The Non-Consensual Cookie Bandit - Games that simulate cookie consent dark patterns

Hey everyone — Johan here 👋 The idea for The Non-Consensual Cookie Bandit came from a simple frustration: most explanations of cookie consent dark patterns are abstract, text-heavy, or easy to ignore. But the actual experience of interacting with these banners is visceral — confusing, exhausting, and intentionally uncomfortable. So instead of explaining them, I wanted to simulate them. NCCB is a collection of small, playable experiments that recreate common consent tactics — delayed rejection, asymmetric choices, false urgency, and friction by design — in a form you can feel in under a minute. No accounts, no cookies, no tracking. Just the experience itself. During development, the biggest shift was realizing that less explanation made it stronger. The games don’t tell you what’s happening — they let you notice it yourself. That discomfort is the point. I’m curious how this lands with people who design, build, or think about the web every day. Would love feedback, criticism, or examples of patterns you think deserve to be turned into a game. Thanks for checking it out.