The Stand is a single-player courtroom cross-examination game where you play as the defence barrister. Your client is innocent — but the prosecution has witnesses, and those witnesses are lying. Your job is to find the contradiction and break their testimony.
Unlike any other courtroom game, the witnesses are powered by a live AI. You can ask anything — in your own words, in any order. The witness responds in character, consistently, protecting their lie until you expose it. No scripted hotspots. No dialogue trees. Just you, the truth, and a witness determined to bury it.
Type any question you like. The AI witness responds consistently — they protect their lie until you find the crack.
During prosecution cross-examination, watch the questions carefully. Leading, speculative, hearsay — object on the right grounds or your client pays for it.
Every sharp question chips away at the witness's composure. Watch the bar — push hard enough without evidence and they may crack on their own.
You hold documentary evidence. Present the right piece at the right moment and the testimony collapses. Present it too early — or to the wrong witness — and you've wasted your shot.
A magnificent presence. He will not tolerate irrelevance, and he will let you know. Get three warnings and the witness walks.
Your best result for each case is recorded — witnesses struck, verdict achieved. Can you get every case to NOT GUILTY?
"I left the building at eleven o'clock. Same as every night."
"Are you aware the building's keycard system logs every exit automatically?"
"I — yes, I know about the logs. What of it?"
"*removes glasses slowly* The log shows eleven fifty-eight. Not eleven. Counsel — I believe you have the floor."
Review the charge, your client's background, the evidence you hold, and the witnesses the prosecution has called. Know what you're working with before you enter the courtroom.
Before the trial begins, you have a few exchanges with the opposing barrister. Press them on their witnesses or their evidence — they might let something slip. A slip gives you a head start.
The judge opens proceedings. You can address the court before calling witnesses — but keep it relevant. He has very little patience and dinner plans.
Call a witness to the stand and type anything you want to ask them. The AI witnesses are given a hidden truth and a public story — your job is to find where those two things contradict. Ask sharp, targeted questions. Watch the Composure bar drain. When it's low enough, present the evidence that directly contradicts what they just said.
Hints are available if you get stuck — each hint gets progressively more direct, up to telling you exactly what evidence to use and when.
Once you've questioned the witness enough and drained their composure, you can present one piece of documentary evidence. Choose the evidence that directly contradicts what the witness just said. Get it right and their testimony collapses. Get it wrong and the judge will not be impressed.
Once all prosecution witnesses have been dealt with, the prosecution gets to cross-examine your client. Watch every question carefully. Leading questions, speculation, hearsay, argumentative framing — all objectionable. Object on the right grounds and the question is struck. Let too many through and your client's own answers may undo everything you worked for.
A Conviction Risk bar shows how much pressure is building on your client's case. Keep it below the threshold and the judge rules Not Guilty.
Win and you'll see the full hidden truth — what each witness was actually concealing, and what really happened. Lose and your client is convicted. The evidence was there. You just didn't find it in time.
During prosecution cross-examination, you can object on these grounds:
The Stand launches with five cases. Each has two prosecution witnesses, a unique set of evidence, and a defendant who is — probably — innocent.
Additional case packs are planned. Each pack contains three new cases with new witnesses, new evidence, and new characters.
The Stand requires an active internet connection during gameplay. AI witnesses are powered by a live cloud backend — responses are generated in real time and cannot be cached or played offline.
The Stand is a text-driven game with SVG artwork. GPU requirements are minimal. Performance is primarily determined by internet connection quality, which affects AI response time.
The Stand uses artificial intelligence to power witness responses, judge dialogue, and prosecution questioning. This section explains what AI is used, how it works, and what you can expect from it.
All witness responses, judge asides, prosecution questions, defendant answers, and pre-trial banter are generated in real time by Claude, an AI assistant developed by Anthropic. No response is pre-written or scripted beyond the initial opening testimony shown before cross-examination begins.
Each witness is given a detailed character brief, a public story, a hidden truth, and instructions on how to behave under questioning. The AI is instructed to stay in character, protect the witness's lie, and only break under the right combination of evidence and sustained questioning. The AI does not have access to your question history beyond the current session, and no data from your session is stored on our servers after the session ends.
AI-generated responses may occasionally be inconsistent, unexpected, or out of character despite the instructions given. This is a known limitation of large language models. If a witness response seems genuinely wrong or breaks immersion in a significant way, it is the result of AI imperfection, not intentional design.
The AI is explicitly instructed not to generate violent, sexual, or deeply offensive content. Content filters are applied at the API level by Anthropic in addition to our own instructions. However, as with all AI systems, unexpected outputs cannot be completely ruled out.
We do not log, store, or review the content of your AI conversations during gameplay. Witness responses exist only in your browser session and are discarded when you close or reset the game. We do not use your gameplay to train AI models.
AI responses are generated by Anthropic's Claude API. Anthropic's usage policies and privacy practices apply to data processed through their API. We do not send personally identifiable information to Anthropic — only the in-game dialogue and case context needed to generate responses.
For Anthropic's privacy policy, visit anthropic.com/privacy.
The Stand is a work of fiction. All cases, characters, witnesses, and legal proceedings are invented. Nothing in the game constitutes legal advice. The objection mechanics and legal terminology used are simplified for gameplay purposes and should not be taken as accurate representations of real legal procedure in any jurisdiction.
General audience: The Stand is rated for players aged 12 and above. Cases involve themes of murder, theft, assault, and deception. No graphic violence is depicted. Witness confessions may involve descriptions of criminal acts described in plain language.
AI-generated content: All witness dialogue is generated in real time by an AI. While the AI is instructed to avoid offensive content, responses are not pre-moderated. If you encounter a response you find distressing or inappropriate, you can close the game at any time. Your progress is saved automatically.
Photosensitivity: The Stand contains no rapidly flashing lights or strobing effects. Screen transitions are gradual fades.
Extended sessions: Some players find AI-driven games more absorbing than expected. There is no time limit on individual cases, but we recommend taking regular breaks. Your progress is saved between sessions — you do not need to complete a case in one sitting.
Frustration and difficulty: The Stand is designed to be challenging. If you are stuck, the in-game Tips system provides progressive hints without spoiling the experience. The game is winnable without perfect play.
Last updated: June 2026
The Stand collects minimal data. The following information may be stored locally on your device:
All of the above is stored locally on your device only. We do not transmit this information to any server. It can be cleared by clearing your browser data or reinstalling the game.
We do not collect your name, email address, IP address, location, or any personally identifiable information. We do not use analytics trackers, advertising networks, or third-party tracking scripts.
We do not store or log any content of in-game conversations — your questions to witnesses, witness responses, or judge dialogue are not retained by us after your session ends.
Gameplay requires sending in-game dialogue to Anthropic's Claude API to generate AI responses. This data consists of:
This data is processed by Anthropic under their API terms. We do not include your name, account details, or any other identifying information in these requests. Please review Anthropic's privacy policy at anthropic.com/privacy for how they handle API data.
The Stand is distributed via Steam. Steam may collect usage and telemetry data according to Valve's own privacy policy, which is separate from ours. We do not have access to Steam account data beyond what Steam provides to all developers (e.g. aggregate sales figures).
The Stand is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. Given that we collect no personal data at all, this is primarily a precautionary statement.
Because we collect no personal data, there is nothing for us to provide, correct, or delete on request. All locally stored data (saves, stats) can be cleared through your browser or by uninstalling the game. If you have questions about data handling, contact us at the address below.
For privacy enquiries: miketrew54@gmail.com
If we materially change how we handle data, we will update this page and the date at the top. We will not make changes that reduce your privacy without notice.