HomeSearch
JudgesReadersPrizes
Winners & Finalists
20151617182019
Downloads & Prints

Stardust • 2016 rpg winner

Daniel Adams • no link

You were once a star, you know. Someday you’ll be a star again, but that won’t be for a while. Now you get to remember what it was like.

What you’ll need
-Between 1 and 9 friends
-An outdoor place with little to no wind. Preferably at night, away from streetlights, and with a view of the stars
-A box of fireplace matches. 
-10 - 30 minutes

Sit on the ground close to your friends, not in a circle. Be close enough that you can hear each other easily.

Everybody gets three matches and something to light them with.

As you feel ready, light your match and hold it up high. Talk until you’re done or until your fingers feel hot, extinguish the match.

The first time you speak, begin with:
“When I was a young star…”

The second time you speak, begin with:
“When I was an old star…”

The third time you speak, begin with:
“When I was a dying star…”

When everybody has spoken three times, lie on your backs real close and snuggly and remember where you came from up there, and how someday you’ll be back up there again.

Author Comments (if any)

Inspired by Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Stardust” and that one episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia where Charlie explains how stars are made.

Judge Comments

Stardust is a quiet game about people who were once stars. Right way you notice the game’s writing - it’s clear, emotional, and ritualistic. The game perfectly balances the tone between comfort and sorrow. It’s a short game that accommodates a range of players, from solo play up to a large group, and takes place outside, at night! You even get to play with fire… - Marshall Miller

There were a number of combat-free games in this batch, but I thought Stardust did the best at conveying the mood the game is trying to capture, in a very short amount of space. - Stephanie Bryant


Discuss this Entry