Nicky Case's playables
Playable explanations of big ideas — game theory and trust, anxiety, news cycles, AI safety. All free and released into the public domain.
What it is
The home of Nicky Case, who makes interactive explanations that play like small games. The best-known is "The Evolution of Trust": in about half an hour you play a repeated prisoner's dilemma against a cast of characters and work out for yourself why trust between people grows or collapses. Alongside it you'll find "Adventures with Anxiety", an interactive story where you play the anxiety; "We Become What We Behold", a game about news cycles; an emoji-based cellular automata tool; and an illustrated tour of AI safety.
Why we picked it
Case has a knack for turning an abstract idea into something you experience. Instead of reading about game theory, you press "cooperate" or "cheat" and watch what happens. Instead of a lecture on anxiety, you get a conversation with the wolf in your head. Everything is released into the public domain, so teachers can use it in class and anyone can remix it without asking. The site also keeps the charm of the old personal web: hand-drawn visuals, jokes, and a newsletter capped at one email a month.
Where to start
- "The Evolution of Trust" — roughly 30 minutes and the best introduction to Case's style.
- "Adventures with Anxiety" — a short interactive story about living with anxiety.
- "Emoji simulator" — build cellular automata where the rules are written in emoji.
- "AI safety for fleshy humans" — a long, friendly explainer in three acts.
- "See all projects" — the full catalogue.
Who it's for
Teachers and anyone whose job involves explaining hard things. Teens and adults who find textbooks dull. People who love browser games but want to come away having learned something. The writing is casual and easy to follow, so it works for younger readers too.
Quick answers
How long does The Evolution of Trust take? The author lists a playing time of about 30 minutes.
Can I use these in my classroom? Yes. Case releases the work under a public domain waiver; credit is appreciated but not required.
Does it cost anything? No. Everything is free to play, and there's an optional Patreon and Ko-fi for support.
