Have you ever wanted to wander the halls of the Asylum or meet the amazing, generous queen ruling over it? I’m sure you have. So we invite you to do exactly that in the Asylum Adventures – a challenge! This game was designed with reading in mind, mainly, but if you want to take part using any kind of art form, you are more than welcome to!
A few words before we get to the nitty-gritty bits. This intro game was created for Wyrd & Wonder, a month-long celebration of everything fantastical. You can check out Anna’s intro post, and I highly recommend you follow them on BlueSky and Instagram! There will be prompts, read alongs, discussion topics, etc. And our theme this year is the moon and shapeshifters.
Queen’s Book Asylum had its 8th anniversary back in March, and since we didn’t celebrate and generally it’s been a long time since I came up with anything fun, I started to think. Asylum Adventures have some board gaming elements (testament to my newfound love for board games), but it also has some choose your own adventure vibes. There is a lot of potential of growing this QBA-themed game, but for now, we have a short version that I think will fit into the time frame of a month. I really hope you will enjoy your stay and please give me your feedback if and when you want! I’d love to hear your opinion and see if it’s something I could expand further.
What you are going to need is a 6-sided dice, and the printouts (optional, but I mean, I worked on it a lot, so you might as well want to use them :P) you can find at the end of this post. And now, let the fun begin!
THE RULES
- The goal of the game is to find the elusive queen who resides in her secret throne room.
- To find the throne room, you will have to take at least one secret passageway (more of that later).
- The description of this game contains hidden spoilers. While I can’t police anyone from peeking and forging themselves the shortest route possible, for the most authentic experience, it’s advised to go in blind.
- There are altogether 6 rooms you can visit, plus a secret one that will lead you to the throne room.
- You may visit as many rooms as you wish, in any order you fancy. We advise you start on the ground floor, though.
- Each room has a prompt you have to fulfill. You may leave anytime, but then you can’t use either of the bonuses.
- When you fulfill a prompt, you may take the following actions:
- Search the room for the secret passageway: throw a d6, if it’s 4 or higher, you were successful. If you are lucky, you found the passageway, and you can follow the route that opened to you. You may not take this action in a room to which you arrived via the passageway, but you get a free coin as an extra reward. There are altogether two secret passageways, so it might be possible that you never find the throne room.
- Ask for the help of our pet demon who may or may not be any actual help. You can take this action 1 time on both the ground floor and the first floor that’s available for this game. The same rules apply as to the secret passageway. The throw of a d6 determines whether you are successful or not. If you are not successful, the next book you pick for the game has to be 50 pages longer than the previous one.
- If your throw was successful but you don’t find a passageway, you get a special coin. If you collect 3, you may go back to any room you searched unsuccessfully and check if it has a secret passage. You may use these coins once/floor.
BACKGROUND STORY
You are a weary traveler, chased by a werewolf through a forest, and you need shelter. Nearby villagers told you about a mysterious queen who dwells somewhere close. It’s said that she collects stories, and she gives asylum to those who seek it. It’s getting dark and you are tired, but you finally spot some light coming through the trees. You follow it and find yourself at the doorstep of a sprawling mansion that has seen better days. You can feel the magic around you and so you knock on the door hastily. It opens invitingly, and you step in.
ENTRANCE HALL
Once inside, you have 3 rooms to choose from:
DRAWING ROOM
You are travel weary and the person who is hosting you is kind. You sit in a comfy armchair near the fire with a cup of tea while you tell your story and what you are seeking.
PROMPT: adventure/traveling
Secret passageway action: throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
You look around the room, but your search was unsuccessful. Better luck next time!
4-6
Well done! You spend a lot of time looking into every little corner, but unfortunately it looks like the secret passageway wasn’t in this room. You did find a coin made out of a curious metal that shimmers purple if you put it under light. You pocket it and you keep on searching.
Pet demon action (1 time/floor!): throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
Our pet demon sniffs your hand, but he doesn’t find you very interesting and he is not in the mood to help you. He walks away and leaves you to your own devices. As a penalty, your next book should be 50 pages longer than the last!
4-6
You won the affection of our pet demon! After you give them a few belly rubs and play with him a bit, he leads you to the grand stairs leading up to the first floor.
DINING ROOM
It’s meal time in the asylum and you are kindly invited to join. You haven’t eaten in a while, so you can’t refuse.
PROMPT: featuring a feast/food
Secret passageway action: throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
You look around the room, but your search was unsuccessful. Better luck next time!
4-6
Well done! You spend a lot of time looking into every little corner, and finally, you notice a weird glimmer under one of the tables. You go to take a closer look. As you reach out, suddenly a dark opening appears. You found a tunnel! You can decide whether you’ll follow it or not, but if you do, it will lead you to one of the bedrooms on the first floor.
Pet demon action (1 time/floor!): throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
Our pet demon sniffs your hand, but he doesn’t find you very interesting and he is not in the mood to help you. He walks away and leaves you to your own devices. As a penalty, your next book should be 50 pages longer than the last!
4-6
You won the affection of our pet demon! After you give them a few belly rubs and play with him a bit, he leads you to the grand stairs leading up to the first floor.
COMMON ROOM
The host leads you to the biggest room on this floor where the residents spend more of their time. There are tables with games, arm chairs near the fire for friendly conversations and debates, one corner is set up for arts and crafts, and there are also bookshelves. The walls have a lot of windows that make the room light and airy. There are doors leading to the gardens.
PROMPT: human relationships/community
Secret passageway action: throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
You look around the room, but your search was unsuccessful. Better luck next time!
4-6
Well done! You spend a lot of time looking into every little corner, but unfortunately it looks like the secret passageway wasn’t in this room. You did find a coin made out of a curious metal that shimmers purple if you put it under light. You pocket it and you keep on searching.
Pet demon action (1 time/floor!): throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
Our pet demon sniffs your hand, but he doesn’t find you very interesting and he is not in the mood to help you. He walks away and leaves you to your own devices. As a penalty, your next book should be 50 pages longer than the last!
4-6
You won the affection of our pet demon! After you give them a few belly rubs and play with him a bit, he leads you to the grand stairs leading up to the first floor.
FIRST FLOOR
You wander upstairs out of curiosity. The hallway is drenched in moonlight coming through from the windows. You can hear the howl of a wolf in the distance. Suddenly you don’t feel as safe anymore. Here there are also 3 (types) rooms you can search.
BEDROOMS
At first glance, the bedroom you are in (one of twelve, but for all intents and purposes, they are one and the same for now) seems cosy. The curtains are drawn and you have a full view of the moon. You can make out the bed and some cupboards. Something stirs in the darkest corner next to the door and you are attacked by an angry spirit who tries to take possession of you in order to fulfill its vengeance.
PROMPT: ghosts and spirits
NOTE: if you arrived via a secret passageway, you can’t take the secret passageway action, but you get a coin as a bonus.
Secret passageway action: throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
You look around the room, but your search was unsuccessful. Better luck next time!
4-6
Well done! You spend a lot of time looking into every little corner, but unfortunately it looks like the secret passageway wasn’t in this room. You did find a coin made out of a curious metal that shimmers purple if you put it under light. You pocket it and you keep on searching.
Pet demon action (1 time/floor!): throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
Our pet demon sniffs your hand, but he doesn’t find you very interesting and he is not in the mood to help you. He walks away and leaves you to your own devices. As a penalty, your next book should be 50 pages longer than the last!
4-6
You won the affection of our pet demon! After you give them a few belly rubs and play with him a bit, he seemingly leads you to the corridor with the bathroom.
OFFICE
You are getting to know the place and the staff now, so you host sits you down in their office to delve deeper into your troubles, and to ask you whether you want to stay on for a long term. They are very kind and sort of persuasive, and you feel compelled to agree with their suggestions.
PROMPT: mind control
Secret Passageway action: throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
You look around the room, but your search was unsuccessful. Better luck next time!
4-6
Well done! You spend a lot of time looking into every little corner, but unfortunately it looks like the secret passageway wasn’t in this room. You did find a coin made out of a curious metal that shimmers purple if you put it under light. You pocket it and you keep on searching.
Pet demon action (1 time/floor!): throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
Our pet demon sniffs your hand, but he doesn’t find you very interesting and he is not in the mood to help you. He walks away and leaves you to your own devices. As a penalty, your next book should be 50 pages longer than the last!
4-6
You won the affection of our pet demon! After you give them a few belly rubs and play with him a bit, he seemingly leads you to the corridor with the bathroom.
BATHROOM
After all the excitement and traveling, you need a bit of space and freshening up, so you go to the common bathroom that’s in the middle of the hallway facing the grand stairs.
PROMPT: solitude
Secret Passageway action: throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
You look around the room, but your search was unsuccessful. Better luck next time!
4-6
Well done! You spend a lot of time looking into every little corner, and finally, you notice a weird glimmer in the corner between the showers and the toilets. You go to take a closer look. As you reach out, suddenly a dark opening appears. You found a tunnel! You can decide whether you’ll follow it or not, but if you do, it will lead you to the secret room. You can look at that section now!
Pet demon action (1 time/floor!): throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results:
1-3
Our pet demon sniffs your hand, but he doesn’t find you very interesting and he is not in the mood to help you. He walks away and leaves you to your own devices. As a penalty, your next book should be 50 pages longer than the last!
4-6
You won the affection of our pet demon! After you give them a few belly rubs and play with him a bit, he sits down in front of the door and won’t budge.
WHEN INDICATED
SECRET ROOM
You find yourself in a dark, tiny space with shelves of linen and cleaning products. You feel your way in the dark with your hands until you find a latch that opens a secret door that leads you to a spacious, bright throne room with a regal figure sitting on the throne a few hundred steps from you. You tentatively step closer, but you can feel that something’s not right. The figure suddenly leaps up and turns into a werewolf before your eyes. To fight the beast and survive, you have one last quest to take:
Throw a d6 and click on the panel with the correct results to find out your next prompt:
1-3
Your survival is not guaranteed, you may need divine intervention. Pay two coins to gain the favor of whichever higher being you worship. Otherwise you fail the quest.
PROMPT: moon
4-6
You may survive, you just need to bring up the lore hidden in the back of your mind.
PROMPT: shapeshifters
END OF THE GAME
YOU ACCOPMLISHED THE QUEST
Congratulations! You not only survived the beast, but you also found the queen who bestows her gratitude on you for saving her lovely asylum. She invites you to be her guest as long as you wish. She probably forgot to mention that no one can leave once entered into her realm. Welcome to your new life!
YOU FAILED THE QUEST
Commiserations! You did not survive the beast and failed to find the queen, endangering the asylum. As a punishment, you may forever remain here, haunting the corridors for eternity. Welcome to your new life!
PRINTABLES
To make this game more fun, I prepared some useful things for you. Floor plans for both floors and tracking sheets to help you stay on top of your game!
I tried to make everything as clear as possible, but if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I hope you’ll have a good time in our cozy home 🙂
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