Based on William S. Burrough’s essay “Deposition: Testimony Concerning a Sickness,” Junk is a game that actualizes Burrough’s deep analogy between drug use and capitalism. Four players embody the roles of heroin addicts attempting to save money while their opponent, the Capitalist, controls the bank. Each addict must maintain their narcotic high, represented by an orange figure perched atop a servo-powered chamber. The figure slowly descends over time–and if it hits the ground, the player is dead and loses the game. 

Addicts can use “drug” cards to maintain their high and stave off death with the goal being to save enough money to purchase a cure and overthrow their addiction, while the Capitalist’s goal is to keep the addicts’ funds low so that they are forced to continue injecting drugs. After a certain number of injections, the addict can no longer use particular kinds of heroin derivatives, increasing their need for specific drugs and allowing the Capitalist the opportunity to charge them higher and higher prices. The capitalist wins if all drug addicts die or leave the game, marking their victory with a high score, while the addicts only win if all of them escape their habit and leave the Capitalist with no source of revenue, thus overthrowing the Capitalist entirely.