Grandpa's Farm
Physical copies available at store.possibleworldsgames.com!
Grandpa’s Farm is a letter-writing roleplaying game inspired by slow-life video games like Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, and Stardew Valley. In Grandpa’s Farm, you’ve inherited a long-neglected farmstead and are about to spend the next four years of your life getting it up and running again.
Each turn, you’ll draw from a deck of playing cards and interpret card values to determine the progress made on your farm over the course of a single season. With that progress in mind, you’ll then chronicle your revitalization efforts by writing a letter to a loved one. Optional mechanics are also included that allow you to alter your deck by trading or competing at local festivals. Removing cards will make certain kinds of progress more likely, and festivals can be roleplayed alone or with fellow players.
To play Grandpa’s Farm, you’ll need:
- One or more players
- One standard deck of playing cards per player
- Writing materials (paper and writing utensils)
- A simple calculator (optional)
- If playing alone, a second deck of cards for solo festival mechanics (optional)
Grandpa's Farm is 24 pages long, and modifications are included for online play.
Grandpa's Farm is illustrated by Evlyn Moreau. An artist and designer from Montreal, Canada, Evelyn loves to draw strange creatures and craft zines, and her work mixes illustrations and gaming materials in whimsical ways. She is the author of the blog “Le Chaudron Chromatique” and recently contributed to the RPG works Dissident Whispers, Hivemind, and Retropunk.
Grandpa's Farm was funded as part of the Possible Worlds RPG subscription Kickstarter.
Possible Worlds' series covers are designed by Austin Breed.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $7 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Small Layout Update!Nov 23, 2021
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Odd question here- I bought the paperback without realizing it was available digitally- Would it be possible to get a digital copy at all for help running online games?
Yes! I'm always happy to provide free download codes to anyone who buys a book in print. Just get a hold of me at https://www.possibleworldsgames.com/contact
Been playing this one season at a day for the past few weeks. Having a wonderful time, really love the flexibility to make my farm balanced with an easy-to-understand system for introducing obstacles.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and I hope it's been a relaxing & creatively satisfying part of your routine!
I had the luxury of being able to purchase and play a physical prototype/beta version of Grandpa's Farm months ago and I thought it was amazing. Seeing this finished version still blew me out of the water! I can't wait for the new physical copy as I'm sure it will be even better than the earlier version!
The gameplay is open and evocative. Perfect for telling stories in the manner of the "slow-life" video games that this sets out to emulate. Highly Recommend this!!
Grandpa's Farm is a bumper crop of fun. I love the idea of playing it slow and getting a few folks together weekly to swap solo stories and then help each other out with our projects.
Can't wait to find a group to do more with.
Grandpa's Farm is such a great solo game and it blew me away when I read it. I'm approaching it as a slow burn, playing the mechanics for a season out one day and then daydreaming about the results for a few days, until I write my letter.
Getting to spend time with my thoughts and the results really encourages me to savor the game and come up with unique twists and turns that I couldn't get anywhere else. Thanks brain!
The extra rules for festivals are great, and playing with other people is a delight too. I had a friend "spend a season" with me and we worked on the farm together, before they went off to start their own fixer-upper.
This game is such a great solo game that hinges on the creative aspect of letter writing, and I can't wait to start again on an orbital solar farm for my next playthrough!
The Possible Worlds model of the RPG Subscription box is an incredible shake up in indie rpg publishing, and Grandpas Farm is a hella good first entry. I can't wait to see what comes next with these games!
This game is lovely! The progress mechanic is really clever, the artwork is charming, and the really perfectly hits on the story you want to tell. As someone who is always, ALWAYS looking for more solo RPGs to play, I'm really excited to dig into this and start building my farm!
THIS GAME FREAKING RULES, HOLY CANOLI I LOVE IT
It was a fun collaboration! :)
I really like the base of this. Wheels turning in my head of stuff to add. Definitely thinking of designing a deck of cards for it, with suits replaced with icon for the category(well except heart). Hope to give it a solo shot later this week. Really happy with this first step into the Possible Worlds.
As far as I'm concerned that's the highest praise a designer can receive! I'm SO glad it's got your own designer wheels turning, and I can't wait to see how you and others take the ideas here and run with them!
Dearest readers,
I write you from my modest house at the edge of my more modest wheat fields. My mood, drained for days by an unkind sun, was significantly lightened when my mailcarrier (you remember, the well-muscled and steadfast beauty I mentioned in my last letter) brought a delightful little package to my door. It was a curious book, called Grandpa's Farm, put together by some folks I new before I moved out to the prairie.
Let me tell you, after just a few minutes of reading, the sun's persistent stare was all but forgotten, and I was reminded why I planted this wheat. This little booklet contained inspiring ideas of constant (albeit often slow) progress, blossoming friendships (like mine with the thick-limbed mailcarrier), and the brief & wondrous payoff that comes after years of work.
And the illustrations! Delightful, ephemeral, yet somehow containing the sweat & devotion seemingly endemic to these toiling prairie folk around me.
Looks like I've gone and rambled again. My apologies. Not many folks to talk to out here. But it's my sincerest wish that, if you find yourself similarly longing for a friend who'll listen raptly to your chronicles of labor, you'll get yourself a copy of Grandpa's Farm. And do let me know how it goes.
Truly yours,
X