The House Opposite · Stillcraft

What's inside

Everything The House Opposite does.

A window at sunset

The window lights only after the real sunset where you are, once the day's deed is done. Tomorrow's window can't be opened today.

Rooms with people

Twenty-four rooms drawn in code: a pianist at his piano, twins, a night taxi driver, a cat called Bagel. Tap the things in them to find notes, a clue and a mandarin.

The Secret Grandfather

Someone leaves presents at the doors. Ten suspects with six habits each; the clues start vague and sharpen towards the 21st–23rd. Strike names out in the notebook and name the culprit on the 24th.

A different culprit every season

The culprit and the order of the clues change from season to season, and each culprit has their own ending.

The tree

Every lit window hangs a glass ornament: a ball, an icicle, a rocket, a little house. A found mandarin makes it a granny's ornament with a gold cap.

Candles, not streaks

Missed an evening? Light the window with a candle. A spark on a Sunday earns one. Nothing burns down.

Real presents

As in an ordinary advent calendar, any window can hide a present: something to find, a treat, a note or a deed. Making it for someone else? The list is sealed so they can't peek.

From December 1 or tonight

Start on the first of December or right now: twenty-four evenings in a row work any time of year. The finished tree goes up to the shelf.

Screens

Captured in The House Opposite.

The House Opposite: The house — **The house**Eight windows lit.

The House Opposite: A room — **A room**Tap the things.

The House Opposite: The notebook — **The notebook**Clues on the lines.

The House Opposite: A file — **A file**Habits against clues.

The House Opposite: The tree — **The tree**An ornament per window.

The House Opposite: Presents — **Presents**Behind any window.

The House Opposite: A present — **A present**Shown once it's lit.

The House Opposite: The 24th — **The 24th**The whole house is lit.

The suspects' habits

Habit	What a clue says	How sharp
Handwriting	sweeping, block capitals, copybook-round, curly…	vague at first, exact near the end
Wrapping	string, an evening paper, sheet music, a city map…	rules out one or two
Footprints	felt boots, heels, trainers, a walking stick…	in the snow by the doors
Hour	three at night, six in the morning…	from the logs and the creaking door
Gait	a limp, skipping, humming…	seen from the windows
Smell	sealing wax, rosin, coffee, machine oil…	noses don't lie

Get it

Get The House Opposite.

Install

Version: v1.0.0 · the first version
File: TheHouseOpposite.apk, 3.3 MB
Requires: Android 9 (API 28) or newer.
Permissions: Notifications for the sunset reminder and approximate location for the sunset time, both optional. No internet permission at all, no account, no ads, no analytics.
License: MIT · fonts Lora and Caveat (OFL)

Download the APK on the phone.
Open it and allow installs from this source when Android asks.
Choose to start on December 1 or tonight, and wait for the sunset.

Everything stays on the phone: the app has no internet permission.

Download APK All releases

Build from source

JDK 17+ (Android Studio's bundled JBR works) and the Android SDK. Kotlin, Jetpack Compose; the house, the rooms, the people, the tree and the ornaments are drawn in code.

git clone https://github.com/bigdevwhale/opposite.git
cd opposite
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest assembleDebug
./gradlew assembleDebug -Pdemo              # app.opposite.demo: a season ten evenings in
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest -Prender --tests '*RenderScreens*'   # screens to PNG

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