Silver Hoof Games

Postcard from the Expedition

Postcard from the Expedition

Mayan pyramids, Iranian crypts, Atlantis, Scottish castles, city of R’lyeh, and the land of Mu… lost corners of our world still hide their secrets. Gather your team and set off for the greatest discovery of our time!

Postcard from the Expedition is a game for 2-4 players, who will come up with a story about exploring a forgotten place: temples, caves, ruins, or anything else.

You will need:

60 minutes
2-4 players
these rules
a coin

The game is built around questions and answers. Sometimes you’ll need to flip a coin. You don’t have to read the rules in advance, start playing right now.

Choose a character and create the expedition

A (a required character): an archaeologist, a professor, or a scientist. What are you exploring and where to find it?
S: a student or an assistant. What is the curse of this place?
G: a guide or a local. What legend do you know about this place?
M: a mercenary, a soldier, or a guard. Why did you sneak in here secretly and in a small group?

A short bio:

A: What is your biggest discovery?
S: What did you sacrifice or give up to go on this expedition?
G: What are the people of this country afraid of?
M: Who and where did you fight?

Goals

A: What historic or scientific facts do you hope to prove to be wrong?
S: What does await you when you return home?
G: Why do you travel with strangers?
M: What values does this place hold?

The game order

Location 1 → Camp → Location 2 → Camp → Location 3 → Camp → Final

A: Start the game. Choose a player, who’ll answer the first question and then will choose the next player, who’ll answer the next question, and so on. Continue, until you answer all the questions of the current Location. Pass an item, for example, a coin, to keep the order. The one with the coin answers a question and passes the coin.

Location 1 “at the entrance”

— Where are we? What does the place look like? What is unusual about it?
— Who has created all this? Or How was this place created?
— What is blocking the way further? What is dangerous or difficult about it?
— How can I help others to overcome the obstacle? Flip a coin.

Heads mean success. Explain the way you’ve done it.
Tails mean failure. Other players should describe how the team gets out of the situation, losing something important on the way.

All characters move to the next scene.

Camp

Ask each other a question about their characters: past, future, relationships, expeditions, goals, etc. The camp stories should reveal the characters, the world around them, and take the story to a deeper level. What parts of the story were not covered? What do you want to know about this place and your companions?

Location 2

— Where are we? What does the place look like? What is unusual here?
— How was or is this place used?
— What is blocking the way further? What is dangerous or difficult about it?
— How can I help others to overcome the obstacle? Flip a coin.

Heads mean success. Explain the way you’ve done it.
Tails mean failure. Other players should describe how the team gets out of the situation, losing something important on the way.

All characters move to the next scene.

Ask each other a question about their characters: past, future, relationships, expeditions, goals, etc. The camp stories should reveal the characters, the world around them, and take the story to a deeper level. What parts of the story were not covered? What do you want to know about this place and your companions?

Location 3

— Where are we? What does the place look like? What is unusual here?
— How was this place abandoned or ruined?
— What is blocking the way further? What is dangerous or difficult about it?
— How can I help others to overcome the obstacle? Flip a coin.

Heads mean success. Explain the way you’ve done it.
Tails mean failure. Other players should describe how the team gets out of the situation, losing something important on the way.

All characters move to the next scene.

Ask each other a question about their characters: past, future, relationships, expeditions, goals, etc. The camp stories should reveal the characters, the world around them, and take the story to a deeper level. What parts of the story were not covered? What do you want to know about this place and your companions?

Final

— Where are we? What does the place look like? What is unusual here?
— What is its secret?
— What danger threatens everyone?
Flip a coin and answer the question one by one: have you found what you were looking for?

Heads mean success
Tails mean failure

All players share how did the story of their characters ends.

created by Sergei Rovenkov

translated by Letitsia Kevarkova