Game Theory - FNAF, The Missing Key Is... Phone Guy?!

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

Join Game Theory Host Tom as he FINALLY puts the pieces together in FNAF.

We've all been wrong about FNAF 1. Since its release, its place in the timeline has remained an unconfirmed mystery. But now, we have the week before, a book set the week before the very first game. Will it solve this 10-year-old mystery? Or is it going to leave the timeline even more broken? Hello internet! Welcome to Game Theory, the show that reads the FNAF book so you don't have to. Like, seriously, why are there 25 of these things?

But regardless of how I feel about the mere existence of these things, Scott is still pumping them out, and now we've got a new series of interactive novels starting officially with the week before. For those of you who don't know, the week before is FNAF's legally distinct version of a Choose Your Own adventure book. They can't legally call it that because it's trademarked. Don't worry about it. In this book, we take on the role of Ralph, a Freddie's security guard working the night shift the week before Fnaf 1, the same security guard that we hear during each night of Fnaf 1. Hello? Hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you.

for you to help you get settled in on your first night. That's right, Ralph is Phone Guy. Nice to finally put a name to a voice. From here, you get to choose how the story plays out. Some parts will take you through the pizzeria that we know so well at this point. Others will offer you new storylines, and others will land you exactly where Phone Guy ends up during the night four call of FNAF 1. As you might have guessed, this book has caused quite a stir in the FNAF community. Firstly, because, well, it's actually a pretty good book.

The interactive element really gamifies the whole reading experience and builds the anticipation of where it's going. But the real reason it's become such a hot button topic is because it provides us with answers to some of our most burning questions about this franchise. Not just who Phone Guy is, but who did the bite of 87? With the employee's new tactics of flashing their lights to stop the animatronic, and Phone Guy's insistence that the animatronic never bit a kid, with the emphasis on kid, all signs point towards it being Foxy. How many spirits are inside of Golden Freddy? Well, according to the sixth night, Ralph is overwhelmed by a noise of It's Me

when he's touched by Golden Freddy. But underneath that noise is a different voice speaking in false sentences. Two voices, two spirits. Who those spirits are and how it works are theories for another day. But it's been so exciting to finally feel like we're getting some answers to questions we've had since that very first game. However, the biggest question that I and many other theorists wanted answered was what year does FNAF1 take place?

This book is literally set the week before FNAF 1, so if anything was going to give us the answer, it would be this. Or so we thought. In true FNAF fashion, while offering answers to some questions, this book is cryptic about others. But as I went back through the book and the evidence surrounding Fnaf 1's date, I noticed something. We've been looking at this entirely wrong.

There's a detail that's been hanging over us for a whole decade, a detail that changes not just when in the timeline FNAF1's Pizzeria existed, but the entire timeline as we know it. Grab your camera viewing tablets, friends, because we gotta go back to the original Freddy's for one more night to figure out when FNAF1 really takes place. 1993 has basically been the de facto date for FNAF 1 ever since Matt's very first FNAF episode. He used the amount of money earned in the week and compared it with the minimum wages throughout the years, which landed him somewhere in the early 90s. Combined that with the fact that most weekly employees are paid.

on Fridays, with the date we get paid in FNAF1 being November 12th, and you find the only year that fits is 1993. We almost got confirmation of this date, too, thanks to some leaked FAS FACs from FNAFARR. Saying things like FASBERS, Twisted Pizza Recipe, was voted most yummy by six out of ten children in every survey from 1988 to 1993. But we were later told by Alumix, the company that made the game, not to use this cut content for law purposes. These might have been cut because Scott just likes to be cryptic, or it could be because of

the date was wrong. Either way, it did sow the seeds of doubt within the community about the legitimacy of 1993 as our fath one year. Since then, a couple of other dates have been thrown around, but despite all of the theorising, we've never had something that felt truly solid, which was where we all hoped the week before would come in and save the day. And at first, it seemed like it was doing just that. Throughout the book, Ralph not only records the phone calls that we get to hear during the first game, but he also listens to his old recordings that according to him, are from very long ago. Quote, it's strange to listen to a recording of yourself,

especially one from so long ago. If you remember correctly, your daughter had just been born. I know, it is strange listening to a recording of yourself. Welcome to my life, mate. At the very start of this story, we learned that Ralph's daughter Capellia is 11 years old. And so, if this recording was made around when she was born, and that initial recording says it's from Freddy Fazbear's pizza,

not Fred Bear's family diner, then the earliest this game could take place is 11 years after Freddy's opened in 1983, making the year 1994. Now, there's always a chance that he recorded the calls a year or so before the opening, or he simply rounded up the year. The phrase, just being born, could mean some time between Capellia literally being born and being 12 to 24 months old, which would allow for 1993 to still fit the bill here. That is, if it wasn't for something YouTuber, the unwithered truth pointed out. They also did a whole video trying to figure out the year of Fnaf 1, but they found an interesting detail. The page where we're told Ralph Ruff,

recorded these phone guy messages around when his daughter was born has two major faults. The first is that to get to this page, it requires some really odd pathway choices. By getting through to the sixth night on your first playthrough, you unlock a mobile phone which the book calls the bonus item. You then need to restart the book with the bonus item in your inventory. At various points, the book offers you a chance to use the bonus item, and you're encouraged to do so whenever this option is presented, because that leads to the Canon FNAF1 phone calls being recorded. However, to get to the page about when your daughter was born,

you actually have to reject recording the night one phone call. On this new path, you instead need to call the voicemail service. But to do that, you need a code. This code is on the mobile phone speed dial, but you would only know that if you had taken the previous prompt and used the bonus item to record the night one phone call, skipping this voicemail section entirely. Plus, it doesn't use the typical bonus item prompt.

It just says, if you have the four digit code. Without the bonus item, you'd never know what this code is. But if you have the bonus item, you'd have likely skit this page and recorded the night one phone call. Yes, it is technically possible to do things this way, but it flies in the face of logic for the reader. Of course, you could just dismiss this as a small mistake. But then once you do get to the page about your daughter's age, we find another problem. It contains information that directly contradicts other information in the book.

On this page, it tells you, you've never brought Capellia here. as in where you work, Freddy Fazbear's. Yet later on in the book, it says, she's never gotten over the time you brought her to work to meet the animatronics when she was seven. Both of these things cannot be true. Either she's been to Freddy's or she hasn't. And so it makes it really difficult to lean on Capellia's age

as a defining piece of evidence to settle this debate. Fortunately, there are a few other clues to help us out. Throughout the book, it becomes clear that Ralph has a bit of an affinity for modern pop culture, specifically movies and TV shows. On page 147, he references the Goonies. On page 194, he punches in the code 1, 2, 3, 4. And when it's wrong, says that would be a combination an idiot would have on their luggage. The same line from the movie Space Balls.

When fighting against the animatronics, Ralph's daughter yells, Try Holy Water Death Breath, which comes from the movie The Lost Boys. This thing is full of references like this, and they're mostly from the 1980s. The Goonies was first released in 1985, Spaceballs was released in 1987, and The Lost Boys was also released in 1987. However, there is one year that comes up more commonly. On page 157, Ralph says how Bruce Willis makes crawling through vents look easy, referencing diehard from 1989. On page 176, he mentions watching Lethal Weapon movies, as in more than just the original,

with the sequel coming out in 1989. He even references an episode of Star Trek on page 8, Who Watches The Watcher, an episode that was released in 1989. And finally, he mentions his daughter playing a Sega Genesis, console, which was released in, you guessed it, 1989. With all of these references to the same date, it really feels like the emphasis is on this year, especially given that none of these references come from media that goes beyond November 1989, the month which we know FNAF1 takes place thanks to the paycheck.

And if you remove the broken page about recording the phone calls when Ralph's daughter was born, you no longer need to worry about Freddy's being around 11 years prior, which makes 1988 feel like a really solid candidate, at least at first. As I said, there are a bunch of references in this book, but there's only one that is mentioned twice. Time to make the donuts. This is the catchphrase of Fred the Baker, a character from a bunch of Dunkin' Donuts commercials introduced in 1981. That feels pretty in line with what we've already established. It's just another 80s reference.

Except Fred the Baker and his catchphrase extended beyond the 1980s. The last commercial with Fred saying his iconic line was 1997. Time to make the coffee. Time to make the donut. So, while yes, the catchphrase did exist in the 80s, this means we can't rule out the possibility that it takes place sometime in the 90s. And to top it off, there's one other reference that throws a spanner into the 1989 idea, Disney. No, I'm not kidding.

Disney is canon in the FNAF universe. People thought we were crazy from comparing their mascot designs to FNAF in our ultimate timeline, but here we are, quote, You smile, thinking back on better times. For a while, you'd have said that Freddie Fazbear's pizza was the happiest place on Earth if you weren't worried about infringing on a trademark. The happiest place on earth is, of course, the slogan for Disneyland, which opened in 1955. However, the key detail in that line isn't the slogan, but the kind of lawsuit Ralph is afraid of. Trademark infringement.

We spoke about trademarks in our recent Poppy Playtime episode, but the basic gist is that a personal business can trademark a phrase to stop others using it to sell their own products. In this case, it would be to stop other parks or franchises calling themselves the happiest place on Earth, as that could lead to visitors thinking they were visiting an official Disney attraction, when actually, they were going to a Murder Bear Pizzeria. To get a trademark, you have to apply for it, making it an official legal thing that you own. And despite being around since 1955, Disney didn't actually register for that trademark until 1998. For Ralph to be afraid of trademark infringement, this book, and therefore FNAF1, has to take place after the trademark was filed in...

This isn't a totally out there date for FNAF 1 either. I know Rye Toast has liked the idea of FNAF 1 being in 1998 for some time, mainly due to the date given to us on the FNAF paychecks. In FNAF 1, we're paid on November 12th, and in FNAF 2, we're also paid on November 12th. Only this time, we know the year. 1987. That isn't a Friday, as we initially discussed, but a Thursday.

implying Fasbear typically breaks the mould and pays on Thursdays. And another year with November 12th on a Thursday is, as you might expect at this point, 1998. This date would also allow for Capellia's age to work if you wanted to include that detail, as 11 years prior is 1987, the same year as the grand reopening of Freddy's in Fnaff 2. Finally, it also works with a line that has bugged us theorists for years. During night one of FnaF1, Ralph's phone call mentions that these characters were were, quote, forced to sing those same stupid songs for 20 years. 20 years prior to 1998 would have been 1978.

Since Help Wanted 2, we have been aware that the franchises existed since the 1970s. And in the secret of the mimic teaser, we saw the date 1979 pop up, very close to that 20 years prior. And just like it's possible, he was rounding years for the phrase just being born, it's not too much of a stretch to believe he rounded up to 20 years when it was actually a year less and it was 1979. So is that it? Is 1998 the year of FNAF 1? Honestly, I thought so for a pretty decent chunk of time. But as I was going back through all the evidence, something struck me. The quote from Ralph about singing those songs for 20 years, it's not the full quote. We often spend a lot of

time focusing on the 20 years part because that feels like a definitive amount that we can fit into whatever timeline we come up with. But the full line gives us an extra detail about exactly what he's referring to. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for 20 years and I never got a bath, I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. Did you catch it? Ralph mentions them never being washed in those 20 years. You can't wash a character.

It's just a fictional concept, which means this line has to be referring to the animatronics themselves. In the book, he also states that he was so happy that they restored Freddy and the gang to their vintage designs. These aren't new animatronics for this reopened location. These are old animatronics that have been restored, the same ones that have been around for 20 years. His joke about not getting a bath is just his explanation for why they smell, as during the canon run of the week before, he never discovers the truth about the kids' bodies being stuffed inside. Rouse not talking about the characters of Freddie, Bonnie, Chika, and Foxy, he's talking about the physical animatronics.

And that changes everything. Because of these four animatronics have to have been around for 20 years, then that means there's only one date FNAF1 can be. We've seen that time and time again, Freddie Fasbear's Pizza was officially established in 1983. If the animatronics from FNAF1 are supposed to be the same animatronics restored to their original vintage designs, then that would mean the earliest FNAF1 could take place is 2003.

But what about the secret of the mimic teaser? That showed the franchise was active in 1979. And that's true, but it's not taking into account the era of FNAF that that game takes place in. In the books, the mimic is invented as one of the earliest ever animatronics, designed to mimic the routines of others and wear whatever costumes it needs in order to become that character. This is the costume era of FNAF, not that of fully fledged animatronics. Edwin, the creator of the mimic in the books, is working on animatronics of the main four, but they haven't debuted yet. We saw the same thing at Steelwalls-Packs West Booth, where they

showed a sneak peek of the game. On the walls was a poster saying, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, soon. The original animatronics have not yet taken center stage. They haven't started singing those silly songs yet, so the 20 years needs to start after they've debuted, once again, pointing us to 1983 and therefore 2003. But what about the minimum wage or the paychecks or the references? It's true. Earning $120 for five nights of six hours work is $4 an hour, while minimum wage in 2003 is $5.15. cents. But I'd also point out that after completing the sixth night, you only get an extra 50 cents in overtime pay, which regardless of whether it's 1989, 1993 or 2003 is still way too low. I'm just not convinced Scott thought through the amount all that much. As for the dates,

the 12th of November 2003 is a Wednesday and so it doesn't line up with Fnaf 2's pay schedule. The only explanation I could offer is that in the movie, Mike learns about the job on April 6th 2000, a Thursday, And the next day, calls afternoon starts the job on Friday night, making his fifth night, and the day he would typically be paid, Tuesday. So we can't necessarily guarantee Fasbear is paying on the same day of the week for all of those years. As for all of the references in the week before, well, just because references exist in the 1980s or the trademark was first established in 1998, it doesn't mean that's the only time those things can be mentioned.

My dad only references Top Gun, which came out in 1986, despite the fact he goes to the cinema every other week. References like this can limit the earliest it can take place, but not necessarily how far into the future it goes. If it is 2003, this would mean that Flap 1 takes place 16 years after the closure of 1987, which if you're trying to revitalize a franchise, feels like an awfully long time to wait, although we all know the power of nostalgia with older audiences these days. As for the future parts of the franchise, this is where I'll admit things fall apart a little. FNAF 3 takes place 30 years after the closure of Freddy's, which would then become 2033. That isn't an issue by itself.

But based on this poster and the calendar from security breach, it's been theorized that security breach takes place in 2035. That means that FNAF 3, FNAF 6, help wanted, special delivery and security breach all have to take place in two years. That's a speed run worthy of a tetra bit video. Again, that 2035 date has only been theorized about. is a chance that like our initial FNAF 1 date, it's also not correct. Though I will admit, it is annoying if Henry's message in FNAF 6 that was labeled H.R.Y. 223 has nothing to do with

the year of the recording and is just an arbitrary number. So, what now? We've examined the three options it feels like this book is trying to point us towards 1989, 1998 or 2003. All of them have some pretty decent evidence supporting them, but they also have plenty of weaknesses. So, which one is the definitive true answer? This is where I'm sure many of you are waiting for me to pull out the Trump card, the final piece of evidence that will settle this debate and give us an answer that no one was expecting. But the truth is, every time I tried to solve this paradox, there was always one piece of evidence that just didn't fit.

If we agree it's 2003, then the paycheck days don't work, and Henry's message number means nothing. If we agree it's 1998, then the animatronics can't have been around for 20 years. There's just no winning. This book was clearly supposed to give us answers, but a few mistakes or contradictions here and there have made it impossible to do so. And that is so frustrating as a fan of this franchise.

We spent the last few years begging for answers to this franchise, and over the last year, it really felt like Scott was answering our prayers, clarifying older details in the franchise. The bite of 87 being revealed to be Foxy in the week before, the spring bonnie aerial on the midnight motorist car in five laps at Freddy's revealed that Cheeto Man from Midnight Motorist was Afton all along. Dittaphobia revealed that the FNAF4 nightmares were a result of hallucinogenic gas, not sound illusion discs.

But when you actually stop and look at those now solved mysteries, outside of the immediate question, what did they actually solve? Cheeto Man is Afton, but we still don't know for sure who the kid that escapes is, who the person in the living room is, what the mound is. FNAF4 is hallucinogenic gas. Okay, cool, but the game still plays out the same way. The bite of 87 was Foxy, but nothing else has developed as a result, other than clearing the name of my beloved Mangal. Even today's mystery, the date of FNAF 1, what would knowing that year ultimately change about the story?

Regardless of whether it's 1998 or 2003, Fnaf 3 still happens next and it burns down, then Fnaf 6 happens and it also burns down, then the help-wanted VR game is made, and then the Pizzaplex gets built and is taken over by the mimic. Sure, it is fun to be able to solve these small loose things, threads and so to some degree, I'm thankful that Scott is giving them to us, but they're ultimately hollow gestures, as we're still unable to use those to figure out the bigger mysteries. What's the deal

with Gregory? What happened to Cassie? Are the books canon? Instead, it kind of feels like we're being played with, given small answers to old questions that don't move the story forward. And even then, they're filled with so many contradictions that you still can't solve them all anyway. And that just sucks. It's one of the reasons why a large part of this, This fandom wants the books to be canon. It may not solve everything, but it gives us much more straightforward stories and explanation, something tangible that we can hold on to. And that feels a lot better than the alternative of being left scrambling for details that conflict with each other. We've been left in the dark for so long about so many things, and in a time of so much uncertainty, we want to be able to go to our favourite franchises and feel secure. But instead, it feels as though we're being messed around more and more.

As we get close to the end of 2024, and we've got a new year of Fnaf upon us, let's just remember to give each other some slack. Whether you believe it's 1989, 1998, 2003, or you want to stick with the original 1993. At the end of the day, we are all working with a broken system, just trying our best to make sense of it. And, Scott, if you happen to be watching this, you've got Secret of the Mimic, an interactive novel about Cassie in the Pizza Plex, and another Into the Pit Adaptation coming. Let there be some actual answers that help us understand more than just the small details. And please, make sure there aren't too many contradictions this time. And if you need volunteers to help double-check your law,

I might know a good group of people that would be willing to help out. But hey, that's just a theory. A game theory! Thanks for watching.