at the door: he's made clear -- and not just once -- that he's sitting on a box of bullets he doesn't have any plans for, and would be happy to come to an arrangement involving bullets and dollars and a quiet exchange.

            1
            You need 1 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Dollars


Opportunities

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Showing a Little Charity

St. Francis's

A small church near the heart of town. Officially dedicated to St. Francis. Unofficially dedicated to Lee Andante. Outside is a lovely fountain known to be a haunt for the better breed of gangsters.

The public fountain outside St. Francis's is the sparking social center of half the city: dozens of children play through the dancing sprays while old men play checkers at nearby tables and fashionable women stroll or sit on the cool granite lip. Its centerpiece is a tonsured and robed St. Francis with his arms spread. Many birds perch there, both carved and alive. It's almost pleasant here, if humid. Very humid.

You flick the 20th century penny into the fountain. Quick as a whiplash, a man on the fountain lip who's mostly hidden behind a newspaper reaches out and catches it before it touches the water. He folds the newspaper and tucks it under his arm; the penny disappears into a sleeve.

Pinned

Pinned

Velvet and Steel

The man is wearing an oxblood corduroy suit and a charcoal gray fedora. His nails are perfectly manicured and he smells like mangroves and antebellum.

"Good morning," he says cheerfully. "Thank you for the penny back. We hate to lose old trinkets like that. Of course its value is sentimental, but I think we can agree that sentiment is what draws us from our beds in the morning and lays us down with a vengeance at night -- and not the common plutophiliac pursuit. Yes?"

Without waiting for a reply, he goes on: "You may call me Mr. Velvet. I work with a group of concerned ladies and gentlemen: the Stars and Spurs. We undertake the little tasks that need doing. The exportation of certain fine local products up norte. The intake of necessary ordnance to deal with unfriendly local fauna. You understand."

"I'll be frank," Mr. Velvet says: "One of my associates tagged you as a possible conspirator in our humble efforts. We'll be receiving a colleague from Denver and we need someone to arrange his stay. See to his comfort. Ensure his needs are met. That sort of thing. You're in, yes?"

WARNING: This is the beginning of a Subplot. Choosing this branch will reduce Gumption by 1. This Subplot will focus on your Gunslinger and Cityslicker Styles.

            1
            You need Gumption 1

            1
            Unlocked with Gumption 1


Showing a Little Charity

Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with 1 x 20th Century Penny  - you have 1

Pinned

Pinned

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 5; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Step Lightly

Finding the Highrise Hotel is much like following the north star: aim for the tallest point in the sky and pick a path. Carefully, though; the roads are slick with human refuse and the natives are unfriendlier than usual.

You have moved to a new area: The Highrise Hotel


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.


That Dude

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3

The tallest boy slows when he catches you looking, clearly weighing his options. Finally he shrugs. To your eyes it seems both worldly and self-conscious, achingly young. "I saw that dude carry you off the train," he says. "So you're new in town, yeah? That's okay. My uncle's from up norte. He says the air's nicer out here, but also -- you know. Monsters."

On the subject of that dude he's painfully silent, fidgeting and awkward and so clearly uncomfortable that it's hard to feel too frustrated when he breaks off abruptly and runs to catch up with his friends.

2 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 3.

Cityslicker has increased to 2!

You succeeded in a Cityslicker challenge!

3 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 4.

Cityslicker has increased to 3!

You've gained 2 x Reputation (new total 4).

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

You now have 1 x Dollars.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Skunk Brothers Farm

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops! In the distance purple mountains; in the foreground amber waves of grain! And everywhere the scent of yeast and its vast gassy microscopic hunger, and the buzzing of bees by the gated clover, and the low humming churn and splash of beer and whiskey being made as fast as Darren and Lloyd and the whole Skunk family can make it.

Increase your Helping the Skunk Brothers Quality to open up new branches!

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A tough challenge

The call goes out through Amarillo: the Skunk well's gone dry! Suddenly every idle hand is laid on jars and jugs and even glasses of water. There's no money in it, you're told, but no one can imagine the Skunk Brothers vats going unwatered. Perhaps you should lend a hand.

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

Demand for Cornskunk sour mash bourbon has climbed over the last few months. Theories abound; production volume has exploded; the brothers Skunk are being tightlipped about the whole thing.

To handle logistics, Lloyd Skunk is looking for a few good drinkers to hit all their distributors and come back with orders. It's not glamorous and it doesn't pay, but it will keep the whiskey flowing.

That Cornskunk Taste

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Darren Skunk -- quiet thoughtful alchemist! brewmaster, taste-maker! -- needs taste-testers for a new batch of bourbon. He's taking anybody, no special training required. Which means you could get involved. For charitable reasons, of course.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.


Opportunities

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Miz Nils

The most appropriate thing about Miz Nils is the crocodile skin belt cinching her hips -- it's her in spades. Tough, durable, and quite reminiscent of a creature that lurks silent until snapping its jaws and locking on tight. Not one given over to the silks and velvets of the Stars and Spurs, is Miz Nils. No, she is far more enamored of the open sky, the dust outside of the town, and the rough nature of the Scrub.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Dust Devils

Out back of the Burrow, Miz Nils is ensconced by her lonesome on the creaking wooden porch. She has a small jar of oil, a whetstone, and a little dog-eared notebook on the table next to her. The expression on her face is one of very serious concentration.


Opportunities

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky. There are things to see and explore beyond the Roughriders' barricades. And unexpected dangers. Which nearly anyone will tell you can add spice to an otherwise humdrum life.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

The Quick-Witted Ornithologist

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

In the scrub you spy the Quick-Witted Ornithologist, the woman previously so concerned with owls. As she sees you, an eager smile cracks her dusty wind-chapped face.

"I don't usually see anyone else out here, especially not more than once," she says, and holds up a dog-eared notebook. "I'm gathering data on migratory patterns. Could you help?"

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 5)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 5

Bird-Watching

Doc

Mental Style.

A very modest challenge

Out in the Scrublands you find yourself under an unmistakable human shadow. You look up and shade your eyes: there in the dry scraggly tree just off to your side is a small woman in khakis with binoculars in hand. "A burrowing owl!" she calls quietly to you. Her binoculars are pointed at an unremarkable patch of ground. What's this, then?

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Sometimes nature is best seen from a distance. On the east side of Amarillo is a quiet wealthy neighborhood full of two-story houses with front porches and sweeping views of the desert. The Heywoods' porch is a notorious hang-out/salon for retirees, mostly old men and the widow Heywood herself; they spend their days playing rubbers of bridge, smoking cigars and emptying bottle after bottle of Cornskunk's best.

Rumor has it that the widow Heywood is also a first-class birdwatcher and liberal with her binoculars. If you can talk your way onto her porch, you could get all the nature you want without risking an unfriendly few moments with a rattlesnake.

            3
            You need Doc 3 (you have 5)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 5

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Miz Nils turns out to be the Jackrabbits' resident naturalist. She recommends a walk through the Scrublands north of Amarillo to get a feel for what grows around here. It might look hot and dry and dead, she says, but keep an eye: the scrub is teeming, alive, and way better at surviving in the desert than any person.


A Blue-Footed What?!

The Quick-Witted Ornithologist

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

"Well, I suppose you can at least carry this for me," the Quick-Witted Ornithologist says with a sigh after your dismal efforts to help catalogue species. Her pack is a large olive drab affair slung on an aluminum frame. The weight suggests that either she plans to use it as ballast on a ship or that it's packed full of books.

1 change point, 5 more needed to reach level 6.

Doc is increasing...

Doc 5 failed in a challenge! (When you try a challenge that's difficult for you, you learn more even when you fail.)


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.


Routine Tracking

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

While you don't find any actual monsters, you do spot in the distance a cluster of gray splotches leading southish away from the city. That's in the distant distance: as far as you can see on a clear day on a flat plain when you're sitting high on a hog.

The Roughriders thank you for your report. It confirms certain suspicions about migratory patterns. You wonder pointedly: the migratory patterns of what? No more information is forthcoming. Curious.

1 change point, 2 more needed to reach level 3.

Gunslinger is increasing...

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge!

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 5).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Skunk Brothers Farm

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops! In the distance purple mountains; in the foreground amber waves of grain! And everywhere the scent of yeast and its vast gassy microscopic hunger, and the buzzing of bees by the gated clover, and the low humming churn and splash of beer and whiskey being made as fast as Darren and Lloyd and the whole Skunk family can make it.

Increase your Helping the Skunk Brothers Quality to open up new branches!

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A tough challenge

The call goes out through Amarillo: the Skunk well's gone dry! Suddenly every idle hand is laid on jars and jugs and even glasses of water. There's no money in it, you're told, but no one can imagine the Skunk Brothers vats going unwatered. Perhaps you should lend a hand.

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

Demand for Cornskunk sour mash bourbon has climbed over the last few months. Theories abound; production volume has exploded; the brothers Skunk are being tightlipped about the whole thing.

To handle logistics, Lloyd Skunk is looking for a few good drinkers to hit all their distributors and come back with orders. It's not glamorous and it doesn't pay, but it will keep the whiskey flowing.

That Cornskunk Taste

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Darren Skunk -- quiet thoughtful alchemist! brewmaster, taste-maker! -- needs taste-testers for a new batch of bourbon. He's taking anybody, no special training required. Which means you could get involved. For charitable reasons, of course.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.


Refreshing!

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

You -- and what seems like half the population of Amarillo -- trundle out from the northern checkpoint and into the near Scrublands, where the Skunk brothers' farm is hidden behind an overgrown fence.

Once there, you're met by Darren and Lloyd themselves, who in short order have their vats chubbling happily. Mugs are passed around. Inside is a light burpy IPA. One gulp and you're convinced: that was time spent wisely.

2 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 4.

Gunslinger has increased to 3!

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

1 change point, 1 more needed to reach level 2.

Helping the Brothers Skunk is increasing...


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


The Asian Enclave

Most locals keep far away from Little Japan. At best they think it's cursed; at worst -- well, it's impolite. Perhaps there's a reason Amarillo's Japanese-Americans keep to themselves.

You have moved to a new area: Little Japan


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


A Friend of Little Japan

Little Japan

A forbidding apartment building with blacked-out windows and steel doors. All the rooms are owned by Japanese-Americans, who under the gentle pressures of xenophobia have become secretive and withdrawn.

Unfriendly? Standoffish? Of course. Wouldn't you be? Nevertheless Little Japan can't be an island unto itself, and so it must cultivate friendships with certain outsiders -- men and women of taste and discretion.

Pinned

Pinned

One Single Bullet

The doorman -- always polite, usually silent -- will, in exchange for a handful of revolver bullets, bestow upon you a slight bow. At least you think it's a bow. His body and most of his face remain hidden behind the solid steel door at all times.

            3
            You need 3 x Revolver Bullet  (you have 0)

            3
            Unlocked with 3 x Revolver Bullet

Come to the Door

A young Asian boy approaches you with a folded slip of paper. Inside is a line of elegant calligraphy: come to the door.

This will reduce your Connections: Little Japan!

            5
            You need Connections: Little Japan 5

            5
            Unlocked with Connections: Little Japan 5


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Banditos and Harvestmen

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position.

You nearly trip over a group of kids by the Wall Market; they scatter in every direction, one of them shouting that she gets to be the Harvestman next.

Pinned

Pinned

From the Mouths of Babes

Children get everywhere and hear everything. And they don't have any problem sharing with their friends. Especially scary things, and especially when they're roughhousing and one-upping each other. Which means if you're interested in the Harvestmen, a little light lurking might be in order.

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 3)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 3


Eye-Candy

You trail the kids through the Wall Market, taking care not to get too close. Topics discussed at full shrieking volume include: favorite dinners (spaghetti and meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy), best stalls to get free stuff (Butterloaf is good when Mr. Rolf is working, otherwise the pastry chef at the Metropole tosses the bake waste at eleven), best horse in town (the Skunk Brothers' nag Peggy-Sue is so clearly everybody's favorite that the whole argument sinks like a rock in under a minute).

Finally they get around to the Harvestmen. The conversation goes something like:

"My big sister says they take out your eyes and melt them in sugar until they turn into eye-candy."

"Well, my big sister says they're really just our parents, like how every Christmas my daddy is Santa for the whole block. He's got reindeer and everything -- "

"Those are just horses with wood stuck on their heads -- "

"Mama says they aren't even human, just animals --"

"What, like really tall dogs? Or like two dogs standing on top of each other?"

And so on, with much giggling and shouting. Not the most useful. But there's this: nobody seems to know, exactly, who or what the Harvestmen are.

The Harvestmen is increasing!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Sensationalism

After just one knock, Ms. Pettle flings open the door and regards you with all the tenderness of a hungry falcon. It must be her: grey hair in a tight bun with a pencil stuck through the band, frumpy gingham dress with short puffed sleeves, glasses on a chain with heavy cat-eye frames. She asks what exactly you're looking for. You spill the beans about the Harvestmen. She takes you by the wrist and leads you inside through the tidy stacks -- Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children's, Cassettes -- until you come to a pair of shelves marked Local Periodicals. Her fingers are surprisingly warm.

"This is where you'll start," Ms. Pettle says. "The Harvestmen are a favorite local bogeyman and crop up often. No pun intended. Pay special attention to Ms. Izquierdo's columns; they're rife with sensationalism."

Ms. Pettle is right: there's a wealth of information, all of it gory and National Enquirer-ish and not very useful. Even so, a pattern and timeframe do emerge. Once or twice a month, someone disappears for a little while. They turn up a few days later as hollowed-out corpses -- in the scrublands, on the west side, once even crammed into an abandoned booth at the Wall Market.

Sometimes their lungs are gone, sometimes their livers -- and always, always their hearts.

The Harvestmen is increasing!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Advice from a Stranger

Third Street is close enough to the Highrise Hotel that sometimes on hot mornings the destitutes there walk from the drumfires to the Wall Market in a raggedy procession. Third is also the fastest way from the Wall Market to half the city. And midmorning is a busy time of day for foot traffic. People from different classes rub elbows, sometimes literally, all up an down Third from the Wall Market to the far west side.

You're accosted, almost literally held up by a man in a stained shirt who breaks off from a pack of Highrise probables and says to you, a little too loudly, "Hey! Friend! I heard you wanted to know about the Harvestmen!" Others nearby glance over, startled, then away.

Pinned

Pinned

Something About Gift-Horses

Okay, yes: the man doesn't smell great or look great, and he's definitely making too much noise about the subject of our inquiry.

But you haven't exactly been loudmouthed about your investigation. If this guy's heard about it, it could mean he's a friend, or at least employed by a friend -- someone else interested in the Harvestmen for similar reasons. Or he could be an operative of the Harvestmen -- even a Harvestman himself! -- sent to derail you in a permanent and violent way.

Either way, you'd do well to hear him out. Right here. In broad daylight. With a street full of witnesses.

            7
            You need Cityslicker 7 (you have 3)

            7
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 7 - you have 3


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Advice from a Stranger

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 3 - you have 3

Third Street is close enough to the Highrise Hotel that sometimes on hot mornings the destitutes there walk from the drumfires to the Wall Market in a raggedy procession...

Pinned

Pinned


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Keeping the Peace

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district is the Wall Market, a sprawling parking lot bazaar and former supermarket where you can buy or barter anything you desire. Petty theft is obviously a problem.

A doughman for Butterloaf Bakery is looking for warm bodies to fill the morning security shift. A bad case of food poisoning from the salmon jerky stall has the regular crew doing the Texas two-step. The way the doughman tells it, they're having a graphic morning. Borderline tragic.

            3
            You need Gunslinger 3 (you have 3)

            3
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 3 - you have 3

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 3


Not Exactly Reading Miranda

Keeping the Peace

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A very modest challenge

            3
            You need Gunslinger 3 (you have 4)

            3
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 3 - you have 4

Turns out you're a natural at working security. It only takes a few minutes to figure out what 'suspicious behavior' looks like. You nab half a dozen bread thieves, one with his hand into a basket of hot-from-the-oven rolls, and hand them over to Wall Market security proper, a group of neckless thugs who work out of a windowless office inside the gutted supermarket.

You're assured by the doughman that the thieves are in for a bleak afternoon -- bleak but not fatal, he's quick to add.

1 change point, 4 more needed to reach level 5.

Gunslinger has increased to 4!

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 6).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Bullets for Little Japan

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

Traeger the gunsmith on Short Vine is looking for someone to deliver a package to Little Japan, an apartment building on the west side of town where every unit is owned by one large Japanese-American family. According to Traeger, they're secretive, stand-offish, and endlessly thirsty for bullets. No one but him will do business with them.

            4
            You need Gunslinger 4 (you have 4)

            4
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 4 - you have 4

Keeping the Peace

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A very modest challenge

The beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district is the Wall Market, a sprawling parking lot bazaar and former supermarket where you can buy or barter anything you desire. Petty theft is obviously a problem.

A doughman for Butterloaf Bakery is looking for warm bodies to fill the morning security shift. A bad case of food poisoning from the salmon jerky stall has the regular crew doing the Texas two-step. The way the doughman tells it, they're having a graphic morning. Borderline tragic.

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 4


Routine Tracking

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

While you don't find any actual monsters, you do spot in the distance a cluster of gray splotches leading southish away from the city. That's in the distant distance: as far as you can see on a clear day on a flat plain when you're sitting high on a hog.

The Roughriders thank you for your report. It confirms certain suspicions about migratory patterns. You wonder pointedly: the migratory patterns of what? No more information is forthcoming. Curious.

2 change points, 3 more needed to reach level 5.

Gunslinger is increasing...

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don't learn so much.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 7).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


The Asian Enclave

Most locals keep far away from Little Japan. At best they think it's cursed; at worst -- well, it's impolite. Perhaps there's a reason Amarillo's Japanese-Americans keep to themselves.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Afraid of Heights

You were born on the ground and you'll die on the ground. Preferably not just after a fall.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

One of the largest, best-known saloons in Amarillo is the High Noon. "Padre" Charlie explains it was built before the Longest Day as an old-timey theme restaurant. Now an actual frontier saloon, it boasts Hoffenstader on tap and salty/fried fingerfood and a dim cheerful gloom every hour of the day, plus a real actual pianist and full-time muscle to keep everybody civil.

There's nowhere better to make new friends -- this also from "Padre" Charlie, whose nose is red and veiny from a lifetime of dedicated social drinking. He slips a quarter into your breast pocket and pats your hand with fatherly affection. For a warm mug, he says. Can't get any other kind out here.

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.


Yes It's Warm

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A very modest challenge

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 4)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 4

Is it warm today? Yes it's warm. Not warmer than last year. O yes it is. O yes the heat is sweltering. Even the cows lie down and pant. Like dogs with their tongues out, panting. With their fur can you imagine? Have you seen my arms? Yes I can imagine very well! Bet the wife likes it though. She does. And the chest as well. Though she's lately been after me for a shave. Not there but on the face. And I said to her but who would recognize me? You'll look chinless. Yes chinless. From beard to beardless that's how it ends. For a week nobody recognizing me. Yes it's hot. I'd be better-ventilated. In the face you would. Yes that would be swell.

...and so on for over your head and around you and even eventually with you included. The morning barflies and the farmhands and weavers and bootmakers and layabouts and all the other regulars make this a morning routine, this banter, and while you're not included you aren't excluded, either. One of them slaps you on the back on his way out, at least.

Cityslicker has increased to 4!

You succeeded in a Cityslicker challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 8).