Gamebook Friday: The Storymaster's Tales

I have just sat through another live play-through of The Storymaster's Tales: The Weirding Woods. I say sat through, I should have said 'enjoyed'. What Olly Mc has done with these live Facebook events is truly astounding. But let me explain...

For anyone who doesn't already know, The Storymaster's Tales is a hybrid RPG designed by Oliver McNeil, that combines elements of fantasy role-playing, a board game, a card game, and an adventure gamebook*. It is set in a dark fairy-tale world that is instantly recognisable, and is designed for 1-5 players, aged 6 to adult.

Passing over the fact that it is a game that can be enjoyed by anyone from 6 upwards, which is an achievement in itself, the coronavirus lockdown has brought a new dimension to the game**. In The Storymaster's Tales, randomly selected cards reveal new locations, and Olly Mc has created bespoke video clips and photographic images - using fantastic costumes, masks, and even puppets - to transport players to these locations, meeting all manner of grotesque and intriguing characters along the way. In the game, these people and places are vivdly brought to life my Nick Vuimin's wonderful woodblock-esque artwork. But in the live online version they are brought to life by Olly Mc himself***!

The physical game is a thing of beauty, but the live version is also a feast for the eyes. If you have yet to experience this wonder for yourself, the next live show is scheduled to take place at 6:00pm BST on Friday 1st May, here.

But in the meantime, you can pick up The Storymaster's Tales: The Weirding Woods, as well as the Deeper into the Woods expansion, here.

And you may also like to know that the latest version of the game, The Storymaster's Tales: Dracodeep Dungeon, has just over a week left to run on Kickstarter, which is already 1,839% funded and a great way to grab the original edition of the game if you don't already own it.

* And theatre, the way Olly does it!

** As they say, every cloud...

*** And others!