Tending: A Game of Devotion

Tending: A Game of Devotion

Somewhere in the world, a holy place waits for your arrival. 

Pilgrims come, give themselves to it for a time, and leave again. You won’t be there long, in the scheme of things.

But your time there will alter it, and you.

What is Tending?

Tending is a mixed media journalling game where you take the role of a devotee at a holy site. Over a span of seasons you'll carry out sacred work, seek the divine, and change everything in the process.

The game invites you to create a fantasy religion inspired by elements of nature, and to then explore how time, events, and individuals shape the practice and meaning of that religion. It also invites you to write, draw, cut and paste, and to  make your own rules. You can treat it as a one-off experience, use it for worldbuilding, or slot it into an existing campaign.

The core rules were written for solo play, but the game also includes suggested approaches for group and epistolary play.

What's included?

The full game, at 70 pages, contains:

- 12 Sources to inspire your religion, 6 of them by guest contributors, as well as guidance for making your own
- Instructions for creating your holy site, creating a calendar and festivals, and seeking divine revelations
- 4 choices of devotional works (Building, Garden, Text and Kitchen), each with its own set of prompts and rules to generate writing and art
- 52 card-based Event prompts to shape your play
- Guidance for expanding the game to include more players
- Collaged illustrations throughout

What will I need?

As well as the game book, you'll need:

- A few six-sided dice
- A standard pack of playing cards
- Writing and drawing materials
- Optional: extra paper, magazines or other materials to cut up, scissors and glue

If you're playing with the printed PDF or with the physical edition, there is some space provided to write/draw/collage, but an extra notebook might be helpful if you think you might want to write or draw a lot.

Examples of play

A collage and notes generated during the 'Building' route:

A manuscript page generated via the 'Text' route:

A page showing a round of play during the 'Garden' route:

Press & hype

The initial funding period for Tending ran during Zine Month/ZIMO 2022, a new community crowdfunding event run by and for indie ttrpg creators. 110 amazing backers  ensured I could fund this game in both digital and print.

Tending was one of Plus One Exp's top 10 most anticipated projects of ZIMO 2022! 

Tending has featured in:

• The November 2022 edition of Gizmodo's The Gaming Shelf
• This roundup of 'brilliantly clever' worldbuilding games from PC Gamer

Thank you!

If you pick up the game and enjoy it, please consider leaving a rating!

I'd love to know what you think or to see or hear about what you come up with during play! I'm happy to answer any questions too. Leave a comment below or get in touch with me on twitter or cohost!