The Determinator

You have been assigned to the Federal Bureau of Determinations, Millbrook District.

Effective immediately.

Your job is simple. Claimants file for disability, retirement, and supplemental income benefits. You read the file. You check it against the manual. You stamp it.

Approve. Deny. Request additional information. 

Every case comes with documents. An application. A physician letter, if they remembered to include one. An employer notice. Sometimes a personal statement that tells what the claimant wants you to know about their situation, in their own words.

The manual covers most of it. The intake notes might point you in the right direction. Most of the time.

You have ten days. Dozens of cases. The Bureau expects accuracy, consistency, and a reasonable throughput rate. It does not expect you to carry any of this home with you.

That part is on you.

The Determinator is a narrative desk simulation about the space between what the rules say and what they cost. Read the files. Make the calls. Your record will reflect your decisions.

Best experienced with headphones.

AI-Generated Cases

For examiners who want a fuller caseload, The Determinator supports optional AI-generated cases via the Anthropic Claude API. When enabled, additional cases are generated each day alongside the hand-authored ones; new claimants, new circumstances, all held to the same rules and the same manual. Cases are generated in the background during the End of Day summary. Generation typically completes within 15–30 seconds. The game will notify you when your desk is ready.

An Anthropic API key is required for this feature and can be configured in the game's options. Estimated cost is under a dollar for a full playthrough. The feature is entirely optional, the base game is complete without it.

Windows SmartScreen Notice

On first launch, Windows may display an "Unrecognized app" warning. This is expected for independently published software without a code signing certificate. Click More info → Run anyway to proceed. The game is safe to run.

Minimum System Requirements 

• Windows 10 64-bit 
• 4 GB RAM 
• 150 MB storage 
• Internet connection required for AI case generation (optional feature)