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Playing Threadbare
Threadbare is currently in pre-alpha. New releases are published every 3–4 weeks. This section covers everything you need to know to play and navigate the game.
Threadbare is a web-based, open-source RPG with a range of mini-game mechanics that shape each level. You step into the role of a Storyweaver: a keeper of forgotten stories in a world made entirely of fabric that is slowly, irreversibly coming apart. The cause is a dark power called The Void, a collective amnesia borne from distraction and a lack of care, the result of which is a loss of history, culture, and language. Your task is to recover them.
You do this through Quests - LoreQuests and StoryQuests - story-driven adventures made up of shifting mini-game mechanics like combat, stealth, puzzle, and more, each woven into a living narrative. Throughout every Quest, you gather the three life threads that hold the world together - Memory, Imagination, and Spirit. Threads that exist in eery story ever told. Return these threads to the Eternal Loom to reweave what has been lost and heal this dying world.
Threadbare has two types of quest:
The main narrative of Threadbare. LoreQuests are crafted by the Threadbare development team and form the canonical heart of the world. LoreQuests form the core canon story of the StoryWeaver's journey through the unravelling world. While LoreQusts are created and maintained by the core team, anyone is welcome to offer a contribution that could become a part of the Lore of Threadbare.
➡️ LoreQuests
Self-contained stories that exist alongside the main narrative, StoryQuests are contributed by players all over the world. New stories, new voices, new threads added to the fabric of the game itself, bringing unique characters, enemies, settings, and themes. Contributed by learners, educators, and community members, they do not need to follow the main narrative, and can have their own visual and audio aesthetic.
➡️ StoryQuests
Adventure Packs are major content expansions that introduce new areas, new mechanics, and new lore. Each pack adds a self-contained chapter to the Threadbare world.
Current packs:
- The Void Pack — The first Adventure Pack. Introduces The Void Runner and the Grappling Hook mechanics.
- Library Pack — In development.
Threadbare supports multiple input methods. The recommended setup for PC is keyboard and mouse.
| Input Method | Status |
|---|---|
| Keyboard + Mouse | ✅ Recommended for PC |
| Keyboard Only | ✅ Supported (arrow keys to move) |
| Joypad / Controller | 🚧 In development |
| Mobile Touch | 🚧 Not yet supported — follow issue #806 |
➡️ Input Handling — full controls reference
As you play, you'll travel through a range of locations across Threadbare:
- Fray's End — Your starting hub. Time passes here and weather changes as you return between quests.
- The Lucent Lakes — Once a place of light and festivals, now shadowed by The Void.
- The Forgotten Forests — Dark woodland on the fringes of Void influence.
- The Song Sanctuaries — Places of music and story, under threat.
- The Lost Library — Repository of ancient knowledge.
For more about the world's lore and characters, see The Game World.
In Threadbare's hub areas (like Fray's End), time passes and weather changes dynamically. This is a cosmetic effect and does not affect gameplay. Within quests, time and weather are fixed to suit the narrative and puzzle conditions of each level.
Threads are the core resource and metaphor of the game. Collecting threads rebuilds the world — each one recovered is a small act of resistance against The Void.
Combat in Threadbare is fantastical and cartoonish in nature. Enemies like InkDrinkers throw blobs of ink at the StoryWeaver. When defeated, the StoryWeaver unravels into a pile of thread — and returns to try again.
Some LoreQuest sequences involve stealth challenges where the StoryWeaver must avoid detection.
Introduced in The Void Pack — a tense sequence where the StoryWeaver must outrun an all-consuming Void. Being caught means being unraveled.
Also introduced in The Void Pack — a traversal mechanic allowing the StoryWeaver to cross gaps and reach new areas.
If you want to play a development build or record a playthrough for feedback:
- ➡️ Record a playthrough — How to capture your gameplay session
← The Game World | Next: Making a StoryQuest →