Draw a card. Read it out. See where it goes.
“Everyone here is more interested in your answer than you think they are. You can pass on anything — no reason needed — and you can skip a card without reading it. Nobody gives advice. If it goes quiet for a few seconds, that's the game working.”
Start at the Doorstep. Nobody starts in the Attic. Move up when the group is ready, not when the clock says so. The tiers are a safety ladder, not a difficulty setting.
Ask one follow-up before the next card. Somebody asks one question about what was just said. Except when a card says “don't explain” — then it means it.
Don't reassure. “Oh, you shouldn't feel bad about that” is the most reliable way to kill an honest answer. Take the answer, ask one more question, don't fix it.
Whoever read the card answers last, so they don't set the right answer for everyone else.
Nobody is asked a card. Whoever wants to answer, answers — never go round the table in the Attic. Passing needs no reason, and whoever's leading should pass early and obviously, so the group sees it done once.
Wildcards are things you do, not questions you answer. This app deals one every six or seven cards; turn them off up on the deck screen if you don't want them.
After a heavy moment, go lighter. Don't follow a hard card with a harder one, and never end the night on the heaviest card. The ↑ button takes you back to the Doorstep.
Some cards are two questions. Don't drop the second half — in testing it was usually the part that worked. And nobody has to be interesting: the honest answer is usually the unimpressive one.
These are the boxes you haven't opened in a while. They land differently once the room has warmed up — the tiers are a safety ladder, not a difficulty setting.