The Quiet Year

A game by Joe Mcdaldno

Special thanks to the Patrons of the Seasons:

Cheryl Trooskin-Zoller

Dylan Nix

Andy Moore

Stephen Scapicchio
 Chapter One:
Gather
As the facilitator, read this entire
book and complete the tasks outlined
in this chapter prior to inviting
others to join you at the table.

What This Is Preparing Your Space

This is a map-drawing game. You collectively explore Some preparation is required before you are ready
the struggles of a community, trying to rebuild after the to teach The Quiet Year to others. Begin by clearing
collapse of civilization. It’s a game about community, your table or play space of any unnecessary objects.
difficult choices, and landscapes. When you play, you Aim for a minimal environment.
make decisions about the community, decisions that
get recorded on a map that is constantly evolving. Parts Separate the deck into the four suits (representing
of the map are literal cartography, while other parts four seasons). Place each in a separate stack. Place
are symbolic. Players work together to create and steer the blank piece of paper in the centre of the table - it
this community, but they also play devil’s advocate and will become the map of your area. Around it, array
introduce problems and tensions into the game. the remaining supplies: the pencils, dice, Contempt
tokens, summary cards, and index card.

Supplies Write the following column headings on the long

edge of the index card, leaving plenty of space for
The Quiet Year requires 2-4 players and 2-4 hours. each: Abundances, Scarcities, and Names.
In addition, it requires:
R5 A blank piece of letter-sized paper
R5 Pencils, erasers, and an index card A Fleeting Year
R5 Six dice (smaller is better)
R5 20 Contempt Tokens (possibly stones or glass beads) A full-length game of The Quiet Year tends to run
R5 A deck of The Quiet Year cards 3-4 hours including teaching time. If you’d prefer
R5 At least one copy of the summary card to play a shorter game, you can do so with this
adjustment: before play, remove 4 cards from each
If you don’t have a deck of The Quiet Year cards, of the suits (which represent seasons). Make sure to
instead use a deck of regular cards with The Oracle, remove the King of Diamonds (Summer), and make
available at buriedwithoutceremony.com/thequietyear sure to keep the King of Spades (Winter) in the
cards you play with.
 Chapter Two:
Survey
As the facilitator, you will read the
regular text of this chapter aloud
to the group, following the
instructions written in italics.

The Opening Story Explaining the Tools

Read aloud. Let’s start by familiarizing ourselves with our tools.

For a long time, we were at war with The Jackals. Point to the blank page. This is our map. Before playing,
Now, finally, we’ve driven them off, and we’re left we’ll establish some of the landscape. As we play, we’ll
with this: a year of relative peace. One quiet year, update the map to reflect new discoveries, conflicts,
with which to build our community up and learn and opportunities. Parts of the map will be literal
again how to work together. Come Winter, the Frost cartography and other parts will be symbolic. We’ll
Shepherds will arrive and we might not survive the try to avoid writing words on it, though common
encounter. This is when the game will end. But we symbols are fine.
don’t know about that yet. What we know is that
right now, in this moment, there is an opportunity Throughout the game, we’ll all be responsible for
to build something. drawing on this map. It’s fine to draw poorly or
crudely, but all of us are going to draw.

Point to the dice. These are project dice. When our

community starts a project, we’ll place one on the
map to note how many weeks it will take to finish.
Each week, they tick down by one. When a die
reaches zero, the project is complete.

Point to the Contempt Tokens. These are Contempt

Tokens. They represent any tension and frustration
that might arise in the community.

Point to the summary card. This is a summary card. It’ll

remind us what to do each week of The Quiet Year,
and in what order.
Explaining the Deck Who We Are
We all have two roles to play in this game. The first is

♥ ♦ ♣ ♠
Spring Summer Autumn Winter
to represent the community at a bird’s eye level, and
to care about its fate. The second is to dispassionately
introduce dilemmas, as scientists conducting an
experiment. The Quiet Year asks us to move in and
out of these two roles.
Point to the four suits in turn, and explain that they We don’t embody specific characters nor act out
correspond to the four seasons. Taking the stack of spades, scenes. Instead, we represent currents of thought
show everyone the King of Spades. within the community. When we speak or take
action, we might be representing a single person or
When this card is drawn, the game will be over. It a great many. If we allow ourselves to care about the
could come at any time during Winter. fate of these people, The Quiet Year becomes a richer
experience and serves as a lens for understanding
Shuffle the spades, and place them face-down on the table. communities in conflict.
Shuffle the clubs, and place them on top. Repeat with
diamonds, and finally with hearts. As you shuffle each We’ll also be presented with opportunities to
suit, remind the group of its season. introduce new issues for the community to deal with.
This will often happen when we draw cards or use the
Discover Something New action. By dispassionately
introducing dilemmas, and then returning to our
other role as representatives of the community, we
create tension and make the community’s successes
feel real. If there’s an issue you struggle with in real
life (like whether violence is ever justified), introduce
situations that call it into question.

Sketching Terrain Starting Resources

Before the game begins, we must establish some facts Next, we each declare an important resource for the
about the community and what its surroundings are community, something which we might have in either
like. We begin with a brief discussion (taking two abundance or scarcity.
minutes at most) of the general terrain and habitat
of the area. This can be as simple as someone saying, Some examples are:
“how about a community in a rocky desert?” and R5 clean drinking water
everyone else nodding in agreement. At this point, R5 a source of energy
each of us should introduce one detail about the local R5 protection from predators
terrain. When we introduce our detail, we then sketch R5 adequate shelter
our contribution onto the map. These sketches should R5 food
be rough and simple, leaving lots of blank space for
additions during play. The community itself should Choosing a resource makes it important, if it wasn’t
be fairly large on the map, perhaps occupying a third already. If you pick ‘gasoline,’ it becomes something
of the sheet. Unless otherwise stated, assume that our that your community wants and needs.
community has 60-80 members.
As a group, we now choose one of those resources
As an example, a group might decide to set their to be in Abundance. It gets listed on the index card
game in a forest. The first player introduces the detail: under Abundances, and whoever called it now draws
“Alright, the forest is full of young, spindly trees.” an abundance of this resource on the map. The other
The next player adds, “And it’s nestled within a steep resources get listed as Scarcities, and the players who
mountain range.” The third player adds, “We’ve taken called them draw their absence or scarcity on the
up residence in an old mining camp.” The final player map somehow. Remember that symbols and symbolic
says, “And the trees in this area have all been clearcut.” representations are fine, but words should be avoided.
As details are added, the players draw them on the map.
Have everyone declare a resource and decide which one is
Everyone should introduce a detail and draw it on the in Abundance. Update the map to reflect before proceeding.
map before proceeding.
 Chapter Three:
Rules
Pass the book around the table,
letting everyone take turns
reading these sections aloud to the
group. Once you have finished
this chapter, begin play.

The Week Drawing Cards

The basic unit of play in The Quiet Year is the week. As there are 52 cards, there are 52 weeks. We
Each week is a turn taken by one player, with play won’t necessarily get to play all of them - the Frost
proceeding clockwise around the table. Weeks should Shepherds could arrive any time during Winter.
take an average of 2-3 minutes to complete.
Most cards have two options to choose from,
During each week, the following things happen: separated by an ‘or…’ divider. Pick the option that you
find the most interesting and fitting, and read the text
R5 The active player draws a card, reads the relevant aloud. The card might ask you a question, bring bad
text aloud, and resolves it. They follow all bold text. news, or create new opportunities. Many cards have
specific rules attached to them, which are written in
R5 Project dice are reduced by 1, and any finished bold text. If you drew the card, it’s up to you to make
projects are updated. the decisions that the card requires.

R5 The active player chooses and takes an action If a card asks you a question, think about whether your
(Discover Something New, Hold a Discussion, answer could be represented on the map somehow. If
or Start a Project). it fits, update the map to reflect this new information.
For example, if the card asks you about the sleeping
quarters for the community, you might end up
drawing a row of tents near the edge of the forest.
Working on Projects Discover Something New
Unless your card specifically told you otherwise (in One of the action types is Discover Something New.
bold text), the next step is to reduce each project die Introduce a new situation. It might be a problem,
on the map by 1. If a project reaches 0, the die gets an opportunity, or a bit of both. Draw that situation
removed and the project is completed. Whoever onto the map. Drawings should be small and simple:
started the project gets to tell everyone how it turns smaller than an inch, finished within thirty seconds.
out, and update the map to reflect its completion.
Whenever things seem too controlled or easy,
If a project finishes early (because a card says that “a we can use this action to introduce new issues
project finishes early” in bold text), it is instead the and dilemmas. When individual characters get
responsibility of the active player to tell everyone how introduced, we’ll give them names, and record those
it turns out and to update the map. names on our index card.

If your card’s bold text had you place a project die on Some example situations:
the map just a moment ago, that die doesn’t reduce R5 There’s a dried-up well located at the edge of town.
during this week. It’s just now getting under way. R5 Mangy wolves have been slinking around the woods.
R5 There’s a broken-down waterwheel a mile upstream.
When a project gets completed, it is assumed that it R5 Strange wailing noises come from the forest at night.
went successfully and is beneficial to the community. R5 A self-declared prophet arrives.
In some cases, it might make sense to have an
investigative project end with a hope dispelled. Even
in these cases, the completion of a project should
always feel like a step forward, not backward. This
doesn’t always mean that the whole community is
happy with the results, though.

Hold a Discussion Start a Project

Another of the action types is Hold a Discussion. You The final action type is Start a Project. You choose a
can choose to open with a question or a declaration. situation and declare what the community will do to
Starting with you and going clockwise, everyone resolve it. There is no consultation about this idea -
gets to weigh in once, sharing a single argument the community simply begins work.
comprised of 1-2 sentences. If you opened with a
question, you get to weigh in last. If you opened with Some example projects:
a declaration, that’s it for you. R5 We’re converting the mineshaft into a cold
food storage.
A discussion never results in a decision or summation R5 We’re killing those wolves.
process. Everyone weighs in, and then it’s over. This R5 We’re going to sacrifice a newborn on the night of
is how conversations work in communities: they are the full moon, to appease the Windwalkers.
untidy and inconclusive affairs.
As a group, quickly decide how many weeks the
Each discussion should be tied to a situation on the project would reasonably take to complete (minimum
map. When a discussion ends, mark the situation it is 1 and maximum 6). Remember that you are a small
attached to with a small dot. community. It isn’t easy or quick to build a house
or repair a waterwheel. Do you have the necessary
Some example conversations include: tools and expertise to do this? Be generous with your
R5 Should we retaliate against the bikers? (Or, if assumptions, but do remember that scarcity and
leading with a declaration: We should abstain difficulty are the norm. If a project would reasonably
from retaliation or violence.) take longer than six weeks to complete, it will need to
R5 Could we use the school-bus as a sleeping area be completed in stages.
for the village children?
Place a die on the map wherever the project is taking
It’s important that we stay concise. If any of us feel place, with the die face matching the number of
like we have more to say on a topic, we can always weeks it will take to complete.
hold another discussion about it at a later point.
Updating Resources Contempt
At the start of the game, we’ll have one resource in If ever you feel like you weren’t consulted or honoured
Abundance and at least that many in Scarcity. These in a decision-making process, you can take a piece of
lists serve as guides for interpreting the health of the Contempt and place it in front of you. This is your
community. Throughout play, we’ll update these lists outlet for expressing disagreement or tension. If
to reflect changes in our circumstances, whenever someone starts a project that you don’t agree with, you
we feel that it is appropriate to do so. Maybe the don’t get to voice your objections or speak out of turn.
completion of a project alleviates a Scarcity or creates You are instead invited to take a piece of Contempt.
an Abundance. Some weekly cards will alter these
lists as well. Contempt will generally remain in front of players
until the end of the game. It will act as a reminder
of past contentions. Its primary role is as a social
Balancing the Actions signifier. In addition, you can discard it back into the
centre of the table in two ways: by acting selfishly and
Discover Something New lets us introduce new by diffusing tensions.
situations and dilemmas into the game. Hold a
Discussion lets us all talk about the state of the map If you ever want to act selfishly, to the known
and the community. Start a project lets us solve our detriment of the community, you can discard a
problems and grow. By respecting this division of Contempt token to justify your behaviour. You
purpose, we make sure each week involves making decide whether your behaviour requires justification.
important decisions. This will often trigger others taking Contempt
tokens in response.
It’s important that we respect the purpose and
balance of the three types of action. We shouldn’t use If someone else does something that you greatly
Discover Something New to skirt our problems by support, that would mend relationships and
conveniently encountering the very supplies we lacked. rebuild trust, you can discard a Contempt token to
We shouldn’t Hold a Discussion about situations we demonstrate how they have diffused past tensions.
haven’t even mentioned or introduced yet.

Restraint Pacing
In playing The Quiet Year, we must refrain from At the beginning of the game, we’ll only have a basic
free-wheeling discussion about what to do next. sketch of the landscape. From this humble place, a
There are specific mechanics in the game for rich tapestry will emerge. How, and at what pace?
discussing community issues and demonstrating our
displeasure. When we play, we won’t speak out of The cards of Spring will ask us a lot of questions,
turn or attempt to circumnavigate these mechanics. which will establish more about the landscape and
These rules work to demonstrate how difficult it is the inner workings of our community. We should use
to engage the entire community in conversation, Spring to become familiar with the mechanics and
and how tensions and disagreements tend to linger structure of the game. There won’t necessarily be a lot
across weeks or even months. of tension or conflict during Spring, and this is fine.
In Summer, larger threats and greater progress will
We’ll also be careful to avoid character narratives. In both emerge. We’ll begin to define our community
The Quiet Year, characters will likely emerge who through our actions, and some seeds of discontent
we identify with. They’ll have names. They’ll be tied will likely be sown. In Autumn, danger and failure
into interesting situations on the map. The game will become more visible and serious. This will be the
falter, however, if we try to use these mechanics to tell most trying season. In Winter, the community will
a story about any one of these individuals. As much continue its work and preparations, and as players we
as possible, we should keep the focus of the game will contend with the dramatic irony of knowing that
on the community’s wants and needs, and the ways the Frost Shepherds could arrive at any moment.
that decisions get made about them. We should use
named characters to support that larger, bird’s eye If ever the map feels lacking or the community seems
view - and not the other way around. to have domesticated the world around it, we can
introduce new dilemmas. What happens when a child
murders his mother? What happens when someone
screws up and it costs us a food supply?

You’re ready to start, now. Play to find out what happens.

 Chapter Four:
More
As the facilitator, be familiar with
these sections. During play, you
may reference and read sections
from it whenever they seem
relevant or important.

Parsing Weird Artifacts

Should you feel that someone has misinterpreted the The Quiet Year takes place after the collapse of
rules, pause them. Find the relevant section of the text civilization, which likely means that the landscape is
and read it aloud. As much as possible, call attention apocalyptic and strange. Players may differ in their
to how the rules function, rather than why you think a preferences concerning how much ‘strange’ they want
specific player has misused them. Allow players to be introduced into the game. This is especially true for
the ultimate arbiters of their own contributions. advanced technologies, post-apocalyptic mutations,
and supernatural elements. It’s a good idea to keep
the ‘strange dial’ fixed once the community is midway
Dividing the Community through Summer. Use the game setup and Spring to
establish whether strange elements exist in the game,
Sometimes, factions arise within the community and and then the rest of the year to build on those answers.
clash in such a way that no resolution seems possible.
Circumstances might lead the community to divide
itself into two camps, perhaps as a large project. The The Shepherds Arrive
rules function exactly the same, but player voices might
now represent members of neighbouring communities. During play, it’s best to leave the Frost Shepherds an
Contempt can arise both within and between the two elusive mystery - perhaps hinting at what they might
communities. Discussions can be held about mutual be, but never directly answering. The game ends
issues and also the issues specific to each camp. abruptly when the King of Spades is drawn. The card
is read aloud, and the game immediately concludes.
Once the game is over, it is fine to talk about what
Indoors the Frost Shepherds might have been, what their
arrival might have meant for the community, or any
If your game is set in an underground or indoor of the other situations that were faced throughout
environment, some creative interpretations may be their year. With the game over, the limits placed on
necessary for certain cards. For example, ‘weather’ communication and discussion are suddenly lifted.
might refer to air circulation and ground tremors.
Chapter Five: Setting Up: An Example
Examples Lisa, Raj, and Kate sit down to play The Quiet Year
together. Lisa is facilitating the game, and has already
These two examples are designed to prepared the supplies as instructed in Chapter 1. She
illustrate how the game works and invites Raj and Kate to sit down with her.
the mechanics interact with one
another. It should be referenced Lisa: Alright. Thanks for agreeing to play this game
to clear up any confusion that with me. I’m excited! I’m going to start with reading
might arise. some text to you, and then we’ll collaborate on a few
setup activities.

Lisa reads The Opening Story aloud, and then pauses

for a moment to let it sink in. She then moves through
the Explaining the Tools section, following the italicized
instructions and reading the regular text aloud. She
reads aloud Who We Are, and then Sketching Terrain
(including the examples). Lisa simply reads this verbatim.

Lisa: Alright, so where are we situated? What ideas

do you two have?

Raj: My first thought is that it’d be interesting to put

ourselves next to the coast. Somewhere wet and windy.

Lisa: I think that’s great. I’d also be into setting it in a

thick wooded area, like a mountain forest. Kate?

Kate: I’m into the coast. Let’s go with that. For Kate: And I’ll go with textiles, if that’s good with
details: maybe our community is built right next to a both of you.
wide inlet.
Lisa: That’s great. Fish, drinkable water, and textiles.
Kate quickly sketches an inlet, and draws some crude Of those three, which one do we have in Abundance?
waves to indicate which part is water.
The players all agree that it’d be most interesting to have
Raj: I’d like it if there was a lighthouse, and maybe a an Abundance of textiles, and a Scarcity of both fish and
small storehouse attached to it. drinkable water. What a peculiar situation for a coastal
community! The three choices get recorded on the index
Raj sketches a three-quarter view of a lighthouse, and card. Kate draws a little cross-hatched blanket next to the
puts a small rectangle next to it, depicting the storehouse. storehouse, to indicate an Abundance of textiles. The blanket
and the storehouse are almost the same size, which is totally
Lisa: Alright, that leaves me. I want the area just fine. Lisa draws an empty water glass next to the inlet, to
inland of the lighthouse to be swampy and full of tall represent a Scarcity of drinkable water. Raj draws a fish
grasses. That’s where the inlet leads. skeleton in the water, to indicate a Scarcity of fish.

Lisa draws some wavy lines and light shading to indicate Lisa: Alright! We’ve got our community established
bog, and draws a couple grass clumps. Having finished at this point. We’re around 60-80 people, living on
sketching the initial landscape, she moves on to read the the coast, rich in textiles, but without fish or drinkable
Starting Resources section. water. There’s some intriguing stuff here. Now we
turn to chapter three in the book, where we take turns
Lisa: Remember that these resources we name might reading sections of the rules aloud. A few pages of
be in Scarcity or in Abundance. that, and then we’ll be set to play. Who wants to read
first?
Raj: I choose fish.
Kate takes the book, and begins reading the section titled
Lisa: I’m going with drinkable water as mine. The Week. She then passes the book around the table.
 Everyone gets to weigh in once, with a single response.
Three Weeks of Play
Lisa: I think that recon will keep us safe in the long
It’s mid-Summer, and Raj is now the active player. He run, so it’s worth a bit of short-term risk.
begins by drawing a card from the top of the deck. It’s the
7 of Diamonds (Summer). There are two options written Kate: No. If we incite the wrath of another pirate
on it. He doesn’t choose: “An unattended situation becomes fleet, it could spell ruin for our community.
problematic and scary. What is it? How does it go awry?”
Raj: I think we should focus energy on establishing
Raj: “Introduce a mystery at the edge of the map.” coastal sentries, but keep our boats in safer waters.
Alright, a young boy is out searching around in the
bog, and discovers a weird skeleton. He pulls it out Raj marks the docks with a dot, to indicate the discussion.
of the mud with the help of his friends. It’s sort of That concludes the week. It’s Lisa’s week next, and she draws
like an alligator, except its limbs are articulated in too the 9. She chooses one of the two options to read aloud.
many places and it’s got too many eye sockets.
A mutant, maybe? Lisa: Uh oh, guys. “A project fails. Which one? Why?”
The boat is more important in the long run, I think.
Raj spends about 25 seconds drawing a weird animal spine So the ‘sun shrine’ project gets nixed. Several
over by the bogs. His picture is less than half an inch wide. people decide that we can’t spare the heavy canvas
or the wood that we were using to build it, so they
He glances at The Summary card momentarily. The next disassemble whats been done.
step is to reduce project dice. There are two dice sitting
on the map, set to 3 and 2. Each of those dice is linked to Lisa removes one of the dice from the map. Raj and Kate
a project that the community is working on. Raj knocks don’t get to talk about Lisa’s decision, because it isn’t their
them both down by 1. turn and this isn’t a discussion. They do have the option
of taking Contempt, though, which Kate does. She doesn’t
Raj: For my action, I’m going to Hold a Discussion. feel honoured by the actions of those community members.
I’ll lead with a question: “When we’ve finished the
boat repair project, will we resume our scouting
endeavors? Or is that too dangerous now?”

Lisa knocks the remaining die from 2 to 1. The boat repair Lisa: Alright, I started that boat project, a month
will be finished next week. ago now. How does it turn out? Well, we managed to
patch the crack in its hull, and furthermore seal the
Lisa: Okay. For my weekly action, I’m going to Start a whole underside. It’s seaworthy again.
project. We’ve been afraid of these marauding pirates
for a while now, and some defences would be good. So Lisa updates the map by drawing a pristine boat picture,
we’ll train some sentries and arm them with whatever next to the previously-crossed-out boat picture.
we found in that army jeep. How long will this take?
Kate: And now my action. I’m going to Discover
The players quickly agree that this seems like it’d logically Something New. Once we get the boat out into the
be a 2 week project. Lisa places a die marked “2” next water again, we discover that a strange sea plant is in
to the jeep icon, because that seems like a fitting place to bloom, submerged just below the water’s surface. It is
‘anchor’ the project. Once again, there is no room to protest spiny and fuchsia. Nobody’s sure what to do with it yet.
the launch of this project, though Raj and Kate both have
the opportunity to take Contempt. Neither do so. She draws a few squiggles in the water to represent this
mysterious new plant. This concludes her turn. Each of
Finally, it’s Kate’s turn. She draws the 2 of Diamonds these turns took 2-3 minutes to complete. This entire
(Summer), and chooses one of the two options. example spans 7-8 minutes of play.

Kate: Alright: “Someone new arrives. Who? Why are

they in distress?” I think a lone man washes up on the
shore, starving and delirious. He’d been held captive
on one of the pirate ships, and managed to escape only
by diving overboard and swimming toward the shore.
We greet him with what little food we can spare.

Kate draws a little stick figure man. The next step is to

reduce the project dice on the board. The boat repair project For more on The Quiet Year, including a small
finishes and the sentries project has 1 week remaining. collection of quickstart Charted Areas maps, visit
www.buriedwithoutceremony.com/thequietyear
 Spring
What group has the highest status in the community? Are there distinct family units in the community? If so,
A or...
What must people do to gain inclusion in this group? what family structures are common?

There’s a large body of water on the map. There’s a giant, man-made structure on the map.
2 or...
Where is it? What does it look like? Where is it? Why is it abandoned?

Two of the community’s younger members

3 Someone new arrives. Who? or...
get into a fight. What provoked them?

What important and basic tools Where are you storing your food?
4 or...
does the community lack? Why is this a risky place to store things?

Alarming weather patterns destroy something.

5 There is a disquieting legend about this place. What is it? or...
How and what?

Are there children in your community? If there are, How old are the eldest members of the community?
6 or...
what is their role in the community? What special needs do they have?

Where does everyone sleep? Who is unhappy

7 or... What natural predators roam this area? Are you safe?
with this arrangement, and why?

An old piece of machinery is discovered,

An old piece of machinery is discovered, cursed and
8 broken but perhaps repairable. What is it? or...
dangerous. How does the community destroy it?
What would it be useful for?

A charismatic young girl convinces many to help her A charismatic young girl tries to tempt many into
9 with an elaborate scheme. What is it? Who joins her or... sinful or dangerous activity. Why does she do this?
endeavors? Start a project to reflect. How does the community respond?

There’s another community somewhere on the map.

10 or... What belief or practice helps to unify your community?
Where are they? What sets them apart from you?

J You see a good omen. What is it? or... You see a bad omen. What is it?

Q What’s the most beautiful thing in this area? or... What’s the most hideous thing in this area?

A young boy starts digging in the ground, and An old man confesses to past crimes
K or...
discovers something unexpected. What is it? and atrocities. What has he done?
 Summer
A contingent within the community have acted on their
A contingent within the community demand to be heard.
A or... frustrations. What have they damaged, and why did they
Who are they? What are they asking for?
damage it? Is it permanent?

Someone leaves the community.

2 Someone new arrives. Who? Why are they in distress? or...
Who? What are they looking for?

Summer is a time for conquest and the gathering of

Summer is a time for production and tending to the
3 or... might. Start a project related to military readiness and
earth. Start a project related to food production.
conquest.
The eldest among you is very sick. Caring for them
4 The eldest among you dies. What caused the death? or... and searching for a cure requires the help of the entire
community. Do not reduce project dice this week.

A project finishes early. The weather is nice and people can feel the potential
5 or...
What led to its early completion? all around them. Start a new project.

Outsiders arrive in the area. Why are they a threat? Outsiders arrive in the area. How many?
6 or...
How are they vulnerable? How are they greeted?

An unattended situation becomes problematic and scary.

7 Introduce a mystery at the edge of the map. or...
What is it? How does it go awry?

Someone tries to take control of the community by force. A headstrong community member decides to put one of
8 or...
Do they succeed? Why do they do this? their ideas in motion. Start a foolish project.

Something goes foul and supplies are ruined.

9 A project fails. Which one? Why? or...
Add a new Scarcity.

You discover a cache of supplies or resources. A Scarcity has gone unaddressed for too long!
10 or...
Add a new Abundance. Start a project that will alleviate that Scarcity.

Predators and bad omens are afoot. You are careless, and Predators and bad omens are afoot. What measures do
J someone goes missing under ominous circumstances. or... you take to keep everyone safe and under surveillance?
Who? Do not reduce project dice this week.

A project finishes early. Which one? Why?

Q
If there are no projects underway, boredom leads to quarrel.
A fight breaks out between two people. What is it about?

K Summer is fleeting. Discard the top two cards off the top of the deck and take two actions this week.
 Autumn
The community becomes obsessed with a single project. Which one? Why? Choose one:
R5Ļ35#5.)5.%5'),5.#'5.)5(-/,5.".5#.5#-5*, .85Add 3 weeks to the project die.
R5Ļ35,)*50,3."#(!5&-5.)51),%5)(5#.85All other projects fail.
A
If there are no projects underway, the community becomes obsessed with a grandiose vision.
Hold a discussion about this vision, in addition to your regular action for the week.

Someone returns to the community. You find a body. Do people recognize who it is?
2 or...
Who? Where were they? What happened?

Someone issues a dire warning, and the community

Someone leaves the community after issuing a
3 or... leaps into action to avoid disaster. What is the warning?
dire warning. Who? What is the warning?
Start a contentious project that relates to it.

The weakest among you dies.

4 The strongest among you dies. What caused the death? or...
Who’s to blame for their death?

A small gang of marauders is making its way

The Parish arrives. Who are they? Why have they
5 or... through local terrain. How many are there?
chosen your community, and for what?
What weapons do they carry?

Introduce a dark mystery among Conflict flares up among community members,

6 or...
the members of the community. and as a result, a project fails.

A project just isn’t working out as expected.

Radically change the nature of this project Something goes foul and supplies are ruined.
7 or...
(don’t modify the project die). When it resolves, you’ll Add a new Scarcity.
be responsible for telling the community how it went.

Someone sabotages a project, and the project fails Someone is caught trying to sabotage the efforts of
8 or...
as a result. Who did this? Why? the community. How does the community respond?

The community works constantly and A group goes out to explore the map more thoroughly,
9 or...
as a result a project finishes early. and finds something that had been previously overlooked.

Cold autumn winds drive out your enemies.

10 Harvest is here and plentiful. Add an Abundance. or...
Remove a threatening force from the map and the area.

A project finishes early. Which one? Why?

J
If there are no projects underway, restlessness creates animosity, and animosity leads to violence. Who gets hurt?

Disease spreads through the community. Choose one:

Q R5)/5-*(5."51%5+/,(.#(#(!5(5.,.#(!5."5#--85Project dice are not reduced this week.
R5))35%()1-51".5.)5)5)/.5#.85Add “Health and Fertility” as a Scarcity.

A natural disaster strikes the area. What is it? Choose one:

K R5)/5 )/-5)(5!..#(!50,3)(5.)5- .385Remove an Abundance and a project fails.
R5)/5 )/-5)(5*,)..#(!53)/,5-/**&#-5(5",51),%5.5(35)-.850,&5*)*&5#5-55,-/&.8
 Winter
Now is the time to conserve energy and resources. Now is the time for hurried labour and final efforts.
A or...
A project fails, but gain an Abundance. A project finishes early, but gain a Scarcity.

A headstrong community member takes charge of the A headstrong community member tries to take control of
2 community’s work efforts. A project fails, and then a or... the community. How are they prevented from doing this?
different project finishes early. Due to the conflict, project dice are not reduced this week.

Someone comes up with an ingenious solution to a big Someone comes up with a plan to ensure
3 problem and as a result a project finishes early. or... safety and comfort during the coldest months.
What was their idea? Start a project related to this.

All the animals and young children are crying and

4 won’t stop. Hold a discussion about this, or... A great atrocity is revealed. What is it? Who uncovers it?
in addition to your regular action for the week.

Winter elements destroy a food source. If this was your Winter elements leave everyone cold, tired, and miserable.
5 or...
only food source, add a Scarcity. Project dice are not reduced this week.

The time has come to consolidate your efforts and your

Someone finds a curious opportunity on the edge of the
6 borders. Projects located outside the settlement fail, or...
map. Start a project related to this discovery.
and all remaining projects are reduced by 2 this week.

7 What is winter like in this area? How do community members react to the weather?

Winter is harsh, and desperation gives rise to fear mongering. Choose one:
8 R5*(5."51%5&'#(!5."5'---5(5#-*&&#(!5."#,50#)&(.5-(.#'(.-85The week ends immediately.
R5&,51,5)(5-)')(5),5-)'."#(!85This counts as starting a project.

Someone goes missing. They’re alone in the winter elements. Choose one:
9 R5Ļ5)''/(#.35),!(#4-5)(-.(.5-,"5*,.#-5(50(./&&35."5*,-)(5#-5 )/(85Project dice are not reduced this week.
R5)5)(50,5",-5 ,)'5.".5*,-)(5!#(8

In preparation for the coming year, the community begins a huge undertaking.
10
Start a project that will take at least 5 weeks to complete.

An infected outsider arrives, seeking amnesty. They have some much-needed resources with them. Choose one:
J R5&)'5."'5#(.)5."5)''/(#.385Remove a Scarcity, but also introduce an infection into the community.
R5,5."'5 ,)'5(.,385".5,#.35)/&5."35"05,-->5)15)-5#.-5(5)'5'),5#,5."#-51%>

Q You see a good omen. What is it?

K The Frost Shepherds arrive. The game is over.

Reference Cards