Folklore Jam is back for 2024!
TTRPG Jamming like it's 2019.
Previously held in 2019 and 2020 (also secretly in 2023), Folklore Jam is back for 2024 and will run from 1st to 31st of October!
Folklore Jam is an analogue game jam on folklore from one's own culture. Participants are to create analogue games (TTRPGs, LARPs, or board games) incorporating elements from a folklore (including myths and urban legends) from their own culture or a place they belong.
For more details on the rules, check out the jam's page.
Notable entries from previous Folklore Jams
There had been many great submissions to previous folklore jams, and here are a few notable ones:
Apotheosis by Gordie Murphy is a GMless TTRPG that explores how myths and legends from a culture is changed over generations. It was originally a submission to Folklore Jam in 2019, and a second edition has recently been successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter.
Brinkwood: The Blood of Tyrants by Erik Bernhardt is a castylpunk TTRPG in which the player characters fight for liberation in a world controlled by blood-sucking capitalistic vampires. It was originally a submission to Folklore Jam in 2019, and an extended version was released in 2022 after a successful Kickstarter.
If I Were a Lich, Man by Lucian Kahn is a short, freeform TTRPG of Jewish resistance against lawful good paladins. It was originally a submission to Folklore Jam and Big Bad Game Jam 2019, and an updated version of the game has been released as part of a trilogy in 2023.
Nine Pins by Meguey Baker is a TTRPG about a human caught by mountain trolls and being held in place by nine pins. The game re-examines traditional narratives of heroic humans and evil trolls, and is really about empathy between the caught human and their captors. In addition, the mechanic of this game is unique and thematic, using 9 pennies to represent the 9 pins holding down the human.
Panchatantra by Thomas M is a 3-person storytelling game inspired by the book of ancient Indian fables of the same name. Together, the players collaboratively tell three inter-woven tales embedded within one another, imitating the format of Indian fables.
Stories of Love in Manila by Rae Nedjadi is a story-game about fortune telling for elementals from Filipino folklore who seek love. One person plays as one of the elementals while another plays as the fortune teller, with any extra players playing dreamers who offer their assistance. Through reading the tarot cards, the players tell the story of the elemental's relationship with love, how it was lost, and how it will (hopefully) be found again.
The Rake by Jay Dragon is a horror LARP for 3+ players that combines hide-and-seek with urban legends and slasher flicks. One player is the Rake, a monster summoned by curious teenagers through a ritual, while the rest of the players take on the roles of the teenagers. The Rake moves slowly, but the other players have to freeze and light a match when they see them, and only one player character can escape alive. These cleverly crafted mechanics evoke a sense of horror and dread reminiscent of creepy urban legends.
Robber's Kin by Lari Assmuth was initially a submission to Folklore Jam in 2019 as a PbtA game, and reworked into a Belonging Outside Belonging game for Folklore Jam 2020. Inspired by Scandinavian folklore and the novel Ronja rövardotter (Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter) by Astrid Lindgren, the game is about a band of robbers and outcasts living in the woods. The characters will face hardship and danger from both monsters in the woods and the duke's men, but also find friendship and community among their kin, and the woods are full of wonder.
