What an intriguing dystopic idea! I love the concept of an unhinged society that gambles survival, a reference I can relate to current events. Social sci-fi meets Saw meets Dungeons and Dragons is the first impression I correlated with the story. It's refreshingly unique.

I would like to see more sentence variation in length; Short ones to emphasise the dread and action for example. The shift in tenses in the beginning really worked to set the tone. The character introductions were brief but informative for the setting, though a bit more development into who they are can strengthen the plot.

I would love to learn more about the society, and specifically about the game, also about who or what the Mandarin isis. The scene keeps true to the premise, of which future-focus and desperation are consistent. I felt shivers run down my arms at the last paragraph when the exhaustion and pessismitic hope nails down their doom.

My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!" .