As I’ve mentioned before, “story” can take many forms: from a book to a movie to a campfire tale. But games—be it with cards, a game board, dice and mini-figures, or an electronic device—can also tell a story. Or better yet induce the players to invent their own tale. So, why not tell stories through a sticker game?
Solo role-playing games (RPGs) are having a moment, and I recently had the opportunity to demo a delightful one, The Sticker Game. (OK, other people were in the room, but we were each on our own path!) The game is part audio drama, part journaling, and all fun! Unlike traditional solo RPGs in which the player writes about their character’s experience, The Sticker Game calls upon us to unleash our vast sticker hoards and illustrate the character’s adventures.
The Sticker Game As Solo RPG
The premise of the game/story is thus: The Agency needs your help. A “universal research project” is seeking volunteers. Using audio tracks and proprietary tech, your Guide will help you unlock the strange biochemical properties stickers contain to manipulate the electro-matter radon field between universes. The player assists an alternative-reality version of themself through a dangerous exploration.
To play the game you need the audio drama, lots of stickers, and a notebook. Scissors, tape, glue, and other scrapbooking supplies may come in handy. The audio introduces the player to the research protocol to which you have agreed to participate. But as the experiment progresses, things happen. The Guide calls upon you and your sticker collection to not just illustrate the adventure but also affect the course of events through your inspired sticker choices and skillful placement of adhesive on the page.
My Sticker Adventure
My sticker adventure took about two hours. It would likely have taken longer if I was actually alone, because I can go off on some pretty involved scrapbooking tangents sometimes. The prompts were fun and also inspired a bit of introspection. Therapeutic scrapbooking! I have stickers going back years and years, so it was a trip down memory lane to choose the right one. It was also satisfying to use the stickers, rather than have them reproach me daily from their folder. (Sadly, we all encounter many more sticker-buying opportunities than sticker-using situations in this life.)
While The Sticker Game is a solo endeavor, it was interesting to be at a table with other people and see their choices. I’m planning to run the game at my house for loved ones; we’ll just parallel play over drinks and snacks.
Holiday Stickers?
If you’re the crafty sort and like roleplaying games, be sure to check out The Sticker Game! It would also make an excellent holiday gift.
The Big Cinch from Montag Press, is an award-winning supernatural noir adventure by Kathy L. Brown. Sean Joye, a fae-touched young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War, aims to atone for his assassin past and make a clean, new life in America. Until he asks the wrong questions…
How big is your sticker problem? No judgments here, just curious. Your comments are welcome. Navigate to my website, click the blog title and a dialogue box will open at the end of the post.
If you enjoyed reading this game review, you might like to read about the game Ten Candles.
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St. Louis Writers Guild published Love Letters to St. Louis last winter.This adorable letter-shaped volume of short stories, poems, essays, and illustrations included my first science fiction story, “Welcome to Earthport Prime: A Self-Guided Tour.” A perfect gift and profits benefit the guild’s young writers’ program.