Infinite Tavern Game

A creative brainstorming and world-building game for adventuring parties, GMs, writers, and anyone who wants to build a world quickly and have fun doing it. The setup is simple: you are seated at a table in a tavern. Take turns describing what you see, who is present, and what might be happening around you. Continue for as long as you want. Contents: Why Play?, FAQ, Play Tips, Examples, Inspiration, Links WHY PLAY THE INFINITE TAVERN GAME? Use it when you need a tavern, settlement, faction, rumour, character, or adventure thread—and want to discover it through playing. The game turns small observations into connected worldbuilding. A traveller’s burned cloak can become a rare dye, a lost family, a distant war, or a place worth visiting. GMs can use the collective imagination of the group. As a solo player you get to experience worldbuilding from a entirely new perspective. You could set a specific goal or direction when you begin. As a GM, you might aim to establish local factions, uncover the history the surrounding lands, create rumours for your storyline, or give the party a reason to travel to faraway lands. Play before a campaign, during a session when the party reaches a new place, between adventures, or whenever you want to discover something new! Also, you could bring the game to a bar and just have fun with creative storytelling. FAQ Q: Do I need to be a GM? A: No. Anyone can play, write, ask, and answer. Q: What languages are available? A: So far English and Korean are available. Message me if you want it translated to your specific language. Q: Do I get access to future updates/versions of the game? A: Yes. Anyone who buys the game will get access to download future updated versions of the game. Q: Can I play solo? A: Yes. Answer the prompts yourself, follow the branches that interest you, and use the Solo Play rules on the leaflet. Q: How long should we play? A: Play until the tavern has given you enough useful material: a location, a few NPCs, rumours, problems, or a possible adventure hook. Q: What level of detail do we add with each turn? A: If someone keeps notes, make it shorter. A detail should add something meaningful and distinct to the subject, but stay with one thing at a time. Q: What happens if we continue to roll "Deeper" forever? A: Continue going deeper. This is the intention of the game. The surface is a fun way of populating a local area and giving the world color, but the deeper you get, the bigger your world gets. See the examples. Q: Should I keep notes as a GM playing the game? A: Maybe. If you want the game to assist you in building the world and to bring the players into the world-building. Q: How was this game made? A: Manually. The first draft was done on a train after UKGE in Birmingham on the way to London - in my notebook. The drawings are either mine, using my 30-year long (unsuccessful) passion for drawing or Santo's very pretty drawings (the cover art). Santo's are drawn by hand and scanned. The icons are me drawing a representation of free-use icons online.  To make the game I used only freeware: Google Docs (writing), Affinity (graphic design), Krita (drawing) and Blender (mockup renders). - If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to write a comment or send us an email. PLAY TIPS Focus On One Thing At A Time. Open Questions Are Good. Leave Crumbs For The Next Player: "...and they have a dagger tucked away in their cloak." Use Senses Other Than Sight To Add Detail: "When the Traveler enters, you notice the forest has gone silent." Keep Notes Short, Clear, And Easy To Connect: Subject: Traveler. Muddy clothes. Subject: Custom. Donate 1 glass from wine bottle to temple. Subject: Food. Menu item: Cured ham. Set Specific Goals For The Session: Create a mystery surrounding the local lake. Develop a set of warring factions and their motivations. EXAMPLES LOOK DOWN — “A glass of stale wine.” CALL THE INNKEEPER — “Their name is Orra.” STRETCH YOUR ARMS — “Late afternoon, close to sunset.” ADJUST YOUR CLOTHES — “The first cold week of winter.” ORDER THE SPECIAL — “Black pudding and fresh-baked bread.” LOOK AROUND — “The Wandering Frog.” 1 PLAYER — SOLO PLAY ROUND 1 🎲 Roll for TOPIC [6] — IDEAS. 🎲 Roll for SUBJECT [4] — CUSTOM. 🧩 “Locals don't speak the name of the river behind the tavern past sunset.” (!) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [2] — DEEPER. ROUND 2 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE RIVER. 🧩 “It was once called Queen Merrow’s Tears, after a queen who drowned upriver.” (!) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [3] — MORE. ROUND 3 🧩 More of SUBJECT: THE RIVER. 🧩 “The ferry crews still whisper the old name before they push off in fog.” (!) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [6] — RESTART. ROUND 4 🎲 Roll for TOPIC [4] — THINGS. 🎲 Roll for SUBJECT [4] — FOOD. 🧩 “The black pudding is made with a dark spice called winterberry.” (!) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [5] — UP, at a top-level SUBJECT. 🎲 Re-roll [3] — MORE. ROUND 5 🧩 More of SUBJECT: FOOD. 🧩 “Orra serves it after sunset, with the fresh-baked bread warm from the oven.” (!) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [1] — DEEPER. ROUND 6 🧩 New SUBJECT: WINTERBERRY. 🧩 “The only place it grows is a ruined orchard beyond Queen Merrow’s old bridge. Nobody harvests it.” (?) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [2] — DEEPER. ROUND 7 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE RUINED ORCHARD. 🧩 “Iron nails are driven into every tree there before the first frost.” (!) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [5] — UP, back to SUBJECT: WINTERBERRY. 🎲 Re-roll [1] — DEEPER. ROUND 8 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE IRON NAILS. 🧩 “Who makes them?” (?) 🎲 Roll for FOCUS [6] — RESTART. With a RESTART, return to the root and roll for a new TOPIC. 2 PLAYERS — GROUP PLAY ROUND 1 🎲 Rock-paper-scissors [SCISSORS wins] — TOPIC: IDEAS. 🎲 P1 rolls for SUBJECT [6] — CONFLICT. 🧩 “The ferry crews refuse to cross the river after sunset, but the miller has sent a cartload of grain to the south bank.” (?) 🎲 P2 rolls for FOCUS [2] — DEEPER. ROUND 2 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE FERRY CREWS. 🧩 “They light blue lamps at the stern so the river knows not to take them.” (!) 🎲 P1 rolls for FOCUS [4] — MORE. ROUND 3 🧩 More of SUBJECT: THE FERRY CREWS. 🧩 “Their boats are chained to the dock with iron instead of rope.” (!) 🎲 P2 rolls for FOCUS [1] — DEEPER. ROUND 4 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE IRON CHAINS. 🧩 “Why does every link have a child’s name carved into it?” (?) 🎲 P1 rolls for FOCUS [5] — UP, back to SUBJECT: THE FERRY CREWS. 🎲 Re-roll [3] — MORE. ROUND 5 🧩 More of SUBJECT: THE FERRY CREWS. 🧩 “Their captain has been missing for three nights.” (?) 🎲 P2 rolls for FOCUS [2] — DEEPER. ROUND 6 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE CAPTAIN. 🧩 “Orra keeps their glass of stale wine untouched behind the bar.” (!) 🎲 P1 rolls for FOCUS [6] — RESTART. 5 PLAYERS — GROUP PLAY ROUND 1 🎲 Rock-paper-scissors [ROCK wins] — TOPIC: PEOPLE. 🎲 P1 rolls for SUBJECT [5] — STAFF (!). 🧩 “A young server is scrubbing river mud from the floor beside the back door.” (!) ROUND 2 🎲 P2 rolls for FOCUS [5] — UP, at a top-level SUBJECT. 🎲 Re-roll [3] — MORE. 🧩 More of SUBJECT: STAFF. 🧩 “A brass ferry token hangs from the server’s neck.” (!) ROUND 3 🎲 P3 rolls for FOCUS [3] — MORE. 🧩 More of SUBJECT: STAFF. 🧩 “Whenever the wind blows from the river, the token rings softly.” (!) ROUND 4 🎲 P4 rolls for FOCUS [2] — DEEPER. 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE FERRY TOKEN. 🧩 “It is stamped with a frog holding a lantern.” (!) ROUND 5 🎲 P5 rolls for FOCUS [5] — UP, back to SUBJECT: STAFF. 🎲 Re-roll [1] — DEEPER. 🧩 New SUBJECT: RIVER MUD. 🧩 “It is cold enough to frost the server’s hands.” (!) ROUND 6 🎲 P1 rolls for FOCUS [3] — MORE. 🧩 More of SUBJECT: RIVER MUD. 🧩 “Small flakes of black wax are caught in it.” (!) ROUND 7 🎲 P2 rolls for FOCUS [1] — DEEPER. 🧩 New SUBJECT: THE BLACK WAX. 🧩 “It bears the same frog-and-lantern stamp as the ferry token.” (!) ROUND 8 🎲 P3 rolls for FOCUS [3] — MORE. 🧩 More of SUBJECT: THE BLACK WAX. 🧩 “Who applies the seal?” (?) ROUND 9 🎲 P4 rolls for FOCUS [4] — MORE. 🧩 More of SUBJECT: THE BLACK WAX. 🧩 “The seal was broken this morning.” (!) ROUND 10 🎲 P5 rolls for FOCUS [6] — RESTART. INSPIRATION Music and Ambience I listen to this channel a lot when I write. It is a channel of atmospheric music, but with no AI used. The channel does not endorse this game, it's just me who wants to shout from the mountain tops about how great it is: Blue Turtle's Youtube Channel How Do I Go Deeper? Look at the detail that was just added and find the small part of it that makes you curious. Choose that part—not the entire sentence—and imagine that you have moved closer to inspect it. What's In Your Glass? This is the first question of the pregame ritual. You look down and try to think about what your character is drinking. It might be a small detail, but it actually establishes a lot about the world. Beer, Ale, Brew, Wine, Cider, Water, Soda, Weird-pine-sap-magic-thing, Juice, Milk, Tea, Coffee and more. All of these support your world with details. Wether or not people at the character's wealth level can afford alcohol. Are you living in a place where drinking wellwater is safe? What kinds of fruits and berries exist? I usually just go with beer. What's The Innkeeper's Name? Same as above. It might be one of the hardest ones for GM's to do, because it establishes local or distant naming conventions. It says a lot about the language and it gives at least an assumption of a window into the culture, based on its structure: Arya, Ged, Sabriel, Frodo, Vin, Yennefer, Taran, Nynaeve, Elric, Lyra, Drizzt, Harrow, Fitz, Belgarion, Alanna, Rincewind, Essun, Locke, Lúthien, Kelsier, Ciri, Paksenarrion, Kvothe, Eowyn, Mogget, Raistlin, Brienne, Garth, Keladry, Perrin. What's The House Special? This is of the same nature. It establishes what types of meat, vegetables and spices are available. Is there bread included? Do people eat butter? Is salt a luxury? Use this opportunity to establish a lot about the world. Pies, Stews, Roasts, Mash, Porridges, Soups, Sandwiches, Kebabs, Bread and more. LINKS The King's Feast The Living Garden — coming soon The Travel Journal — coming soon