For the past three years, I’ve been wanting to create a divinatory board game specifically designed for use in December. Since several holidays occur in the month of December, I wanted it to be an all-inclusive, yet still festive-looking design all could use. And since the end of the year is a traditional time for looking back at the year we’re ending and forward to the year ahead, I wanted to design a game which reflects this mindset. I think I’ve come up with an end-product which meets these two criteria. Also, the holiday season is a good time for shiftless frivolity, and what could be more frivolous than a board-game? It’s when we’re relaxed and having fun that the truth has the clearest opportunity to come through without the distorting filter of anxiety.
The general design of this game board follows the basic Past-Present-Future model from card reading since life is a continuous flow, and the events of one year can influence what happens in the next. It’s intended to give you a general overview of the course of your life over a two-year period. Stars are a common festive motif in December, so I found a multi-sectioned star design which I thought lent itself to board-game use. Also, the Gold Star is what some teachers stick on a student’s assignment to tell them. ‘Good job! Keep up the good work.’
This is a game which can be used alone, or in a group. Your game pieces will have to be small-button-sized, but as long as you have those on hand, you’re good. It’s not a lengthy game; playing alone, you should be able to finish it in about twenty minutes, and that includes writing down the answers you receive. More participants, of course, would lengthen the time involved. Play will involve moving your game piece from side to side on each star, since that’s the way in which the sections are numbered.
Aside from revising the answers for past, present and future a couple of times, it took some experimenting with dice to determine the best with this game. Playing the game with one six-sided die yielded too many answers to obtain from any one star. Playing with two six-sided dice yielded answers which missed the mark. The eight-sided die seems to work the best. You can experiment with one or two dice, if you feel called to do so, but do try to stick-with the octohedronal-shaped die. Since it’s larger than a traditional die, I think it’s best to shake it up in a large cup then spill it onto the board.
You’ll note the ‘Present’ star’s predictions are more intended to reflect your current state of mind, reasoning that it’s born of what happened in the past, and often influences what comes in the future.
Below is the PDF for the game board, and the separate PDF for the Answer List, the Answer Sheet (for recording the answers you receive), the Game Rules, and the Octohedron die. I recommend printing out the game board and the Octohedronal die on whatever good-quality cardstock you use, the rest can be printed out on regular printer paper.
I hope you have fun with this board game, or at least find it mildly diverting. It is admittedly something of an experiment, so no exercises. Think of it as an end-of-year gift. I hope it also serves as a useful tool for your end-of-year ruminations about your life and how it’s going.