Energy, Money & Time

Three intertwined resources shape every day in Woodchester: energy to do things, money to buy things, and time that marches forward whether you're ready or not.

Energy

Most activities cost energy. When Ethan runs low, options start coming back as "I'm just too tired…" — the game's signal to rest. Energy is restored by sleeping (which also advances the day) and by taking it easy with the "do nothing" option in his room.

Plan your day around it: don't burn all your energy on side activities if you were hoping to advance a storyline that evening.

Money

Money ($) is spent on clothing, gadgets, items, and dates. There are two main ways to earn it:

Freelance jobs

From the PC in Ethan's room, you can find a freelance job online — gloriously absurd gigs whose pay scales with your Intelligence, from a $5 survey up to $200 AI research. See the full breakdown on the Jobs page.

Allowance & other sources

Janice provides for the household (the source of the recurring "allowance" arguments with Tara), and storyline jobs — like Tara's stint as a lifeguard — tie money into the narrative. See Jobs.

Time & the calendar

The game runs on a daily cycle. Each day moves through times of day —

Morning Afternoon Evening Night Late Night

— across a full week (Monday through Sunday). Many events are time- and day-gated: a character might only be home in the evening, or an event might only trigger on a certain day. When you hit one, you'll often see "I should check back tomorrow."

Resting advances time and restores energy: from your room you can Take a Nap or Daydream in Bed to skip ahead, and Go to Bed to end the day entirely and roll the calendar forward — the main way to reach time-locked content.

Timing is everything

If a storyline won't advance, try a different time of day or come back the next day. The phone Guide tracks what each route is waiting on.