ANAMNESIS

ANAMNESIS
ANAMNESIS
ANAMNESIS
ANAMNESIS
ANAMNESIS
ANAMNESIS
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Credits:

Design/Writing: Samantha Leigh

Editing: Marx Shepherd

Layout: Thomas Manuel

Art: Victor Winter

Samantha Leigh’s other games can be found

at blinkingbirchgames.itch.io

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Anamnesis (n)
\ ˌa-ˌnam-ˈnē-səs \

1. a remembrance of the past.

2. Platonism. the recollection of innate

knowledge from a previous existence.

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WHAT IS
ANAMNESIS?
Anamnesis is a solo journaling game about
self-discovery, reflection, and identity.

You play as an individual who has woken up

with memory loss. You do not remember
who you are, where you are, or what you
care about.

As you draw tarot cards, you fill the blank

spaces of your past, and learn more about
your present.

To play, you need a deck of tarot cards and a

way to record your thoughts (pen & paper,
audio recording, etc.).

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SAFETY
While the prompts in Anamnesis are not
dark or frightening, its themes may lead
you to journal about serious topics. If the
content of your journaling ever becomes too
heavy or disturbing, prioritize your mental
health and step back from the game. You
can always revisit the game later or make
changes to the narrative.

If you ever draw a card that makes you

uncomfortable, or that you do not want to
journal about for any reason, discard it and
draw a different card.

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HOW TO PLAY
Separate the tarot cards into five decks: The 22
Major Arcana, The Pentacles, The Swords, The
Cups, & The Wands.

Shuffle each deck. Set aside the four Minor

Arcana decks.

Draw one card from the Major Arcana deck.

This card is your Shadow and represents who you

were in your past. Keep your Shadow face-up
next to you. Use this card as a guide for
uncovering your past.

There are five Acts. Each Act uses a different deck.

1. At the beginning of an Act, draw three cards
from its corresponding deck.
2. Place the three cards face-down in front of
you.
3. Flip over the first card. Read the prompt
associated with the card.
4. Make a journal entry. Remember your
Shadow.
5. Flip over the next card. Continue until you
have made journal entries for all three cards;
then, move onto the next Act.

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 HOW TO PLAY
After you read a prompt, draw from the Major
Arcana deck. Use this card to answer the
questions in the prompt. For example, a prompt
might be the following:

You talked to a friend yesterday. Who was this friend?

What was your conversation about?

For this prompt, the Major Arcana you draw

represents the friend you spoke with, and/or the
topic of conversation.

At the end of each Act, shuffle the Major Arcana

cards back into the deck.

How you interpret the Major Arcana cards is up

to you. You could use the traditional meaning of
the cards as found in tarot guides, or you could
find inspiration from the name or design of the
card. There is no wrong way to interpret the
cards.

Alternate methods of play:

Flip over all three cards at once. Make a single
journal entry for the entire Act.
Draw three Major Arcana at the beginning of the
Act. Choose which one goes with which prompt.

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EXAMPLE OF PLAY #1
Robyn starts playing Act I, which is associated with
Pentacles. They draw three cards from the Deck of
Pentacles and lay the cards face-down in front of them.
They flip over the first card, which is the Ace of Pentacles.
The prompt for this card is:

“You take a moment to familiarize yourself with your

surroundings. Where are you?”

Robyn draws a card from the Major Arcana deck. They

draw The Moon. Robyn decides they want to use the
traditional meanings of tarot cards, so they consult a tarot
guide which says The Moon can symbolize danger and
darkness, among other things.

Robyn wants their game to take place in a fantasy setting.

With this information, Robyn writes the following journal
entry:

I awaken with a splitting headache, laying face up on a

cobblestone road. The sky above is pitch-black and a memory
prods at the edges of my mind – a memory of when the sun
winked out during my childhood, causing panic in the streets.
Before I can dig up the details of the memory, a dark shape rears
above me. I roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the hoof that clops
down against stone. The hoof belongs to a gurrit, a tamed beast of
red shaggy fur and many eyes that gleam in the dark. The
carriage driver shakes his fist as I stumble down the nearest
alleyway.

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EXAMPLE OF PLAY #2
Yolanda starts playing Act II, which is associated with
Swords. She flips over one of the cards in front of her: the
Two of Swords. She reads the prompt:

“Your eyes are drawn to a statue. What is this statue of? Which
emotions does it stir in you?”

She next draws a card from the Major Arcana deck: The
Empress. Yolanda prefers to interpret the cards her own
way rather than use the traditional tarot meanings. The
face of the card shows a woman in a fine dress wearing a
crown, leaning against a large pillow.

Yolanda’s game has involved political intrigue, so she

decides to interpret the card literally. She writes the
following journal entry:

I walk out of the courthouse and begin squeezing my way through

the crowded street. My feet stop instinctively before I can process
what’s in front of me. In the center of the square is a statue, no
fewer than 10 feet tall, depicting a woman with luscious, flowing
hair. She wears a crown on her head and holds a jeweled scepter. I
don’t need to read the plaque to remember who she is: Queen
Ophelia. She recently came into power after her father, the King,
passed away. Something inside me burns as I look over the statue,
and I recognize the feeling as deep respect and affection… but
why?

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when you are ready

take a deep breath

and wake up

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ACT 1: PENTACLES
You wake up in an unfamiliar place, seemingly within a town or
city. You cannot remember who you are or why you are here. All
you know for certain is that you are not in your home.

Draw three cards from the Deck of Pentacles.

ACE You take a moment to familiarize yourself with your

surroundings. Where are you?

TWO You look down at the clothes on your body. What are
you wearing? How do you feel about the way you look?

THREE You open your mouth and hear yourself speak. What is
your voice like?

FOUR When you look over your body, you notice a tattoo on
your skin. What is this tattoo? Where is it located?

FIVE You take a deep breath and smell something in the air.
What is this scent? Does it trigger any memories?

SIX There is someone at your side. Who is this person?

What do they say to you?

SEVEN There is a word on the tip of your tongue. Which word

is this?

EIGHT Your hand closes around a memento in your pocket.

What is this memento? How does it make you feel?

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 NINE You realize you have an intense craving for something.
What are you craving?

TEN When you focus, you can grasp the edges of a hazy
memory from just before you fell unconscious. What
do you remember?

PAGE Despite your memory loss, someone’s face sticks

clearly in your mind. Who is this person? Which
feelings does their face evoke?

KNIGHT You notice a scar on your body. Where is this scar? Do

you remember how you got it?

QUEEN You feel pain. Where is the pain coming from? What is
it caused by?

KING You are wearing a piece of jewelry. What does the

jewelry look like? Do you remember why you are
wearing it?

Shuffle the three Major Arcana back into the deck.

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ACT 2: SWORDS
After getting your bearings, you walk around town. You know this
town. You know it well, but you cannot remember it.

Draw three cards from the Deck of Swords.

ACE You take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the town
around you. How does the town make you feel? Does it
feel like home?

TWO Your eyes are drawn to a statue. What is this statue of?
Which emotions does it stir in you?

THREE In front of you walks a couple. They are holding hands

and smiling. How does seeing this couple make you
feel? Does it remind you of anyone?

FOUR An abandoned building stirs up memories. What used

to be here? Why did it matter?

FIVE Someone on the street recognizes you. How do they

react when they see you?

SIX People are looking at you and whispering. What are

they saying?

SEVEN You find yourself walking through a market. Which

stall are you drawn to?

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 EIGHT You pass a place of worship. What is this place? How
do you feel when you look upon it?

NINE Someone is having an argument in the street. Does

this remind you of an argument you’ve had?

TEN You find yourself wandering through a graveyard.

What do you find there?

PAGE As you walk through a park, you realize you’ve been

here before. What happened here?

KNIGHT Someone asks for directions and you’re able to

correctly point the way. Where was this person trying
to go? Why do you know the route so well?

QUEEN You pause at a building and realize you used to work

here. What was your job? Do you still work here?

KING You see a child swinging from their parents’ arms.

How does this sight make you feel?

Shuffle the three Major Arcana back into the deck.

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ACT 3: CUPS
You manage to find your home. The façade is unfamiliar. You fish
the key out of your pocket and open the door.

Draw three cards from the Deck of Cups.

ACE You stroll around your home, a place you do not

remember. Which emotions bubble to the surface?

TWO There are signs that someone else stays here (or at least
used to stay here). Who is (or was) this person?

THREE You look inside your wastebin. What do you find?

FOUR A book on your shelf catches your eye. Which book is

this?

FIVE You see notes to yourself lying about. What is written

on them?

SIX You find an item that was gifted to you. What is the
item? Who gave it to you?

SEVEN The walls are adorned. What is hanging from the walls
of your home?

EIGHT Something has been slipped under your door. What is

it?

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 NINE You stumble upon a collection. What did you collect?

TEN You open a drawer to find a journal. What does the

final page say?

PAGE There is a dent in one of your walls. What happened

here?

KNIGHT You find a box that seemed intentionally hidden.

Where did you find it? What did you store here?

QUEEN You find a tucked-away sketchbook and flip through

its pages. What does the cover look like? What is
inside?

KING An area of your home brings a strong memory to the

surface. Which memory is this?

Shuffle the three Major Arcana back into the deck.

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ACT 4: WANDS
You have learned much about yourself. Take some time to reflect.

Draw three cards from the Deck of Wands.

ACE You decide to change your appearance. What do you

change? Why did you make this decision?

TWO You catch yourself staring into space. What were you
thinking about?

THREE There is somewhere in town that beckons you. Which

place is this? Do you travel there?

FOUR You listen to some music. What are you listening to?
How does it make you feel?

FIVE You seek out conversation with someone. Who do you

reach out to? What do you want to discuss?

SIX Needing a distraction, you seek out some art. What

type of art? Why are you drawn to it?

SEVEN You destroy one of your belongings. What do you

destroy? Why?

EIGHT Exhausted, you lay down to sleep. What do you dream

about?

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 NINE You feel as though something is missing. What do you
suspect is causing this feeling?

TEN You realize you are crying. Why?

PAGE You decide to seek company. How do you go about

this?

KNIGHT There is something you are desperate to learn. Which

question haunts you? How do you seek this
information?

QUEEN You sit down to write a letter that you will never send.
Who is this letter for? What does it say?

KING A memory comes back that you would rather forget.

Which memory is this? Why does it bother you?

Shuffle the three Major Arcana back into the deck.

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ACT 5
Your past may shape your experiences, your thoughts,
your desires, but it does not define you. You are in control
of your own path. The road ahead may be built from the
stones that you’ve gathered, but these fragments of your
past do not dictate where it leads. It is time to move
forward.

Return your Shadow to the Major Arcana deck.

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Choose one of the Major
Arcana to represent your
present self.
Do not draw from the deck. Choose freely among
the cards. You are in charge of your own identity.

Who are you? What do you do next?

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Inspirations

The Wretched by Chris Bissette

The Portal at Hill House by Travis Hill and Lindi

Farris-Hill.

Acknowledgements

Emily Alexander and Parker Haviza for playtesting

the game, providing thoughtful feedback, and
listening to me ramble.

Ty Pitre for coming up with the title of the game

and teaching me a new word.

Victor Winter for brainstorming a couple excellent

prompts (Four of Pentacles, Queen of Cups).

The indie TTRPG community for being welcoming,

encouraging, and inspiring.

Anamnesis is licensed under a Creative Commons

Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

This game uses the typeface Dicier, by Speak the

Sky, licensed under CC BY 4.0

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Anamnesis is a solo journaling game about
self-discovery, reflection, and identity.

Play as an individual who has woken up

with memory loss. You do not remember
who you are, where you are, or what you
care about.

Draw tarot cards to fill the blank spaces of

your past and learn more about your
present.

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