Last Breath (36-word RPG)

Last Breath is minimalist story game about a forest battling human encroachment and slowly losing the fight.

Humanity's relentless exploitation of forests has pushed ecosystems to the brink. Logging, agriculture, and urban expansion strip away ancient woodlands, replacing biodiversity with barren landscapes. The lungs of our planet, once teeming with life, are scarred by deforestation, releasing carbon that fuels climate change. Across the globe, forests fall to greed and short-term gain, while the delicate balance of nature collapses beneath our feet.

Play solo or with 2-4 players.

1. Use A4 or US letter-size paper.
2. Start by naming your forest. Write the name on the paper.
3. Determine the time period in which your story takes place. Choose an era where human activities are significant enough to threaten the forest.
4. Where is your forest located? Is it a vast tropical rainforest in Africa? A large American national park? A small woodland in the Alps?
5. Draw around 25 trees or more if you want a longer game. Each tree represents a portion of the forest. Each dice roll represents one year in the life of the forest. You can start your narration by stating the year: "Year six: the southern area of the forest is destroyed by a violent fire."

Game Tips for Dice Rolls

• 1-4: Adjust the size of the construction to match the number of trees destroyed. It could be a single building or a cluster of structures or developments. Write the name of your construction next to it. Instead of erasing a tree, you can also "neutralize" it by adding a human-made structure: the tree is not destroyed but is no longer part of the wild forest. Feel free to use colored pens or markers to add details to your initial forest drawing.
• 5: Describe the disaster. Is it a flood? A wildfire? A tree struck by lightning? An infestation of harmful insects? A disease? A gale?
• 6: Specify whether the new trees are the result of natural growth or were planted by humans.

The Last Breath was made for the 36-word RPG Jam (January 2025).

Send us the drawings from your games, and we’ll publish them in the image gallery!

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⚙️Game design: Corto Damon
🖼️ Image: Freepik
📜CC-BY-NC-SA, Argyx Games 

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