Missing Month

Winner of the 2026 Diana Jones Emerging Artist Award CW/TW: Memory Loss When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me of another world—a world that steals away time. She'd speak in whispers—while candles flicker in the night—about a world of magic so different from ours. "Have you ever noticed the days when mornings would turn quickly into late afternoons seemingly in the blink of an eye? Or a much longed for summer vacation ending suddenly when you're so sure it had just begun?" I nod, pretending to understand, and she would smile—knowing the truth. "That's when you disappear into this world of magic,” she continues, “spend some unknown time and then you come back here without any memory of it." “No memory at all?” I asked. “None,” she replied, with a faraway look. “Not until you come back and do it all over again.” She shakes her head, as if getting rid of cobwebs, and finally she turns her focus back on me. “All that time adds up—to become a missing month.” *** Missing Month is a game of memory—a game where you remember the forgotten things. Needed to Play: Missing Month Instructions (this book) Timer/Stopwatch - the one on your smartphone should be enough! Anything you can use to write your words - pen and paper are recommended, but as long as it can contain words from you, that works! A normal deck of playing cards - Jokers not required. Missing Month is a game with a time limit - you will spend exactly two (2) hours and thirty (30) minutes creating any magical world - not including breaks or character creation. When the time runs out, you will have to say goodbye to a world - the world that you know or the world you just discovered. Will you be ready to say goodbye? Created by Glaiza Champion, winner of the 2026 Diana Jones Emerging Designer Award Illustration by Saint Lilim Border art by Alderdoodle *** For $15 or more - you get early access to the playtest material which is completely playable, a printable journal/notebook that you can use to write on, and eventually - access to the completed book and printable decks of cards containing the prompts when it's finally done "art and all". This game is dedicated to my late grandmother who told me stories by candlelight. Stories about my grandfather fighting monsters to make sure we were safe. I love you and I miss you.