About Presidency or Prison

What this is

Presidency or Prison is a card-based system-building game where players create connected structures to generate points while engaging with real-world-inspired events.

It is designed as a tool for critical thinking, helping players identify misinformation, contradictions, and underlying patterns.

Why it matters

At its core, the game explores how power is built, and the gap between what is said and what is true.

Misinformation is widespread, and many people are not equipped to recognize or question it. By presenting real-world events in a game format, players are naturally encouraged to examine what actually happened versus what was claimed.

At the same time, the gameplay rewards patience and reasoning—players must think carefully about when to act and how to build larger, more valuable card combinations to succeed.

The Operator

Brian Theory is a systems-focused builder working at the intersection of mathematics, cognition, and software. His work spans AI system design at NASA Ames, computational neuroscience at Palo Alto University, and game design at Caltech—but is ultimately driven by a deeper question: can self-awareness itself be modeled mathematically?

Through B-Theory, he explores how logic and symmetry give rise to the experience of mind—and how those same structures shape human judgment, belief, and error.