Alice is Missing

Alice is Missing is a tabletop role-playing game played in silence through text messaging. Players investigate the disappearance of a high school girl. The game was designed by Spenser Starke and published by Hunters Entertainment in 2020 after raising over $138,000 on Kickstarter.^[1]

Alice is Missing

Designers	Spenser Starke
Publishers	Hunters Entertainment
Publication	2020
Genres	tabletop role-playing game
Players	3-5
Playing time	2 hours
Chance	High
Skills	role-playing, writing
Website	Alice is Missing

In 2023, Alice is Missing received an expansion, Silent Falls, which introduced 38 new cards to the game.^[2]

In 2024, Alice is Missing expanded into the digital realm with the launch of Alice is Missing: Digital Edition, developed in collaboration with Pixel Table. This browser-based version enhances the original gameplay by automating clue assignments, allowing for character customization, synchronizing the game timer and soundtrack, and providing a streamlined, immersive experience.

Emily St. James for Vox Media compared the game to Twin Peaks, praised its suitability for remote play, and called it "sublime."^[3]

Starke has stated the game’s setting and tone as being heavily inspired by indie video games Life is Strange, Oxenfree, Firewatch, and Gone Home.^[4]

Alice is Missing won the 2021 Gold ENNIE Awards for "Best Game," "Best Rules," and "Product of the Year."^[5] It also won the 2021 IndieCade award for tabletop design.^[6]

Gameplay

Alice is Missing is designed for 3–5 players, with each player being assigned a character. The game begins with each player receiving a character card, detailing their character’s name and prompts about the character’s background, motivations, and relationship to Alice. The most experienced player is assigned the role of facilitator, and is tasked with running the game. The facilitator role is comparable to a Game Master, but participates in the game as a player character as well. The initial forty-five minutes are dedicated to setup; establishing characters, relationships, and important locations in the story. Following the setup, the actual game lasts for ninety minutes and is communication is held entirely through text messages on players’ cellphones. ^[7] The game is timed using an official “Animated Timer” available on YouTube, which consists of music designed to match the atmosphere of the game.

The bulk of the gameplay consists of interacting with the other players as the assigned characters, both in a main group chat and in separate private conversations, with the objective being to figure out what happened to Alice. At certain times throughout the game, new evidence and information as to Alice’s whereabouts is revealed via evidence cards.

Characters

Alice is Missing has five main characters assigned to the players:

• Charlie Barnes– “The One Who Moved Away”
• Dakota Travis– “The Best Friend”
• Julia North– “The Secret Girlfriend”
• Jack Briarwood– “The Older Brother”
• Evan Holwell– “The One With The Crush”

The Silent Falls expansion introduced four new playable characters:

• Morgan Bridges– “The One Who Moved Away” (takes place of Charlie if used)
• Jordan Foster– “The Childhood Friend”
• Hollis Briarwood– “The Younger Sibling”
• Steven Yates– “The Ex-Boyfriend”

The player who takes on the facilitator role must play as either Charlie Barnes or Morgan Bridges.

Film adaptation

In 2022, Paramount Pictures announced plans to adapt Alice is Missing into a film. The upcoming film is set to be written by Spencer Starke and Becca Gleason, and produced by Ivan Van Norman and Christopher De La Rosa.^[8]