Pace check
Love bombing
Intensity is not the same as intimacy. Learn the ten signs, why the rush works, and the sentence that slows it down.
Read the guideA free browser game and Field Guide for modern dating
Dodge the red flags. Learn what they look like in real life.
Red Flag Run turns modern dating patterns into a fast browser game—and backs the jokes with a sourced Field Guide covering healthy behaviour, manipulation, first-date safety and romance scams.
Free No account Built for adults Sources linked
Game meets guide
What Red Flag Run is
You steer a small, optimistic heart down a neon track, dodge labelled red flags and collect the green ones. One hit ends the run. The joke lands first; then a field note explains how that exact pattern shows up on the apps and what a healthier move looks like.
The Field Guide is the written half of the same project: original long-form explainers, scripts, checklists and source notes, available without starting a run. The game trains recognition at speed; the Guide gives each pattern context, limits and a practical next step.
Both the playable runner and the written curriculum are original work. The point is not to label strangers from one bad message. It is to notice repeated behaviour sooner—and keep your sense of humour while you do it.
Choose your file
Start with the Field Guide
Six useful places to begin, whether you need language for a fuzzy feeling, a safer plan, or a reality check before replying.
Reality check
Gaslighting
Not every disagreement is gaslighting. See the repeated reality-editing pattern, the tells, and how to keep your receipts.
Read the guideClarity check
Situationships
When something is relationship-shaped but definition-free, ask who the ambiguity is serving — then use the calm DTR script.
Read the guideKeep these
Green flags
Consistency, repair, curiosity and plans that survive contact with a calendar: the healthy signals worth noticing early.
Read the guideMoney safety
Romance scams
Follow the industrial script from first contact to the money ask, and learn the rules that stop every common variation.
Read the guideBefore you meet
First-date safety
A practical seatbelt checklist for verification, venue, transport, check-ins and a clean exit — without treating every date like a crime scene.
Read the guideThe learning loop
How the game teaches
- 01Play
Dodge, collect, chase the combo and meet the pattern at speed.
- 02Encounter
A named red flag ends the run—or a green flag rewards the better behaviour.
- 03Read the field note
See what the pattern looks like off the track and the counter-move that helps.
- 04Recognise it sooner
Take the language back to real chats, dates and decisions.
Research and accountability
One creator. Named sources. Clear limits.
Cosmin is the independent creator, developer and writer behind Red Flag Run—the game, code, art direction, Field Guide, quiz and field-note curriculum. Research-backed claims link to original studies, established research institutions or official fraud and safety agencies.
Cosmin is not presented as a psychologist, counsellor, lawyer or law-enforcement professional. This is dating satire and literacy for adults: educational entertainment, not a diagnosis, legal advice, professional counselling or a safety guarantee.
Straight answers
Questions people ask
Is Red Flag Run free?
Yes. There is no account, wallet or premium tier. The hearts inside the game are earned by playing and can only be spent on cosmetic skins and Second Chance revives.
Do I need an account or a download?
No. The game runs in a phone or desktop browser, keeps progress in that browser, and can be installed to a home screen for an app-like launch.
What counts as a dating red flag?
A red flag is a behaviour pattern worth pausing over: pressure after a boundary, affection used to rush commitment, repeated reality-editing, or a match moving toward money before a real relationship exists. One awkward moment is not a diagnosis; repeated behaviour under friction is more useful evidence.
Is the advice real, or is it all jokes?
Both, deliberately. The satire makes the patterns memorable; research-backed claims link to published relationship research or official fraud and safety guidance. It is educational entertainment, not counselling, legal advice or a safety guarantee.
What are the Daily Quiz and Daily Challenge?
The Daily Quiz is five dating-literacy questions that refresh at midnight UTC. The Daily Challenge is one seeded run with the same lane, flags and timing for everyone that day. Both live inside the game on the Play page.
What data does the game keep?
There are no accounts or profiles. Scores, streaks, quiz progress and unlocks stay in your browser. If you submit a leaderboard score, the privacy policy explains the chosen display name, score and anonymous device identifier sent to the leaderboard.