Reference
Game Rules
The rules of BARS Engine are ecological, not judicial. They describe how energy flows through the system — how BARs are created, charged, stewarded, and composted; how vibeulons are earned; how quests move from potential to completion.
BAR Ecology
Creation
Any player can create a BAR at any time. A BAR is born when you name a charge — a vibe, a story, an insight, a reflection, or an invitation. It enters your notebook (private) or spellbook (public). Cost: zero. The only requirement is noticing.
Stewardship
Stewardship is responsibility, not ownership. You carry a BAR, refine it, connect it to quests, or pass it to another player. Anyone can adopt stewardship of a public BAR. Stewardship persists until released or composted.
Composting
When a BAR has given what it has to give, it enters the compost. Composting is not destruction — it is completion. A composted BAR has a grace window; if not transformed before it expires, it is destroyed along with any attached vibeulons. The ecological tone: returned to the fire.
Vibeulon Economy
Vibeulons are the crystallized value of the game. They are earned, not purchased. They represent energy that has been metabolized into action.
Earned by: completing quests, running the 321 process, donating (time/money/space), and other Show Up actions.
Attached to: BARs. Vibeulons can be locked onto a BAR, increasing its weight and signal in the economy.
At risk when: a BAR with attached vibeulons is composted without transformation. The vibeulons are destroyed with it.
The vibeulon economy is designed to make action legible, not to create scarcity. There is no vibeulon market. You cannot trade them. They are proof of work, not currency.
Quest Capacity & Slots
You have a limited number of active quest slots. This is a constraint, not a punishment. It forces you to choose what matters right now — you cannot accept every quest, so you must decide which work is yours to do.
Each quest has BAR slots — positions where you can equip BARs to the quest. BARs played onto quest slots mint vibeulons on completion. The more signal you attach to a quest, the richer the yield when you finish.
Equipped BARs sit in your hand, ready to play. In Play BARs are attached to a quest slot. The distinction matters: equipped BARs do nothing passively — they must be played to generate value.
The Action Grammar: Four Moves
Everything you do in the game maps to one of four moves. They are a compass, not a checklist. Most sessions will touch one move deeply rather than all four lightly.
Campaign Progression: Kotter Stages
The campaign moves through Kotter's 8 stages of change. Each stage maps to a primary move. The campaign is not a linear march — it spirals, revisiting earlier stages at greater depth. But the overall direction is from urgency to culture.
See the need. Name it. Make it real for yourself and others.
Find allies. Who else feels this? Build the guiding team.
Articulate the destination. What does the changed world look like?
Spread the word. Make the vision legible to those who need it.
Clear the path. Metabolize blockers — internal and external.
Build momentum. Small completions that prove the vision is real.
Consolidate gains. Use wins to fuel the next wave.
Make it permanent. The new way becomes the way.