Motivations

Maybe F. sends some goons to his daughter's house (as a way to ensure that his son plays along).

Maybe it's the same goons who start the film . . . so we know they are dangerous.

F.'s move can be revealed later, when F. shows his hand, and can also be a reason that F.'s daughter ultimately turns him in.

It's his game, but she wins . . . and, as a result, someone gets a girl and a life.

Chess, checkers, poker. The threat of real loss foreshadowed.

Or it could be something simpler like: as F. weighs his options, he is attacked by creditors.

Or he flips a coin, something whimsical.

Gets bedbugs. Flees.

Nearly abducted by horror movie film production unit--
it moves into the hotel
he calls home. He doesn't like horror,
as a genre, on principle,
so he flees that movie and ends up in ours.

Cicada's predicted; he's allergic.

A giant cockroach moves in. Won't leave.

A baseball card. Very rare. Lost and then found.

Something he loved as a child. Lost then found.

A giant cockroach moves out. Won't come back.

His grandmother's meatball recipe: salvaged.

The blueprints for his childhood home, long since demolished: salvaged.

Recordings of his mother telling stories or singing.