Would you survive dinner with a vampire?

An invitation to the house on the hill

Dinner With the Vampire is a short choose-your-path game for adults. You have accepted an invitation to supper at Pellmoor House, a cold stone house on the hill above town. Your host is Baron Osric Pellmoor, an original vampire character: six hundred years old, formal, lonely and a predator with perfect manners. Forty of his earlier guests never went home. They hang in the foyer as portraits. Your goal is to get through the evening and walk out the front door, as yourself.

There is no chase and no clock. Nobody runs after you, because nobody needs to: the doors are his, and so is the hill. The danger is in the conversation. The Baron wants company and has old ways of keeping it. Every course asks you to work out what he wants, what he will tolerate, and what will make him decide you should stay.

How the evening plays

You make eight decisions, from the front step to the goodbye in the foyer, usually choosing from three options. Two meters sit in the status bar. Suspicion is how closely the Baron is watching you, shown as Relaxed, Watchful or Peckish. Goodwill is how much he likes you, shown as Frosty, Cordial or Fond. Each choice shows a short line about what it costs before you pick it.

The same move can go well or badly depending on the room. A joke about the menu works with a host who already likes you and falls flat with one who doesn't. Turning down his offer politely only works if Goodwill is high enough. Early on you can make a friend at the table, either the butler or the neighbor, and that friend opens different options later: cover while you pocket something, a safe recommendation from the menu, a word in the Baron's ear.

Two items can end up in your pocket. A garlic breadstick from the bread basket lets you set a polite boundary at dessert or make a quick exit at the end, but taking it without cover makes him wary. A signed contract pleases him a great deal and binds you to the house, unless you go back and read the fine print before the night is over.

Nothing is timed, and reading never costs anything. Every run reaches the final decision in the foyer. Your earlier choices decide which ways out are still open when you get there.

Who you meet

Baron Osric Pellmoor is your host: tall, courteous, out of practice at company, and dangerous in a way he would never be rude enough to mention. He wants a friend. Failing that, he wants you to stay, and he has the means to make it permanent. He listens closely, remembers everything you say, and notices when a guest is frightened.

Wick is the butler. He has run the house for sixty years, says as little as he can, and knows which dishes are safe to order. Dame Cordelia Fenn is a neighbor who came to dinner in 1987 and has not been allowed to leave. She knows the house rules and how to survive them. Either of them will help you if you ask first.

You are the guest: in your good jacket, holding a bottle of wine and an invitation you did not read closely enough.

Five ways the evening can end

A Standing Reservation is the best ending: you walk out as the Baron's friend, and he lets you. A Jar of Moonlight is a good ending: you go home safe with a parting gift you are told not to open in daylight. Out the Window gets you home too, minus your coat and your dignity. The House Accountant means you never leave: an agreement made in the study comes due, and you work for the house from then on. Portrait Over the Mantel is the worst: you become part of his collection.

The result page lists the key moments of your run and names the one choice that mattered most, so you can see what to try next. Each ending has its own illustration, and you can rewind to a turning point instead of starting over.

How dark does it get?

The stakes are high and the telling is plain. The worst endings mean you do not leave Pellmoor House, and the game says so directly. There is no gore, no biting on screen and nothing graphic; the threat lives in what the Baron says, where he stands and which doors are open. He is written as a real character with a real problem: he is lonely, and the way he solves it costs his guests everything.

The game is written for adults who like dry humor, slow tension and old dark houses. Everything in it, including the Baron, his house and his guests, is original fiction.

Who you meet

• You. A guest in your good jacket, holding a bottle of wine, who accepted the invitation before asking what happened to the last guests.
• Baron Osric Pellmoor. Your host. Six hundred years old, formal, lonely and a predator. He would like a friend. Failing that, he keeps his guests.
• Wick. The butler. Has run the house for sixty years, says as little as he can, and knows which dishes are safe.
• Dame Cordelia Fenn. A neighbor who came to dinner in 1987 and has not been allowed to leave. She knows the house rules and how to survive them.

Questions

How long does Dinner With the Vampire take?

About four minutes for a single run. There are eight decisions, and most people play it a few times to find the five endings.

Can I lose before the last decision?

No. Every run reaches the farewell in the foyer. Your earlier choices decide how the Baron feels about you when you get there, and which exits are still open.

Does the game save my progress?

Yes. Your current run and the endings you have found are saved in this browser, so a refresh puts you back where you were. Nothing is sent to a server.

Is it free to play?

Yes. There is nothing to download and no account. It runs in your browser on a phone or a laptop.