
The World Tree Is Coal And You Must Mine
On Quisicosas since 2 September 2026
Featured in the newsletter of
2 September 2026 (on Substack)
What it is about
This world had a World Tree. It has been buried for aeons, slowly transforming into a legendary mass of coal. Only the daring risk mining this seam. What lingers in the darkness beneath the earth? About The World Tree Is Coal And You Must Mine is a one-page standalone solo RPG. Play this short-form game in less than an hour: mining the World Tree's coal, encountering strange finds and hazards, and attempting to equip yourself to survive until retirement. With every month of mining, you carve out and sell more coal, to buy gear or save up. With every month, there's a chance that you'll find an ancient treasure from the time of the world's verdure, and a risk that your pick will let loose an ancient horror long entombed. How far will you push your luck? Features Play as a team of dwarves, quasi-elemental, Priest of the Carboniferous Predecessors, or ogre with a huge pickaxe Find odd fossils, gemstones, golden seeds, or "fool's anthracite" Try to survive behemoth crows, caveman demigods, undead megafauna, or cave-ins Buy purity seals, the Boots of peat striding , trained coal termites, or a succulent and distracting mule It's black lung if you're lucky. The game ends if you die in the dark. Downloads include print-and-play version. Store page art: Some illustrations by Fernando Salvaterra - used with permission; some artwork copyright Daniel F. Walthall, used with permission. 100% human made, every time. Support real creators.



