iCartonauti

Can a literary game help your writing?

iCartonauti is a collaborative literary game. T​he players will be storytellers tasked with writing a story from beginning to end. They will have to work together to finish the story before writer's block reaches them.

The game consists of 84 different illustrated ‘inspiration cards’. [The art was made by the students of the ‘International School of Illustration’ of Sarmede (Treviso, Italy)]. It also includes 24 ‘obligation cards’ and a table board with an ‘inspirations path’ on it. During the game, all players will contribute to create a story that will be both personal and collective at the same time: it will talk about each one with the contribution of everyone.

It’s a simple game in its mechanics - with a short learning time thus allowing to start playing right away - but complex enough to keep the attention and involvement - even emotional - of the players.

The game consists of five phases plus the ending. Each phase corresponds to a narrative stage: beginning, purpose, hindrance, overcoming, achievement and ending.

Each phase consists of several turns whose number depends on the initial choice, made by the players, between short story, novella and novel.
​Each ‘inspiration card’ shows four elements: a rule, an illustration, ‘words in freedom’ and either ‘hidden truths’ or ‘suggestions’.

These elements will encourage the players to find inspiration in their imagination or in their everyday life, to enrich the story with episodes and anecdotes, thus making the narrative structure more fascinating to all participants.

The writer's block flips one card: at the end of each turn starting from Phase 2 "Purpose"; when players make a mistake; if stated by the drawn obligation card; if players choose to discard an obligation card on the board.

If the writer's block flips all the cards played until that moment, the game is over, the players have lost.

If, instead, the players reach the final slot "Ending" without the writer's block reaching them, they won collectively.