Jude's World | Solo Play RPG

A solo, tarot-based journaling game in which a plucky preteen protagonist works to reunite their estranged parents. 

Jude's World is a solo, tarot based journaling TTRPG in which a precocious preteen protagonist named Jude struggles to reunite their estranged parents. A love story wrapped in a coming-of-age comedy-drama, the game aims to both pay homage to and critique "Parent Trap"-style narratives as well as reveling in a 90s sitcom tone inspired by the likes of Boy Meets World, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Clarissa Explains it All.

You'll take on the role of Jude - a 12-year-old who's desperate to grow up and certain that they'll do a better job of it than their parents. Jude just found out their parents, Mika and Jamie, are getting a dreaded divorce and they are NOT inclined to take it lightly. Steer your version of our protagonist through a complicated time in their and unleash your inner grumpy almost-teenager, if only for a little while!

In the first section of the game you'll learn about Jude's family, crafting their parents love story and sewing the seeds of their separation, while also developing your version of Jude. 

Once you're acquainted with their history, you'll begin your story, writing diary entries from Jude's perspective as they experience Twists - major life events on the road to teen-dom; plot Traps - ways to bring their parents together and pull on their heart strings; and of course some lower-stakes down time activity. Bowling and the cinema, anyone?

You'll continue to learn about Jude's family through the discovery of Keepsakes: sentimental, storied objects that Jude discovers and uses in their schemes.

Jude's World employs a traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck to generate story prompts as well as a pair of six sided die (d6) for resolving "Traps". Playing in rounds you'll pull cards, choosing which to use to generate events, characters and artefacts in your story. As well as trying to bring their parents, Mika and Jamie, back together you'll play through important milestones on Jude's journey into teenhood and explore their family's past through the keepsakes and knickknacks you uncover around their home. As a player you'll be encouraged to investigate what happened in this relationship. Was it always doomed to fail? Or is it salvageable? And even if so, is it Jude's place to save it? Either way, getting these two people back together won't be as simple as it is in the movies.

About the Author/Creator: 
Yvris Burke. Drawing on a lifelong love of sci fi, fantasy, whimsy, and hijinks, Yvris (she/her) is best known for her solo RPG about being a baby bumble bee, Bumbling, and her first successful Kickstarter campaign: Drama Llamas. In this project Yvris is covering a subject very near to her personal experience as a child of an occasionally difficult divorce. Despite her experiences (and her current happily married status) Yvris considers herself "pro-divorce" in the sense that it's both a women's rights issue in parts of the world where access to it is restricted and is often much better for all involved than the alternatives. She'd like to rant more about this subject but is vaguely aware that games are meant to be fun, so she'll stop there.