Memories for Spots with Moments in What Remains of Your Special Place ◌

Folded a paper into a brochure. Then in half. Then in half again. Filled out the resulting squares. Here is a link to some pics of the earlier designs and a link to a shelf i built on itch for it.

Memories… Game Design Photos

shwac.itch.io/7

Game gets most of its fun and atmosphere through you building setting elements methodically piecemeal through mind-focusing, meditative index-referencing tasks. Hope you give it a go!

Inspired by: The Ocean at the End of the Laneand Alone Among the Stars

Plain, unstylized fan-translated unofficial rules (with examples)

Step 0: roll a d6. Leave it there.

Step 1: reveal 2 cards. Place them down.

a: find the 1st card’s suit on the Action table. Note the Action next to the suit. Also Note the Action’s Cost.

b: find the 1st card’s value on the card table (the back cover). Note the Words next to it.

c: find the 2nd card’s value on the card table. Note the Gylph next to it.

Step 2: Synthesize your Notes from Step 1 into a Moment you are interested in exploring occuring here in your Special Place.

Step 3: Decide whether or not to take any action in this Moment.

a: Take the Action required to resolve the Moment

i: roll a d6.

ii: find the roll’s Value of the Action’s Cost on the TIME|PRESENCE page. Note the Value’s Verb.

iii: using the Verb, describe your resulting action and resolve the Moment – describe it like you would a closing story arc or a tale’s climax.

b: Take any other action

i: roll a d6.

ii: find the roll’s Value of the Action’s Cost on the TIME|PRESENCE page. Note the Value’s Verb.

iii: using the Verb, describe the resulting action, do not resolve the Moment – describe it like you would a center of conflict.

c: Take no action.

i: While writing your descriptions about the scene, do not resolve anything in it – describe it like you would a setting.

Step 4: Note any dice you lost this turn (or else your current remaining total) in a margin.

Step 5: Mark any new spot on your map.

a: Roll on the Special Place Event table if you need a blank spot to put your Moment.

example play:

During Step 0 Shwac rolls the Value ⚅.

During Step 1 Shwac reveals 5♥. Shwac also reveals a 4.

Continuing Step 1 Shwac finds ♥’s action is LISTEN. LISTEN’s Cost is PRESENSE. ⚅’s PRESENCE is “wishless”. 5’s words are “EDGE OF AN ABANDONED”. 4’s glyph is 🌜.

During Step 2 Shwac synthesizes those notes to create a Moment taking place. Shwac decides it is by an old theatre prop of a moon. The prop is populated by a single rat. The rat seems to have stuffed the moon full of trinkets, bedding and snacks. The rat looks perfectly content.

During Step 3 Shwac, taking joy in this little scene just the way it is, decides not to take action toward it. This Moment thus is left unresolved. Shwac then writes in their notebook “5♥” followed by an entry describing everything about the 5♥ moment. See figure 1 for what Shwac writes if you are interested.

During Step 4, Shwac marks “[III]T[‒‒‒] ; [III]P[‒‒‒]” in a margin

During Step 5, Shwac writes inside the lower lefthand dotted circle on the map this Moment’s 1st card 5♥.

Ending Step 5, Shwac returns to Step 1.

During Step 1 Shwac reveals Q♠. Shwac also reveals a 9.

Continuing Step 1 Shwac finds ♠’s action is SPEAK. SPEAK’s Cost is both TIME and PRESENSE. Q’s words are: “LAMENTING”. 9’s glyph is 👑.

During Step 2 Shwac synthesizes those notes to create a Moment taking place. Shwac decides it is in a dingy rowed by a ferrier who is actually royalty avoiding their role. The royal seems amicable; the boat looks like the royal has no idea how to maintain a boat.

During Step 3, Shwac decides to takes the action which will resolve the Moment. Shwac notes the action is SPEAK and SPEAK’s cost is TIME and PRESENSE. Shwac rolls the d6 for the TIME taken during this Action, gets a ⚅ and notes TIME⚅’s Verb is “You are STORMING”. Shwac rolls the d6 for the PRESENSE taken during this Action, gets a ⚂ and notes PRESENSE⚂’s Verb is “Another is ENDANGERED”. Using these verbs, Shwac sees Shwac begin to panic about the boat and about how endangered the ferrier is. To resolve the Moment, Shwac fights down the panic by SPEAKing to the ferryier. This causes the ferrier to talk about how they used to show clothes for designers. The distraction proves enrapturing and the panic fall away to story. This Moment is resolved.

During Step 4, Shwac marks “[‒II]T[6‒‒] ; [‒II]P[3‒‒]” in a margin

During Step 5, Shwac writes in a place neither perpendicular to or parallel with any Unresolved Moments an undotted circle on the map and this Moment’s 1st card “Q♠”. Shwac then writes in their notebook “Q♠” followed by an entry describing everything about the Q♠ moment. Shwac returns to Step 1. See figures 2a and 2b for what Shwac writes if you are interested.

Ending Step 5, Shwac returns to Step 1.

During Step 1 Shwac reveals 8♠. Shwac also reveals a 2.

Continuing Step 1 Shwac finds ♠’s action is SPEAK. SPEAK’s Cost is both TIME and PRESENSE. 8’s words are: “TO the HORIZON:”. 2’s glyph is 🎶.

During Step 2 Shwac synthesizes those notes to create a Moment taking place. Shwac decides it is a festival taking place on an island. The festival is vast; the whole island was rented from some government parks service or other for the event. Shwac hears about a frozen waterfall up the mountain and decides to see it.

During Step 3, Shwac decides to takes the action which will resolve the Moment. Shwac notes the action is SPEAK and SPEAK’s cost is TIME and PRESENSE. Shwac rolls the d6 for the TIME taken during this Action, gets a ⚅ and notes TIME⚅’s Verb is “You are STORMING”. Shwac rolls the d6 for the PRESENSE taken during this Action, gets a ⚄ and notes PRESENSE⚄’s Verb is “Another is WORN THIN”. Using these verbs, Shwac sees Shwac running out of places to look for the waterfall, finding another bunch of nothing at another lone summit. To resolve the Moment, Shwac closes thier eyes and SPEAKs to ask the mountain for help. This causes the mountain to tell Shwac not to open their eyes, but to walk back the way they came. The required trust proves enrapturing and other senses turn on or else sharpen in a flight-or-fight response that bring them to the waterfall. This Moment is resolved.

During Step 4, Shwac marks “[‒II]T[‒‒‒] ; [‒II]P[‒‒‒]” in a margin

During Step 5, Shwac writes in a place neither perpendicular to or parallel with any Unresolved Moments an undotted circle on the map this Moment’s 1st card “8♠”. Shwac then writes in their notebook “8♠” followed by an entry describing everything about the 8♠ moment. Shwac returns to Step 1. See figure 2 for what Shwac writes if you are interested.

Ending Step 5, Shwac returns to Step 1.

During Step 1 Shwac reveals 2♥. Shwac also reveals an 8.

Continuing Step 1 Shwac finds ♥’s action is LISTEN. LISTEN’s Cost is PRESENSE. 2’s words are: “BENEATH”. 2’s glyph is 🚀.

During Step 2 Shwac synthesizes those notes to create a Moment taking place. Shwac decides it is morning by the frozen waterfall and they have just woken up. The breath is mistaken as that of a lover’s. The lover is in fact beneath the breath of a cryptid of the island. The cryptid is specialized, technologically supirior, and can detonate in an explosion of energy. The cryptid is calmly eating lover’s heart, as though a patron at the table next to Shwac in a morning diner and decides to exit this “diner” as quietly as possible.

During Step 3, Shwac decides to takes the action which will resolve the Moment. Shwac notes the action is BREATHE and BREATHE’s cost is TIME. Shwac rolls the d6 for the TIME taken during this Action, gets a ⚁ and notes TIME⚁’s Verb is “You are SAILING”. Using these verbs, Shwac sees themself calming pulling in the “rigging” of their own lightly spilled intestine to naturally and calmly rise just as part of the mountain and sail down the trail back to the festival. On the walk, Shwac focuses on an old creation myth to help cope with the lover’s passing. This Moment is resolved.

During Step 4, Shwac marks “[‒II]T[‒‒‒] ; [‒‒I]P[2‒‒]” in a margin

During Step 5, Shwac writes in a place neither perpendicular to or parallel with any Unresolved Moments an undotted circle on the map this Moment’s 1st card “2♥”. Shwac then writes in their notebook “2♥” followed by an entry describing everything about the 2♥ moment. Shwac returns to Step 1. See figures 4a and 4b for what Shwac writes if you are interested.

Ending Step 5, Shwac returns to Step 1.

Closing thoughts:

Obligatory “it’s not a game if it doesn’t come with a win state” win state: You win if you run out of cards before you run out of dice.

A deciphered TIME|PRESENCE table, if you like:

Time Presence You are Another is 1. hiking 1. lost 2. sailing 2. worried 3. building 3. endangered 4. sketching 4. worked up 5. cooking 5. worn thin 6. storming 6. wishless

pdf @ shwac.itch.io/7