Beta A desk game from Aotearoa
Red pen out.
Trust no
receipt.
The Practice is a work-sim set in a New Zealand accounting firm. An inbox that fills faster than you can clear it, a clock that runs to five on Friday, and clients who'd really rather you didn't look too closely at that "water heating unit". No accounting knowledge needed.
- Free while in beta
- Phone or desktop
- About 11–14 hours
- No accounting degree required
The desk
Papers, a rulebook, three stamps and a clock.
If you've ever checked passports in Papers, Please, you'll know the feeling. Here it's an expense claim: hold the receipt up against the claim, circle what doesn't add up in red pen, then stamp it Approve, Query or Reject. Next.
Around the claims, the inbox keeps filling: bank feeds to fix, invoices to check, deadlines to put in order. Every job has its own countdown. Whatever's still in the inbox at five on Friday counts against you, and in busy season you're coming in on Saturday.
- Ten kinds of job, from cash coding to spot the error
- A Mon–Fri clock, and a pause button for real life
- Inbox clear early? Get ahead, take a break, or knock off and hope nobody notices
The people
Everyone's got a story. Some of them are even true.
Bryce the plumber has claimed a "water heating unit and fittings". The receipt says six-seat spa pool with mood lighting, delivered to Bryce's back deck. Uncle Kev says his GST return is all above board, and his diary has three cash jobs that never made it onto an invoice. Dom's staff Christmas BBQ had 42 guests. The garage has three staff. Nonna was in charge.
On the easier settings, nervous claimants give themselves away. At Burnham & Out they've got poker faces. And every sneaky claim you wave through comes back to haunt you at the year-end audit.
The juggle
Four plates to keep spinning.
Getting the numbers right is only part of it. Every choice moves something, and the year keeps score.
-
Reputation
Good, finished work builds it, and pay rises follow it. Let it slide below 35 at a review and a client walks.
-
Stress
Unfinished work on Friday, skipped bills, Saturdays in busy season. A break on your phone helps. So does knocking off early, if you don't get caught.
-
Likability
Replies that are right and kind, and answering your messages. Leave people on read and they remember.
-
Money
A grad's salary, after PAYE, KiwiSaver and the student loan, against rent, food and power. Pay day can't come soon enough.
Difficulty
Three bosses. One of them is hard mode.
Your final exam mark decides who'll offer you a job, and the boss you pick sets the difficulty.
- Cooke Books Ltd Relaxed · any mark
- No clock, nervous claimants give themselves away, and mistakes cost half. Colin Cooke has never once seen what's funny about the name.
- Kitty & Co. Standard · 60%+
- A working week takes about 20 real minutes. Harry Kitty brings biscuits on Fridays.
- Burnham & Out Hard · 75%+
- About 14 minutes a week, poker faces, and mistakes cost one and a half times as much. The best pay in town. Max Burnham bills in six-minute units and notices everything.
No accounting knowledge needed
You'll learn on the job. Bully will see to it.
You start in your last semester at uni: four weeks that walk you through every kind of job, the first two with no clock at all. Bully, a bulldog clip, gives you a tip the first time you meet each one. Get something wrong and you're shown the right answer, and why.
*He also bears no resemblance to any other anthropomorphic stationery helpers.
Phone on the bus, laptop at home.
It runs in your browser, with nothing to install. Sign in with your email and your desk is just as you left it. The full game is about 11 to 14 hours; the short game about 7 to 9. Year 1 is complete, and Years 2 and 3 are being written.
Want a desk?
The Practice is in beta: it isn't released yet, and it's free while we test it. Request to play and you'll get an email when you're let in.
Or leave your details and we'll tell you when it opens to everyone.
Questions
Do I need to know accounting?
No. The game starts with four weeks at uni that walk you through every kind of job, and Bully the bulldog clip gives a tip the first time you meet each one. Every mistake shows the right answer and why.
How hard is it?
You choose, by choosing your boss. Cooke Books is relaxed: no clock, and mistakes cost half. Kitty & Co. is standard: a working week takes about 20 real minutes. Burnham & Out is hard mode: about 14 minutes a week, claimants with poker faces, and mistakes cost one and a half times as much. You need 75% in the final exam to get that offer.
How long is it?
The full game is about 11 to 14 hours; the short game is about 7 to 9. Year 1 is complete. Years 2 and 3 are in development.
What can I play it on?
A phone, tablet or computer with a modern web browser. There's nothing to install. Sign in with your email (a code, no password) and your game follows you between devices.
Is it like Papers, Please?
It has the same desk pressure: papers to check against a rulebook, a red pen, three stamps and a clock. The job is different. Nobody's crossing a border; someone's claiming a spa pool as plumbing.
Is it free?
It's free while it's in beta. The game isn't released yet: request to play the beta, or leave your details to hear when it opens to everyone.
Five o'clock Friday is coming.
The inbox won't clear itself, Bryce is on line two, and somebody has to stamp that spa pool.