For a long time, we were at war with The Jackals. But now, finally, we’ve driven them off, and we have this – a year of relative peace. One quiet year, with which to build our community up and learn once again how to work together. Come Winter, the Frost Shepherds will arrive and we might not survive the encounter. This is when the game will end. But we don’t know about that yet. What we know is that right now, in this moment, there is an opportunity to build something.
The Quiet Year is a map game by Joe McDaldno who wrote Monsterhearts, & Ribbon Drive. You define the struggles of a post-collapse community, and attempt to build something good within their quiet year. When you play, you make decisions about the community and you record those decisions on a map that is constantly evolving. Parts of the map are literal cartography and other parts are symbolic. Players work together, but they also play devil’s advocate and introduce problems and tensions into the community.
Q But I can’t draw?
A If you can draw a stick figure we will consider you the Michelangelo of gamers. Pencils and Crayons provided. What have you got to lose?