HE STORY

tell us a story? took shape the way that a lot of fun things do: out of necessity.

In the sad summer doldrums of the pandemic, Josh and his daughter Izzie (then four years old) came up with a lot of games and told a lot of stories. One of the most enjoyable activities they invented was called “story game.” Josh bought a deck of blank playing cards and wrote a few prompts on them. They used these prompts to tell stories, and the stories were always silly and fun but the random ordering of the cards meant they were also different every time.

Over the following months and years, they added more and more prompts.

The stories stayed silly and fun. They shared the game with friends, and the friends seemed to enjoy it too. Friends contributed their own ideas to the deck! With the help of artist Martha Schnee, Kickstarter backers from around the world, a local printing company, and some rudimentary digital editing and design skills, Josh was able to put together a polished version (now with 101 cards) that could be shared more widely. This new version contains a many of the original prompts, and so it still draws on the magic of those early, creative, storytelling days.