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Gram Burch's Tonics 'n Charms by brother spider is a solo game inspired by Ozark folklore. You play as Gram Burch, an Ozark granny who can perform folk magic, getting through her day. Neighbours would ask for Gram Burch’s help to deal with their problems, and she may end up as a fearful witch or a revered healer. The game is beautifully laid out, with photos of traditional Ozark objects. I love how the text speaks to the player and teaches them about Ozark traditions.

Bzugahs by c.Martins is a minimalist, system-agnostic adventure inspired by Portuguese folklore. A lot is packed into a sheet of A4 paper, with enough info to portray the setting, the characters and things to do in the session, but also room for collaborative storytelling at the table. The black and white art is amazing to look at, and really brings the setting alive. It is also very cool that the game exists in both English and Portuguese. Highly recommended!

The Mother of Death Will Drown Tonight by Julia Kartes is a solo journaling game inspired by Polish folklore and pagan ritual, in which you craft an effigy of Marzanna—a Slavic goddess of nature, death, rebirth and nightmare—and drown it. The game tells a story of coming-of-age and mortality. The writing is evocative and sets the tone really well, and it is wonderfully laid out. You roll dice to collect the different items you need to make the effigy, which are related to your past, present and future, and Marzanna sometimes appears to you in nightmares. The reflective nature of the ritual suits the solo journaling game format really well. This is a very well crafted game full of melancholy vibes that would satisfy anyone’s inner goth.

Long Meg & Her Daughters by Becca May is a solo journaling game inspired by the folklore surrounding England’s third widest stone circle. The player takes on the role of Long Meg, the matron of a coven of witches who battle against a powerful wizard that will turn the witches into stone. The theme and mechanics of the game are cleverly tied together, with Long Meg’s magical protection being playing cards laid out in a circle, which aesthetically resembles a stone circle. The art of this game is gorgeous and the layout of an example game is very useful. The writing is evocative and tells the story of a defiant struggle against a superior foe and fate itself. It’s also very cool to learn about the history of the stone circle and the folklore that inspired the game. I can’t recommend this game enough!

Housekeeping by Basil Wright is a TTRPG about Bremlins, hybrids of brownies and gremlins, who have to help a human tidy up their house. I love how adorable the Bremlins are described in the game, and that they have their energy level represented by a number of spoons. Even though the Bremlins are there to care for the house, they can’t neglect their self-care! Check it out if you want a cosy game with cute little guys/gals/non-binary pals.

Just Passing Through by Maggie Mahoney is a cosy duet TTRPG about two childhood friends having a cup of tea after one of them has gone on a voyage. The game uses a card based prompt mechanic where the players take turns to draw cards and follow the instructions on the prompts. I love how each player's prompts are split between things they want to share and questions they want to ask, which simulate an organic conversation between two friends who care for each other. When a player draws a joker, they have the option to end the conversation but they can choose to stay and chat for longer. It is very thematic to have a character having other things to attend to, but instead choose to make time for a friend who they haven’t seen in a long time. I highly recommend checking out this game!

Community copies added!

A Broken Man on a Halifax Pier by Morgan Eilish is a solo journaling game inspired by a Canadian folk song about a perilous privateering journey. The player takes on the role of a seventeen year old who signed up to be a privateer on a decrepit sloop. To survive, the player has to repair the sloop, deal with the limited supplies, uplift the crew’s morale, and overcome enemy boats in naval combat. The mechanics is based on that of The Wretched, in which the player draws cards from a deck to see which problem they encounter, and pulls blocks from a Jenga tower to resolve them. The system suits very well to the perilous naval journey of the narrative, and I love the use of coins to represent the plundered American gold as a means to track progress. The writing is great and it really gives the reader/player a feeling of running a privateering boat that is falling apart. The layout design and use of public domain art are incredible. I would recommend this game to anyone who wants to read/play a thematic solo journaling game.

Warning: Waylayer Weeds is a LARP inspired by the French and German folklore of herbe d’égarement (in French) or irrkraut (in German), in which a plant would lead those who step on it astray. The LARP serves as an aid for the players to explore and enjoy nature. I really love the writing which is both playful and educational. The artwork and layout are beautifully done, and the foldable zine format is very cool!

Squonk's Okay Day and Cold Mist Road by Efarrisgames are two very cool card-based TTRPGs. I really like the incorporation of both playing cards and tarot in the mechanics. Both games are beautifully written and evocative, and the Cold Mist Road’s writing in particular really captures the mood of travelling down a haunted road along with the sense of isolation and dread. The layout of both games are also fantastic!

Quests of Clay by Laura Govednik of Lucky Newt Games is a TTRPG based on Jewish folklore and the mechanics of Honey Heist. The players take on the roles of golems who seek out answers to life’s big questions by going on quests. The inclusion of Jewish items in character creation is ingenious. The theme of duty and free will is cleverly incorporated into the Honey Heist-inspired mechanics. I really love how the golems can carry out a remembrance ritual to shift a point towards their duty, or to defy their purpose in a rebellion to shift a point towards their free will. The theme and mechanics work so well together!

Earth Mother, Sky Father by Riwhi Kenny is a 2-player TTRPG based on Māori creation myth. The players take on the roles of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, and ask each other questions. The game uses the 7 Questions RPG system by Morgan Davie, and the branching question system is very clever! The writing of this game is beautiful and poetic, and I love how the rules in English and in Te Reo Māori are written alongside each other.

Thanks for the information.

Hello Nicholas,

I see that you have submitted Breaking Point to Folklore Jam but I can't see any mention of folklore in the game's description. Please let us know how your game complies with the jam's rule, or it will be removed.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur

Awesome! That's a game with very cool theme and mechanics! I also love the inclusion of safety tools! Well done on finishing it! :)

Thanks for the comment! :)

Awesome! Your game looks amazing!

Thanks for playing the game and sharing your experience! :D

That's a very cool update! Will definitely check out Wellbloom Kids!

Thanks! I originally used 18 as the arc number of the game. There are 18 layers in a Jenga tower, players have to go through 18 encounters to escape the estate, the estate has 18 tower blocks in the lore, and I was going to draw an 18 stories high tower for the cover. Moreover, there are 18 hell realms in Chinese Buddhism.

Then I realised 18 encounters would take way too long, so I lowered it to 14 encounters. I struggled to draw a 18 stories apartment block for the cover, so I lowered that to 14 too. I also changed the lore so that there are 14 tower blocks in the estate. 14 became the new arc number of the game, but it lost the extra connections to the Jenga layers and Chinese mythology. (14 is an unlucky number is Chinese, so at least there is a new folklore connection)

Mud Ghost Estate is inspired by Dread. Mechanically, it is closer to The Wretched and Wretched & Alone, which are also inspired by Dread.

That's cool. :)

I will extend the deadline closer to the date.

How are folks getting on with their entry? Does anyone need an extension to the deadline?

This is so cool!

I ran the quickstart a few years ago and struggled a bit too! This tool would have helped immensely!

Those are some great folklore inspirations!

I love stories about underground cities!

Dear Folklore Jammers,

I hope folks are doing well. What is the folklore inspiring you right now, and how's everyone's progress?

I'll start:

In Hong Kong urban legends, there's a haunted public housing estate rumoured to be built on top of WWII-era mass graves, and also experienced devastating landslides in the 70s. In the game I am working on, a group of teenagers explore a fictionalised version of the haunted estate, with Jenga mechanics inspired by Dread and The Wretched. (It is interesting to think that spooky tales/ghost stories as a way in which humans process immense tragedies beyond our comprehension.)

Yours faithfully,

Arthur

Thanks for playing the game and the feedback! I am glad you enjoyed it! :)

Thank you! :)

A solo journaling game with a very interesting premise that explores what it means to be human.

Thanks so much for sharing the amazing maps you've done! <3

This is art.

Thanks for commenting.

The sun player only has to match the SUIT of the ally's card to recruit them as a companion, not the value.

The chance to for all 3 of the sun player's cards to not match the ally's suit is (3/4)*(3/4)*(3/4) = 27/64 = 0.422 = 42.2%

Therefore, the chance for one of the sun player's cards to match the suit is 1-0.422 = 0.578 = 57.8%

The chance is even higher if you have companion cards to sacrifice.

Let's assume the players have played through 8 rounds, and recruited 4 companions with slightly less than average luck. Also assume that they have fulfilled 3 out of 4 of the conditions, meaning that 1+3 = 4 cards are dealt out. The lowest of those card is the gloom value.

The chance for all 4 cards to be higher than 4 is (9/13)^4 = 23.0%

Therefore, the chance for the group to get either the "okay" or "good" ending is 77.0% in a typical game with 4 companions. With some luck and companion cards to sacrifice and/or achieving all 4 conditions, the percentage is even higher.

As a Cantonese speaker, the mythological meaning of 牛郎 is the first one that comes to my mind. Outside of its mythological context, I can only see the word refer to male prostitutes in Japan and maybe Taiwan.

According to this Wiktionary page, every Chinese-speaking region has its own euphemism for "male prostitute", with only Taiwan using 牛郎: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%89%9B%E9%83%8E

Thanks for commenting.

That's how euphemism works.

People use an innocent term to substitue something else that is considered taboo.

Cowherd/牛郎 is a popular romantic figure in Chinese mythology, which is why it is used as an euphemism for male sex workers.

If you go on Urban Dictionary, you can find alternative meanings to a lot of seemingly innocuous terms. (I was shocked when I looked up the meaning of salad, especially of the tossed variety.)

One can read the D&D rulebook and snicker every time the word "blow" is used.

Thank you for telling people about the game! :)

Thanks! :)

Josefin Sans is a cool font.

Thanks for the kind comment! I'm glad your group loved it. :)

Amazing! Will check that out! :D

Thanks! I have plans for updating quite a few of my older games, but often end up getting distracted by new ideas.

Extended the deadline until Sunday