THE CASTAWAY’S NOTEBOOK · 1999 → TODAY

SchiffbruchIsland Journal

An unfamiliar shore.
A pocketful of possibilities.

Explore a living island, make tools from what you find, and build your way toward rescue. Every action costs daylight, food and water.

Mouse or touch · Landscape recommended · Saves on this device

Your first day

After the title, click to begin. Click a destination once to plan a route, then again to walk it. Open Actions on the right and search your surroundings. Look for drinking water near a river and food near berry bushes. In Inventory, select two materials to combine them into a tool.

Right-drag the map or use arrow keys to look around. G toggles the grid. Escape opens the exit prompt. Use the Guide & pause button during play for more help.

Dirk Plate’s classic survival game · MIT source · License
Original pixel world with new GPT-painted journal paper.

FIELD NOTES · GAME PAUSED

Make this shore a home.

01 · Explore

Click a discovered tile to preview a route. Click the same tile again to walk it. Right-drag or use arrow keys to pan. On touch, drag the map. Tap a control once to read its description, then again to use it.

02 · Keep yourself alive

The right panel tracks water, food and health. Stand near a river or berry bush and choose Eat and drink in Actions. Search the environment to gather branches, stones, leaves and vines.

03 · Make tools

Open Inventory and click two items to combine them. A branch and a stone make an axe; a branch and a vine make a fishing rod. Tools unlock more actions. Hover over buttons for the bottom status explanation.

04 · Build & be found

Use Construction to build a tent, fields, irrigation pipes, a tree house and a boat. Each project lists its materials. Stay near shelter before 6 p.m. An SOS on the beach and a signal fire on high ground increase your rescue chance.

Save island stores a safe moment on this device; the original game also saves at day boundaries. Reload and click through the title to continue. No complete rescue is guaranteed: resources and planning matter.

Source: Schiffbruch by Dirk Plate, MIT. This edition retains the original simulation and pixel art. The generated journal paper appears in the actual game messages and treasure map. Best on a wide screen.