LONG HAUL 1983 + PDF

It’s 1983, and the world feels hollowed out.

LONG HAUL 1983 tells the story of a dangerous journey through an empty world. 

You play a long-haul truck driver trying to make their way home. Every day, you’ll hit the road, navigating treacherous highways, fleeing from menacing threats, and dealing with the psychological impacts of isolation.

And at the end of each day, you’ll find a payphone, make a call, and leave a message for the most important person in your life. 

They never pick up. You never stop calling.

Using a deck of cards, a few dice, and a microphone, players will create an original narrative of resilience in the face of world-shifting catastrophe.

LONG HAUL 1983 is...

• A solo game, so you can play it by yourself, at your own pace
• A roleplaying game, so you'll create, develop, and embody a character as you play
• A storytelling game, so your choices will be driven by creativity, not strategy
• A journaling game, so you'll end the game with a unique record of your experience to revisit and share

The game features...

• A unique single-player experience using evocative storytelling setups, embedded safety features, and branching endings
• An original dice system that highlights peril and precarity  
• A 26-song soundtrack, including over 2.5 hours of the era's experimental ambient music, plus soul, jazz, pop, and punk tracks connected to specific in-game events
• A gameplay and performance structure perfectly suited for actual play podcasts and streams

PRAISE for Long Haul 1983:

"A brilliant piece of work: in content, design, and layout."

"Visually striking, emotionally haunting - LONG HAUL 1983 compels me to write a story like no other solo RPG. The prompts feel electric and every small detail cohesively builds a worn world, where relentless danger and loneliness threaten to subdue you, but where your understated force of will gives strength to continue hoping beyond hope."

"LONG HAUL 1983 offers an escape like no other — a playlist so expertly crafted that I can smell the asphalt and oil burning on a sunny day — evoking perfectly my new favourite super specific genre of road trip horror."

• The book and player sheet
• A standard deck of 52 playing cards
• Four six-sided dice (Fudge/Fate dice are ideal, though not necessary)
• A device to record your voice (a phone app, an analog cassette recorder, etc.)
• A way to listen to music (playlists are available on Spotify and Apple Music)

Writing, Layout, & Design: Sean Patrick Cain
Photography: Luke Stackpoole, Katie Moum, & Jack Anstey

36 pages, 6" x 9", perfect bound softcover book, full color. PDF Included.