Time
Your career leaves a limited dating window. A busy person can keep you waiting. More dates leave less room for work, friends and yourself.
Dating in SF - The Game
How to play
Dating in SF
A free San Francisco dating simulator by Roy Nicolet for The Matchmaking Project. Choose a character, meet fictional singles, and make room for a relationship without running out of time, money or energy.
Single player · Desktop browser · About 10 minutes
Play the game
How to play the San Francisco dating game
Choose your character.
Play as a man or woman working in tech, finance, a startup or venture capital, or choose student or creative life. Each career starts with a different budget and amount of free time.
Choose who gets your time.
Browse profiles, look at photos, and pick up to three people to get to know. Meet through the simulated apps or in person. Suggest coffee, a bar, a walk, a restaurant or an activity separately for each person. The recap reveals the San Francisco venue.
Make time for yourself.
Choose rest and friends, work or study, or a workout. Review the time, money and energy your plan uses before you commit to the week.
Read what happens next.
Dates can build a connection, lead to rejection, or reveal a mismatch. Choose whether to keep seeing someone, focus on them, or move on.
Protect your time, money and energy
Money
Men cover each date bill by default in this game. Founders start with $55 and students with $25. Walks are free; other plans, workouts and app upgrades can empty your fund. For male players, asking to split a first date often means there is no second date.
Energy
Dating takes energy. Rest and friends help you recover. If energy reaches zero, burnout ends the run with an eight-week break from dating.
How do you win?
Build a mutual connection with someone who meets your standards for attraction, intellect and compatibility, then focus on that relationship. A great first date does not promise a second one.
Watch how someone behaves over several dates. You might encounter ghosting, a calendar booked far ahead, or different expectations about a relationship. Spreading your attention across several people can reduce attraction.
When a run ends, see which choices and dating patterns cost you time, energy or money. Start a fresh game to try a different approach.
A dating quest set in SF
The map includes San Francisco neighborhoods such as the Mission, Marina, SoMa, Hayes Valley, Outer Sunset and Haight-Ashbury. Choose the kind of date, then discover where it took you, from Ritual Coffee to Crissy Field. Explore the city between decisions.
Meet fictional software engineers, YC founders, healthcare founders and investors, product managers and creatives. The profiles and dating stories are playful fiction inspired by city life.
Before you play
Is Dating in SF free?
Yes. Play in your browser without a download or account. All money and app subscriptions inside the game use fictional currency.
What do dates cost?
The fictional budget for two is $32 for coffee, $110 for a bar, $240 for a restaurant and $150 for an activity, including tax and tip. Walks are free. These are game budgets, not actual venue prices. Male players pay by default; female players suggest the outing while their date pays.
Can I turn off the music?
Yes. Music starts with your first interaction. Use the music button to mute it; the game remembers your choice.
How long does a game take?
A run covers 12 fictional weeks with up to 24 decisions, designed to take about 10 minutes. A relationship or burnout can end it sooner.
Can I save and come back?
Yes. Use the game menu to save, load or start fresh. Saves stay in the same browser on the same device. Clearing browser data can remove them.
Can I play on my phone?
The game is designed for a computer. Use a desktop or laptop browser with JavaScript and WebGL enabled for the full map and character controls.
Am I swiping on real people?
No. The characters are fictional, and the simulated apps do not connect to dating accounts. To meet real people, complete a profile with The Matchmaking Project.