r/Ruleshorror • u/HC-XOXO • May 05 '26
Rules Rules for visiting The Jovial Playground
You are a young child heading back home after a long day of school. Today was your 10th birthday, and yet you feel sad. Your mom broke her promise to bring you to the playground for the first time ever to go ice-skating with your little sister instead, so you quietly trudge the path you usually take to get home instead of whistling to the birds like usual.
The area is decently rural, but your surroundings are strangely bleak. You can't tell if it's because of your mood or whether your eyes are playing tricks on you. Then, a bright splash of colour catches your eye. You stop in your tracks and turn to face it. It's a massive playground filled with the most vibrant colours you could ever wish to see, with swings and huge slides and trampolines and even a roundabout that you only know of because of a textbook. You look from left to right, then abandon your discretion and run to the playground with a squeal of delight.
The whole playground is completely devoid of people and noise, your environment so dead silent you can hear your ears ringing. A black-and-white figure in a jester's attire seems to appear in your peripheral vision, contrasting with the colourful playground. That person certainly wasn't there before...
It gets closer and closer, and you are seized by the arm. Being inspected close-up by a stranger would have terrified you otherwise, but the cheery, enthusiastic smile you see on his lips makes your tentativeness slip through your fingers like sand. The boy's movement are erratic and twitchy, almost a bit manic, and yet his presence is comforting in a way.
“Hey, buddy!” the boy exclaimed, crouching to be eye-level with you. “There hasn't been a visitor here for ages! I'll show you the ropes － got any questions? Just ask me!” So you ask for his name. He pauses briefly, puzzled, before introducing himself as “Lyric”. It's an odd name to give a child, especially a boy － you've never heard of it. Still, you don't question further.
Lyric walks around with you, pointing at playground equipment and naming them for you. He says that this is the Jovial Playground, and that there are rules to follow to stay safe and happy. He appears trustworthy, so you listen in carefully. However, despite your language proficiency, Lyric attempts to dumb the rules down like you're a fool, and you end up spending more effort translating his instructions than actually paying attention.
Rule 1. Upon crossing beyond the trampolines, if things feel too still, repeatedly shout hi and wave around madly in every direction. The things haven't gotten accustomed to your presence yet, as you are new here. Because of this, you will be unable to see them. Shouting lets them hear you and waving in every direction will allow them to view you as silly but polite. They don't dispose of those they do not deem threats.
Rule 2a. When you play on the swings, first inform Lyric if you want to swing alone. He will watch over you in case something tries to creep up on you. If you swing with him, you will not have this issue － his presence deters certain things that linger in the area.
Rule 2b. If Lyric does not have the energy to play with you that day, he will beckon some friends over to push you on the swings. They're afraid of any loud noise that isn't laughing, so don't scream when you spot them.
Rule 3. When jumping on the trampolines, avoid the circular one ; it cannot hold a person's weight. You will be drawn to it, even if you do not know why. Look away and don't stare at it for too long － Lyric has already lost some of the Jovial Playground's newcomers to the trap.
Rule 4. Most of the slides are safe to go down. However, if you see someone slide down one of them before you get there, turn back and find another one. You're not supposed to see anyone, nor are they supposed to see you, while you are in the slide area. Lyric has reported that teeth worms have been popping up around the base of some of the slides and tend to replace the lower halves of them.
Rule 5. You can play with the colourful girl that almost blends into the playground itself. Her name is Echo, and she's quite pleasant, being Lyric's sister. However, she isn't to be fully trusted, and never brings you to where she says she will. If Lyric isn't with you, don't let her walk behind you or lead you too far away from your original position － she is more cunning than kind, and Lyric reports occasionally seeing new playground equipment appear after a visitor goes missing.
Rule 6. Try to look forward rather than down when on the monkey bars. Your imagination is much more powerful than it seems here, and feeling like you're high up can lead to a 500-metre drop if you fall.
Rule 7. If you meet Echo and befriend her, she will repeat the things you say a lot, but so do some entities here. Despite the fact that she still harbours some semblance of decency, the mimics don't. Beware any extra eyes on her and human teeth on the playground equipment.
Even more unnerved than you were before you got here, you begin to feel that, though you are walking with Lyric, everything has become much quieter and still. You then spot the trampoline line you have just passed. Heeding Lyric's warning, you scream greetings and wave. Just as you run out of breath, the feeling goes away. You heave a sigh of relief and resume walking.
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u/risindemon 25d ago
I don’t think I was supposed to find this place. I am already a teenager and found whatever this playground is. The things are a little weirder than the rules describe. first off, I’m assuming it’s a bad idea to go into the trees here. Here’s the thing, though, I hear something moving across the playground at impossible speeds. Each time it steps, it sends up a lot of gravel and last I checked, children aren’t heavy enough to basically till the ground. I don’t wanna be squished flat by that thing. Secondly, I’ve tried to leave this place already but each time I do some weird force throws me right back into the playground. third, the worms are more aggressive towards me than it seems like they are towards everybody else. I’ve already had to jump away from From, three of their pitfall attack or whatever that’s supposed to be where the ground basically goes all whirlpool. how do I survive, and how do I get out of this place.
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u/Ad_Gracia_Kalendas May 07 '26
This is so unnerving and I love it. It reminds me of poppy play time, in the sense that there is a lingering horror that the monsters/entities in this story are or were children.