UnderMind

A solo journalling game of obsession, creation, and the dark below.

There is a world above. A world of solid ground, of gaslight and rain-slicked cobbles, of foundations built on packed earth and certainty. But that is not your world.

Your world is below. You are the architect of a sprawling, secret labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city. By day, perhaps there are workers, but by night, you walk the passages alone. With a lantern, a pickaxe, and a journal, you map your creation and confront what you find in the deep, quiet dark.

UNDER MIND is a game about the obsession to build and the secrets we bury. Each turn, you will shape the tunnels by drawing on your map, discover strange and unique locations, and encounter echoes in the dark that force you to answer one simple, all-consuming question: why are you doing this?

The Experience

This is a quiet, contemplative game of solitude. It is designed to be played in a dim room, with a pen and paper. The rules generate the world, but your journal is where the story happens. It is a game of psychological exploration, where the tunnels you build become a map of your own mind.

The feeling is one of mystery, of dread, and of a profound, creative obsession.

Inspirations

This game was inspired by and is for fans of:

- The real-life story of Joseph Williamson, the "Mad Mole of Edge Hill," and his mysterious network of tunnels.

- Solo journaling RPGs like Thousand Year Old Vampire and Artefact.

- The uncanny architecture and found-document horror of House of Leaves.

- The solitary exploration of strange places in media like Piranesi and Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

- Themes of industrial gothic, psychological dread, and creative obsession.

What you need

- A notebook (graph paper is ideal for the map)

- A pen or pencil   

- Two six-sided dice