Tales from the Camp: A Tarot-based Storytelling Game for 1-3 Players

“Who has smelled the woodsmoke at twilight, who has seen the campfire burning, who is quick to read the noises of the night?” —Rudyard Kipling ABOUT THE GAME This is game about stories—specifically, scary stories told at night, in the woods or some other wilderness setting, around a roaring campfire. In North America, campfire stories are an iconic part of the summer camp experience, and it’s this that was the inspiration for Tales from the Camp . Humans are storytelling creatures, though, and campfire stories aren’t limited to summer camp. Whenever people gather around a cozy nighttime fire in the woods, stories get told. Tales from the Camp uses a standard deck of Tarot cards to generate all the elements you need to craft a campfire story of your own. If you’re new to Tarot or aren’t sure how to read a card so it works for a campfire story, don’t worry! The final section offers a list of ideas. HOW TO PLAY Whether you play this solo or with friends, the core mechanic is the same. Shuffle your deck, then draw cards one at a time and arrange them according to the provided spread to create your story elements. If playing with friends, you can make the game collaborative or competitive . WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY A standard Tarot deck with Major and Minor Arcana cards, or access to an online one-card Tarot spread generator. A flat surface large enough to lay out the Storyteller’s Campfire Spread. Optional, but helpful : paper & pen, a notes app on your phone, or some other other way to jot down your selections as you go. If you don't have access to a physical deck, here is a good one-card Tarot reading site you can use instead. It even lets you choose from five decks for your reading! https://labyrinthos.co/pages/one-card-tarot Some good sites if you'd like to learn more about traditional Tarot card interpretations. https://biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/ https://labyrinthos.co/blogs/tarot-card-meanings-lis https://www.tarot.com/tarot/cards Background image by StockSnap from Pixabay | cover image by Laura Otýpková from Pixabay | all other art by Canva Pro.