Story Teller Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Story cards
• Setup
• About the Chapter boards
• Gameplay
  • 1. Conceptualize your plot
  • 2. Present your plot
  • 3. Decide the direction of the story
  • 4. Clean-up
• Game End
• Advanced rules
• Gameplay variants

Story cards

The game uses five types of Story cards: Character (X 42), Scene (X 30), Item (X 33), Action (X 15), and Status (X 10).

Setup

1. Arrange the 6 Chapter boards on the table with the dark brown side faceup in the following order: Purpose ▶ Obstacle ▶ Breakthrough ▶ Defeated ▶ Turning Point ▶ Ending.

2. Shuffle the five types of Story cards separately to create five facedown decks.

3. Draw one Character and one Scene card and place them faceup on the Purpose board.

4. Each player draws 2 cards from each of the Character, Scene, and Item card decks as their hand cards.

5. Each player chooses a color and takes a player marker and 6 Admire tokens of the chosen color.

6. Place the Scroll tokens aside within easy reach of all players.

7. The player who most recently listened to a story takes the MacGuffin token and becomes the MacGuffin player. Now you're ready to play!

About the Chapter boards

Each Chapter board embodies a key element of storytelling structure. As each round progresses, players will craft a distinct segment of the narrative inspired by the corresponding Chapter. By completing these six steps, you will effortlessly witness the birth of an entire story.

Chapter	Description
Purpose	This stage defines the primary objective that the main character strives to accomplish throughout the story.
Obstacle	Here, the main character encounters various challenges and barriers that impede their progress toward achieving the goal.
Breakthrough	A pivotal moment arises when the main character employs exceptional means to overcome the obstacles obstructing their path.
Defeated	Following the previous breakthrough, a setback occurs, plunging the main character into deeper frustration or adversity.
Turning point	The story reaches its climax, unveiling a significant twist or revelation that takes the narrative in a new and unexpected direction.
Ending	The tale concludes with either a satisfying resolution or leaves a bittersweet aftertaste of regret for the main character.

Gameplay

The game is played over 6 rounds, corresponding to the pre-arranged order of the Chapters. Within each round, players will engage in 4 distinct phases:

1. Conceptualize your plot
2. Present your plot
3. Decide the direction of the story
4. Clean-up

After completing these 4 phases, proceed to the next round, focusing on the subsequent Chapter. Once all Chapters have been completed, the game concludes.

1. Conceptualize your plot

• In this phase, players will engage in the creative process of conceptualizing their plot for the current Chapter simultaneously. Each player must incorporate the elements from 1 or 2 cards from their hand into their plot. (For your first game, it is recommended to use only 1 card.)
• In the first round, players' plots must also include the elements from the 2 cards placed on the Purpose Chapter.
• There is no turn order in this phase. Once a player has finalized their plot, they can play the chosen card(s) facedown in front of them and position their marker on the card, indicating that their plot is ready.
• If no player intends to play a card, the MacGuffin player may designate a player who must play a card.
• This phase concludes when three players have played their cards.
• If multiple players played their cards simultaneously, the MacGuffin player determines the sequence to determine which three players can present their plots in the next phase.

Example: The Green player played the "Sick" card. Their plot progresses: "The old man, now a prisoner, suffers from a severe illness with little time remaining. He desperately appeals to the warden for an opportunity to reunite with his family for a final farewell..."

Example: The Yellow player presents the "Secret Passage" and "Pistol" cards. Their plot develops: "Living near the prison, the old man unexpectedly encounters a prisoner who emerges from a secret passage. The prisoner, proclaiming his innocence, brandishes a pistol and compels the old man to assist in overturning his case."

2. Present your plot

• In this phase, players take turns presenting their plots based on the order in which they played their cards.

For example, let's consider the two cards on the Purpose Chapter board, which are "Elder" and "Prison." Your plot must incorporate both of these elements.

The Red player's card is "Picture." Their plot unfolds as follows: "The old man served as the janitor of the prison. One day, a prisoner approached him, revealing a picture of a little girl and pleading for his help in finding his daughter."

• If a presenter's plot deviates from the Chapter's topic (for example, forgetting to incorporate both cards from the Purpose Chapter board), a gentle reminder should be given to steer them back on track promptly.
• Once all three players have finished presenting their plots, the phase concludes.

3. Decide the direction of the story

• Each player takes one of their own Admire tokens to vote. Hold it in your hand and, when instructed, simultaneously place it on your favorite plot. However, you cannot place it on the plot you presented.
• Check which plot receives the highest number of votes. In case of a tie, the MacGuffin player decides which tied plot becomes the highest-voted plot.
• The players who voted for the highest-voted plot receive one Scroll token (their taste for good stories deserves acknowledgment!).

Example: Following the example from the previous page, the Red, Green, and Yellow players each narrated a plot. Then, five players voted simultaneously, with the Red and Green players receiving 2 votes each. The MacGuffin player selected the plot narrated by the Green player as the highest-voted plot.

Example: Therefore, the Red and Blue players received the Scroll token for voting for the highest-voted plot.

• The players who presented their stories retrieved their player markers and the Admire tokens they received.
• Place the Story cards of the highest-voted plot on the Chapter board for the current round to remind players of the ongoing story. Discard the other Story cards that did not receive the highest votes.
• In the next round, the story must continue from the Story cards that were placed on the Chapter boards.

4. Clean-up

• Each player draws 3 Story cards from any of the five decks they prefer.
• After drawing the cards, players can only keep 6 cards in their hand and discard any extra cards.
• When a card deck is depleted, shuffle the discard pile of the same type to form a new deck.
• If any player used the MacGuffin in this round (to designate card-playing or decide the highest-voted plot), pass the MacGuffin token to the player on their left.
• If the current round is the last Chapter board, skip the Clean-up phase as the game ends.

Game End

• Each collected Scroll token is worth 1 point.
• Each Admire token you received from other players is worth 1 point.

The player with the highest total score becomes the master storyteller and wins the game! In case of a tie, the victory is shared.

You are all exceptional storytellers and listeners!

If you feel comfortable weaving stories using the basic rules, you can challenge yourselves by using the advanced rules to create more comprehensive stories with a stricter structure!

With the mastery of this formula, your stories will become even more captivating and profound!

Advanced rules

Uses 7 Chapter boards (with the light gray side faceup) arranged in a V-shape in the following order: Purpose ▶ Obstacle ▶ Effort ▶ Result ▶ Accident ▶ Turning Point ▶ Ending.

Each player will use 7 Admire tokens.

The rulebook gives the following example prompt for each Chapter:

• Purpose: "The old man is a prisoner in the jail. He is seriously ill and nearing the end of his life. He requests the warden to allow him to leave the prison and meet his long-lost family one last time..."
• Obstacle: "The stern and impartial warden believes that the old man does not meet the parole conditions and refuses to let him leave the prison..."
• Effort: "The old man persistently seeks help, and eventually, a sympathetic guard assists him in secretly escaping the prison for one night..."
• Result: "The guard takes the old man to his former home, only to discover that the entire community has been renovated and his family members are nowhere to be found..."
• Accident: "Weakened by the disappointment, the old man falls ill and slips into a coma, entrusting the guard with a letter meant for his family..."
• Turning point: "At that moment, a group of security guards surrounds and arrests the two individuals. It turns out that the warden had noticed their disappearance and pursued them. The guard, acting on his own, is dismissed and never sees the old man again..."
• Ending: "The unemployed guard opens the old man's letter, revealing that the old man wanted to confess and return the stolen money from his past crime to his family. The guard discovers a hidden sum of money following the clues in the letter. What will he do with it?..."

The gameplay follows the same rules as before, but the structures on both sides of the V-shape must correspond to each other:

• When players present a plot for Accident, it must include Story cards from the Effort Chapter board.
• When players present a plot for Turning point, it must include Story cards from the Obstacle Chapter board.
• When players present a plot for Ending, it must include Story cards from the Purpose Chapter board.

Gameplay variants

• Scrambled Structure: Try different story structures, such as a shorter version with Purpose ▶ Obstacle ▶ Turning Point ▶ Ending or a reverse version with Ending ▶ Effort ▶ Result ▶ Accident. Explore the possibilities of storytelling!
• Multiple Endings: In our testing experience, often more than three people want to present the plot for the ending. While we don't recommend having more than three voting options, everyone can still have a chance to share their ending!
• Collective Brainstorming: During the Conceptualize your plot phase, take turns playing cards in order of seating to involve everyone in the story creation.
• Diverse Elements: During the Conceptualize your plot phase, there are no restrictions on the number of Story cards that players can use.
• Genre Stories: Pre-assign specific genres to the stories you are going to narrate, such as science fiction or romance, to focus on creativity.
• Real World: Remove overly fantastical Story cards - it would be too easy if every story relied on superpowers or time machines to solve problems!
• Unique Touch: Fill your the custom visual and textual content on blank Story cards to give your story creation a unique style!