What makes a LEADS game?

Cards as prompts

A LEADS game provides a list of prompts accessed by drawing cards. Each card is a prompt, a question, a scene to play.

The game provides the list of prompts :

• as a list matching standard cards
• as a list matching tarot cards
• as a list matching another set of cards
• as a document to be printed and then cut into cards
• ...

Those prompts can be questions, scenes descriptions, drawings or anything that will spark the imagination.

Story in multiple acts

In a LEADS game, the game starts by assembling a Story deck. Following the rules, the player sort the cards by "Act". Then they draw randomly from each of them a number of cards defined by the rules. All sub-decks of cards are assembled together to form the Story Deck.

The game can define multiple acts for the story. Each act consists of a list of prompts. The Story deck is built by adding cards from Act 1, then Act 2, and so on. The Story deck will then provide the cards from Act 1, then Act 2, and so on.

As a designer, you can build Acts of equal size, that brings an equal number of cards to the Story deck. Or you can have Acts with various sizes, bringing different amounts of cards to the Story Deck. You can have an “Act” of one card only, mandatory, serving as a switch point in your story. Or you can even use only one “Act” and randomly draw from it.

As a designer, you can also forego the Acts structure, and build your game around themes. Each theme will bring a number of prompts to your story deck, and all the prompts will be randomly shuffled.

A solo journaling game

The first games with the LEADS system are solo journaling games. The story is recorded by the player as the character would do it. That character is facing events alone, and the player is also playing alone.

This isn’t a set-in-stone rule. Break it at will if it fits your game design.

Leads changing the course of the story

The core mechanics of a LEADS game are the Leads cards.

Words to be inspired by

A Lead is just a word (or an expression) accompanying a prompt. Not every prompt has a Lead : 25% of prompts with Leads is a standard ratio. A prompt with Leads has generally multiple Leads (3 a good number).

When answering to/playing a prompt, the player can choose one of the Leads to be the main element of their answer. This is called “Following a Lead”.

Using a Lead can be mandatory or not. It can be a simple word or a full answer. But the core idea is to guide the player’s answers. New prompts

Following a Lead adds a new prompt into the game. Each Lead is related to a new prompt (or multiple ones, randomly chosen). This prompt introduces a new theme into the story, matching the followed Lead.

Deck handling

In order to introduce the new prompt into the Story Deck, there has to be some deck handling.

The newly added prompt is matched to an unused card. A series of cards are kept to this use.

The player draw a number of cards from the deck (like, the next five cards). The new card is added to these cards. Those cards are shuffled and then put back into the Story Deck.

The handling rules should remain simple, but you can play with them in order to suit your design. The Lead card could be inserted at a specific location, for example.

Then, the game resumes.