Speedrun Guide 18+ — Competitive Play for LoveMoney & BLOODMONEY

Both LoveMoney and BLOODMONEY speedrun communities have established standard categories that mirror broader speedrunning conventions. The most fundamental distinction is Any% versus restricted categories. Any% allows any methods, tools, and routes to reach the final screen as quickly as possible, prioritizing pure speed over completeness or ethics. This creates the most dramatic time difference between games—BLOODMONEY's Any% route enables sub-5-minute completions through purchasing all tools including the Gun, while LoveMoney's aggressive Soap route reaches similar speeds at 10-12 minutes.

Restricted categories introduce additional challenge by limiting available tools or targeting specific endings. Good Ending% speedruns represent the ethical ceiling—reaching $25,000 using only harmless or minimally harmful tools. In BLOODMONEY, this typically means Feather-only runs taking 20-30 minutes, testing endurance over optimization since you cannot improve efficiency through purchases. LoveMoney's equivalent avoids the Soap entirely, accepting the slower progression inherent in maintaining moral boundaries. These categories appeal to runners who enjoy the challenge of optimization within ethical constraints.

Bad Ending% categories specifically target the darkest conclusions—purchasing the Gun in BLOODMONEY or the Soap in LoveMoney—often overlapping with Any% routes since these tools provide maximum efficiency. The 100% or All Endings category represents the ultimate completionist challenge, requiring multiple full playthroughs to unlock every possible conclusion. This transforms speedrunning from a sprint into a strategic marathon where route planning across multiple runs matters more than individual run optimization. Runners must balance which endings to pursue in each attempt while minimizing total accumulated time.

BLOODMONEY's Any% route represents perhaps the most mathematically elegant speedrun in the genre. Community testing has established that optimal play requires approximately 2,100 total clicks distributed strategically across the seven-tool progression. The key insight is that each tool roughly doubles your earning rate while its purchase cost also doubles, creating near-perfect equilibrium where you need around 375 clicks between purchases after the initial Needle. This means speedrunners can predict their progress with remarkable accuracy—if you're significantly above or below 375 clicks per tier, you're off optimal pace.

The route breakdown follows predictable patterns: burst clicking from start until $100 for Feather (approximately 100 clicks), then continued burst clicking until $500 for Needle (250 more clicks with Feather). From Needle onward, the rhythm stabilizes—each subsequent purchase requires roughly 375 clicks with your current tool. The psychological challenge emerges in the Scissors-to-Knife transition where Harvey's reactions intensify and the knife quick-time event introduces execution risk. Elite runners maintain composure through this pressure point, treating Harvey's desperate pleas as audio cues for timing rather than emotional content.

LoveMoney routing proves more complex due to its less transparent item system. While Feather's $1→$2 effect is confirmed, other items provide variable or undocumented multipliers, making precise route optimization difficult. Current Any% strategies focus on aggressive early Soap purchase, though the exact timing depends on when the item becomes available in your specific playthrough. Some runners report Soap appearing around $300-500, while others don't see it until $1,000+. This variance introduces luck elements that frustrate attempts at perfect routing. Competitive runners develop contingency plans for different shop RNG patterns rather than committing to a single rigid route.

Frame-perfect purchase timing represents the most significant micro-optimization in both games. The moment your money counter reaches a tool's cost threshold, executing the purchase immediately prevents wasted clicks at lower earning rates. This sounds trivial but compounds dramatically over a full run—every delayed purchase costs you several clicks of opportunity cost. Elite runners develop muscle memory for the exact mouse path from Harvey to the shop button, minimizing travel time between earnings and purchases. Some competitive players use keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys when available to shave additional milliseconds.

Dialogue skipping offers less obvious but still meaningful time savings. Both games include narrative moments where Harvey speaks or reacts, creating windows where clicking produces no earnings. BLOODMONEY's Any% route typically ignores all dialogue, treating Harvey's voice lines as background audio while maintaining maximum click rate. However, some dialogue segments appear unskippable, forcing runners to develop clicking rhythms that optimize hand rest during these forced pauses. Good runners treat unskippable dialogue as strategic rest points that prevent the accumulated micro-fatigue that degrades clicking speed in the late game.

Hardware optimization matters more at competitive levels than casual players realize. Community testing confirms that traditional mice provide 15-20% faster completion times compared to laptop trackpads, primarily through superior ergonomics enabling sustained high click rates without fatigue. Some runners experiment with mechanical keyboards for any keyboard-triggered actions, though clicking remains the primary input. Perhaps controversially, autoclicker discussions occasionally surface in community spaces. While technically capable of superhuman click rates, autoclickers are universally banned from competitive leaderboards and generally discouraged as antithetical to speedrunning's test-of-skill philosophy.

Split timing transforms speedrunning from casual fast-play into serious competitive discipline. Runners use timer software that tracks not just overall completion time but intermediate "splits"—typically marking each major purchase milestone. This enables real-time comparison against your personal best or world record pace, letting you know mid-run whether you're on track for a new record. Splits also facilitate route optimization by revealing which segments consistently lose time, directing practice focus toward your weakest execution points. The BLOODMONEY community has standardized on eight-split templates (one per tool), while LoveMoney splits vary based on individual routing strategies.

The speedrunning community for these games remains relatively nascent compared to established titles, meaning record opportunities exist for newcomers willing to invest practice time. BLOODMONEY's Any% world record currently sits below the 5-minute barrier, with elite runners reporting sub-3-minute theoretical completion if perfect RNG and execution align. However, verification of specific record times proves challenging since neither game has achieved major speedrunning platform recognition. Most community records circulate through informal channels—Discord servers, YouTube comments, and casual leaderboard spreadsheets rather than Speedrun.com verification.

LoveMoney records remain even less formalized due to the game's more recent release and smaller player base. The aggressive route theoretical floor sits around 8-10 minutes, though community consensus suggests no verified run has yet broken 10 minutes conclusively. The ethical Good Ending% category sees less competitive pressure, with most runners content hitting the 20-25 minute range rather than optimizing further. This creates an unusual dynamic where anyone reading this guide with moderate dedication could potentially claim category leadership simply by submitting verified runs to community spaces.

Verification standards for these games typically require video evidence showing continuous gameplay from start to final ending screen, with visible timer overlay. Some community members advocate for additional anti-cheat measures like handcam footage proving manual clicking, though this remains controversial as potentially excluding legitimate runners who lack recording equipment. The absence of formal leaderboard infrastructure means record claims rely heavily on community trust and reputation. Established runners whose previous submissions passed scrutiny gain credibility for future claims, while newcomers face greater skepticism requiring more extensive documentation.

Speedrunning these particular games creates an interesting philosophical tension rarely discussed in broader speedrunning communities. Both LoveMoney and BLOODMONEY were explicitly designed as moral experiments where the primary experience comes from contemplating difficult ethical choices under pressure. Speedrunning fundamentally inverts this design intent—transforming careful moral consideration into mechanical optimization where Harvey becomes merely an obstacle between you and better splits. Elite runners report consciously suppressing emotional responses to Harvey's reactions, treating his pleas and distress as audio cues for timing rather than narrative content.

This doesn't make speedrunning invalid or morally problematic—it simply represents a different way of engaging with the same content. Just as classical music can be appreciated both for emotional resonance and technical virtuosity, these games support both contemplative moral engagement and athletic optimization. Some runners report that speedrunning actually deepened their appreciation for the games' design by revealing the mathematical elegance underlying the progression systems. Others prefer separating their speedrun attempts from first-playthrough experiences, maintaining distinct mental frames for competitive versus contemplative engagement.

The Good Ending% categories represent interesting compromise territory—maintaining the speedrunning framework while preserving ethical constraints. These runs demonstrate that optimization needn't always mean abandoning moral boundaries. Instead, the challenge becomes optimizing within those boundaries, finding the fastest possible path while respecting limitations you've chosen to impose. This perhaps more closely mirrors real-world ethical decision-making where we constantly balance competing pressures of efficiency against moral commitments. Whether you're chasing Any% world records or Good Ending personal bests, speedrunning these games offers legitimate competitive challenge and community engagement.

New speedrunners should begin with casual practice runs focusing purely on completion without timing pressure. Play each game through 2-3 times to develop familiarity with shop timing, dialogue patterns, and Harvey's reaction sequences. Only after you can complete runs consistently without significant mistakes should you introduce split timing and formal practice. This foundation prevents the common beginner mistake of optimizing execution before understanding routing—you can't efficiently practice something you don't yet comprehend mechanically.

Once ready for timed attempts, start with your chosen category's standard route rather than innovating immediately. Community-developed routes represent collective optimization wisdom from hundreds of previous attempts. After establishing baseline times using standard routes, you'll develop intuition for where optimization opportunities might exist based on your personal strengths. Some runners excel at sustained high click rates, others at precise timing and minimal wasted motion. Identify your natural advantages and route accordingly rather than forcing execution patterns that don't match your capabilities.

Recording and reviewing your runs provides invaluable feedback that real-time play cannot match. Watch back completed attempts noting specific moments where you lost time—hesitation before purchases, clicking during dialogue windows, momentary rhythm breaks. Then practice those specific segments in isolation before attempting full runs. This deliberate practice approach improves much faster than simply grinding complete runs hoping for overall improvement. Finally, engage with community spaces to share runs, discuss routing innovations, and celebrate personal bests. Speedrunning's social dimension provides motivation and collective knowledge that elevates everyone's performance.