Dinosaurs on Main Street: A Time Displaced Solo Adventure

Every Creative Concepts Solo Journaling Adventure is unique, with its own unique card meanings and events, making a “core” book unnecessary. Dinosaurs on Main Street “Come on, wake up!” Vicki Reynolds whispers, the blonde head cheerleader from Trailgoode High. “Get up, before something finds us!” She helps you stand in the storefront alcove, where it seems you collapsed after that bright flash lit up the morning. “What happened?” You ask. “No time,” Vicki whispers, pushing you back into the alcove and facing Main Street, “There’s dinosaurs everywhere. They’ve been hunting through the streets for the last four hours since I woke up. People are screaming everywhere. We’ve got to hide.” “Dinosaurs?” You ask, shaking your head, not sure if you heard her correctly. “Shh!” Vicki warns, “There’s a fast one that came through here a half hour ago.” She leans out of the alcove, and something toothy sinks its fangs into her head and shoulder. She doesn’t even have time to scream as she’s pulled down the alley on the left out of view. In shock, you slide down to your butt, your eyes lifting toward Acadia National Forest behind the building across the street. Your eyes widen at the dense primordial jungle, covered in misted treetops, clouds, and towering mountains, absolutely not Acadia National Forest. Trailgoode, Maine, home of the Trailgoode High School Trailblazers. A small town on the edge of the Acadia National Forest, once, but not now. A bright light lit up the morning; citizens collapsed and, four hours later, discovered the town was in the ancient past, where dinosaurs roam, and carnivorous plants seek sustenance. You’re a citizen of the town, and everyone knows everyone, as small towns do. You need to survive until more people are found and you find safety while figuring out what happened. Survival is paramount. You’re juicy and flavor-filled to the local wildlife, so don’t just stand there: RUN! Materials you will need. You will need some simple items as follows: • A Standard Deck of Playing Cards (with Jokers): I own several decks with different face card themes. You can use a standard deck or a unique one to play solo games with themes. Every card will have a different meaning as you draw one. They produce the adventures to start you on your way, a side quest, a discovery, how your character may feel, or people or creatures you will meet along the way. • A six-sided die • Paper and pencil, or a writing program: I prefer a writing program or a spreadsheet (Creative Concepts provides a FREE Solo and Group Narrative Sheet to log your adventure. Look for it where you purchased this product) to log in order with your ideas as you travel through your world. Now, before you begin, you have to decide who you are: 1. Are you an adult, a teenager, or a middle schooler? Are you young, mature, or in your prime? What’s your gender? What do you like to wear? Are you rich, middle class, or poor? 2. Choose Your Role: If an adult, what’s your profession in town? If younger, what are your interests at school? What sort of personality do you have? Are you easily frightened or stoic in dangerous situations? Are you trusting? Are you athletic or a couch potato? 3. Prepare your Deck: Shuffle your deck of playing cards and place the stack face down. With your character’s nature made, your role in the story selected, and your cards ready, it’s time to start your journey. Gameplay: Each card creates a new event or discovery for your character; make sure to chronicle them in order. A series of turns of fate may reflect on the card you have two cards later. 1. Draw a single card at a time from the deck if you wish to be surprised with each new draw. Alternatively, you can draw 18 cards for Chapter One, then another 18 for Chapter Two, etc, until you reach the end of the deck, so you may know all the players in the scene and arrange them as you see fit. 2. The prompts below will tell you the card’s meaning by number and suit. Try to imagine the scene with all five senses. 3. Write your entry describing the moment using your senses. Imagine it’s a scene in a movie, comic, or novel, and play with it. Use that imagination! 4. After writing down your scene, draw the next card to continue your adventure. When you reach the end of the deck, you can imagine returning to where you started or using it as a cliffhanger for your next story after you shuffle the deck. You just completed “Book One” of your adventure.