Phone, mail and CityNet

Open your phone and choose the matching app. A message may not receive an immediate reply because Public Lives Game is designed for people who play at different times.

If a new person has not accepted your first SMS, you cannot keep sending openers. Wait for their choice. A failed delivery can also mean contact is unavailable; the game will not reveal whether somebody has blocked you.

1. 1

   SMS

   Use it for short back-and-forth conversations. A stranger can send one opening message before you decide whether to continue.

2. 2

   Solano Post

   Use it for longer letters, notices, bills and messages you may want to find again.

3. 3

   Call cards

   A call becomes a simple attempted or missed-call card. No microphone is required.

Directory is the best starting point when you know a name but not a route. Select a result to see whether it is a person, business or place and follow the address or contact choice shown there.

Diary gathers appointments, invitations, rent dates and other plans. It points back to the original event, so changing an entry in the diary cannot change the event itself.

• Contacts keeps the people you know close.
• Directory helps you find residents, businesses and addresses.
• Diary keeps dates and plans together.
• Wallet gives you a quick view of your money and cards.

Choose CityNet in your Pocket. CityNet is a set of fictional websites inside Solano, not the real internet. It collects the business directory, public services, entertainment and shop pages in one browser.

A business page helps you discover a shop, but it does not make the shop better or cheaper. Follow its Visit or Map link to reach the real place, check current stock and make a purchase.

Yap is for short public posts, following people and simple reactions. Open it from your phone or through CityNet. A post can help a creative career become visible, but attention does not prove that the person is skilled or trustworthy.

Treat Yap like a public square: use the same block and report tools you would anywhere else. Do not put private details in a public post just because the app looks like a phone conversation.

Using the wrong app does not damage your character, but it can make a message public when you meant it to be private. Check the audience line before sending.

Your next useful step is to add one contact, find one nearby shop in Directory and look at tomorrow's Diary entries.