From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
Tabletop Game
An experimental narrative game (collective authorship, 2019 ) that simulates repeated cycles of Beach Surgery. Players adopt rotating roles: across plays, they inhabit Leif, Katita, the mechanic, and minor allies. Each game represents one iteration of the cycle; whether players "succeed" at chosen objectives determines whether the next cycle introduces rule variants that represent the possibility of breaking the pattern.
A decision tree branches across six chapters, but players cannot memorise the branches—the game master (rotating) holds the map. Crucially, certain paths are identical in outcome despite different actions, modelling the structural fault. Players experience the impossible choice: two roads that lead to the same place.
Late-game rules let players "edit their own back-story" (retcon prior decisions) at the cost of losing agency in future turns—a mechanical metaphor for agency-within-recurrence. The game is designed to be unwinnable; victory is not the goal but understanding what must be sacrificed to attempt breaking. Few copies exist; mostly played at fan conventions and academic symposia. [citation needed]