The file will not open

You chose Open, picked your game, and NutHouse showed an error instead of the level.

Check these first

  1. "This file is not a NutHouse game (it is not valid JSON)." The file is not a game file, or it was changed by another app. Check the name ends in .nuthouse. A shared web page (.html) is for playing, not opening. Make sure you picked the right file.
  2. "This game file is damaged at โ€ฆ" Part of the file is broken, often after a copy that did not finish, or an email that changed it. Try the copy you have elsewhere: a backup, the original on another Mac, or an earlier version.
  3. Was it saved before the app was called NutHouse? Rename the ending to .nuthouse in Finder and open it again. See Opening older files.
  4. Is it still on a USB stick or in the cloud? Copy it onto the Mac first, then open the copy.
  5. Did NutHouse crash before you saved? NutHouse autosaves every 30 seconds. Open NutHouse again and look for Get back unsaved work on the Welcome screen.
  6. Opening from a browser? The browser version also accepts .json, and may download instead of open. Use the Mac app for your saved games.
NutHouse
The Welcome screen with the Open a saved game and Get back unsaved work buttons

Why it happens

A .nuthouse file is one long text in a strict format. If anything outside NutHouse edits it, or a copy stops half-way, the format breaks. The first error means the file is not that format at all. The second means it started right but went wrong part-way, and the message says where.

Still stuck?

Try the Chocobreak tutorial, open a sample game and read its rules, or look at the questions people ask.