Today we have another deep-dive into how Zhenya's Wonder Tales works, as we look at the anatomy of a single character and dig into what makes them tick.

We're also including a full preview PDF of one tale—The Bird Rivals— for all backers. See below for the link to that PDF.

Note that the discussion here is a little spoiler-y, so if you want to avoid that, maybe skip straight to the PDF, print it out, and go play!

Let’s begin with the character card itself. On one side is the illustration of Ondřej, which should be all you need to know he’s up to no good, and to know you want to play him. Each card indicates which character it is for (at the bottom) and which tale it is part of (at the top). Each tale has a general colorway as well; The Bird Rivals is green. 

On the other side is information you’ll read before the tale begins. There’s public information, which you must immediately share, and private information. Whether or not you share the private information right away is something you and your friends need to decide. You can wring a lot of dramatic irony out of knowing all the character’s secrets, but you can also enjoy the suspense and tension of simply not knowing as well. Either choice is fine! Ondřej’s secret is a pretty big one. 

Note that Ondřej has already fallen madly in love. In fairy tales, sometimes stuff just happens. Embrace this! Klára‘s great and nothing could possibly go wrong.

Next, Ondřej has three moves—things that will definitely happen during the course of the tale. These can be played at any time, in any order, and multiple moves can even be triggered at once if that’s how it goes. The first one here is about Ondřej’s relationship with Dorota, and it provides more information and context. No action needs to be taken immediately, and it is up to Ondřej’s player when they want to share this, and with whom. No matter what they choose, this will guide Ondřej and Dorota into contact and, possibly, conflict.  

Remember how Ondřej began the tale already in love? The next card is all about making those feelings crystal clear. He’s going to tell Klára how he feels, and that’ll be interesting. When triggered, this move invites Klára’s player to make a choice. They get to decide what Klára is going to be honest with Ondřej about, and—by omission—what she’s going to keep secret. Their choice will reveal new information and send the tale spinning in a new direction. 

The final card is pointed straight at the third other character in the tale, Pavel. It pre-establishes a competitive spirit, which is good because they are both competing for the affections of Klára. And this time, you—Ondřej’s player—get to make an interesting choice. You can win (and cheat) or lose fair and square. The stakes are pretty high, and either outcome will alter the tale.

So there you have it—a complete character. There are four in each tale, and they all follow the same general pattern. Each has a character card and three moves, and each has an informational move, a “you choose” move, and an “I choose” move. Typically, these are pointed at three different characters, but not always. With three moves per player, each tale begins with 12 (and four “anyone” move cards), which isn’t an overwhelming number to absorb and keep an eye on. As the game progresses, the number of un-triggered moves diminishes until few, or none, are left. And then the tale is over. 

—Jason