PLAYTESTV1.2 · BUILD f1bc2f4 2026-10-20
Play. Title screen: Before This Decade Is Out, a decade in four endings. 1957 to 1969. You run the program. The President runs you. A full Moon over the launch pad at night.
PLAY THE DEMO

Runs in your browser, on a computer or a phone turned sideways. Your run saves itself in this browser, so you can stop and come back.

1957 – 1969 · YOU RUN THE PROGRAM · THE PRESIDENT RUNS YOU

October 1957. Sputnik is overhead and the program is yours. Pick the crews, fight for the budget, keep the President on side, watch Moscow, and decide what is said on the Moon. Four endings, and one way to get fired.

Your office in October 1957: a cold teal room, a lamp, a calendar, a rocket on the pad through the window.
YOUR OFFICE · OCTOBER 1957
Mission Control in November 1964: rows of consoles under the big board, which shows the Soviets ahead.
MISSION CONTROL · NOVEMBER 1964
The lunar surface in July 1969: the lander, an astronaut beside the flag, the crew's portraits and three choices for the first words.
THE SURFACE · JULY 1969
The evening newsroom on July 20, 1969: the anchor on air, clocks for Houston, Washington and Moscow.
THE NEWSROOM · JULY 20, 1969

THIS IS A PLAYTEST

The demo keeps an anonymous record of each run: how far it got, how long it took, what was chosen, and how it ended.

No names, no cookies, no ads. The record goes to the designer and is used only to tune the game.

A run takes a while. Stop whenever you like; Continue on the title screen picks it up in this browser.

TELL US HOW IT WENT

ABOUT

Jack Casady drawn as a portrait in the game: dark swept-up hair, a full beard, a wide grin, a light blue open collar and a navy blazer, in a cardboard slide mount.

I'm Jack Casady, a marketer who can't really code.

I designed Before This Decade Is Out: the rules, the story, and how every screen looks. Claude built it from that design, and I played every build and sent back notes.

JACK ON LINKEDIN

ALSO BY JACK

The Long Trail: a free browser game. Oregon Trail, but for your money. A covered wagon below green mountains.

THE LONG TRAIL. Oregon Trail, but for your money. Travel from your first real paycheck to the finish line, one decision at a time. Free in your browser, about five minutes.

PLAY THE LONG TRAIL