A Necessary Miracle

This game was created for Yonah Sienna's 2021 Menorah Jam. I was inspired by solo journaling games like Tim Hutchings’ “Thousand Year Old Vampire” and “Mud” by Turtlebun to create this small game about regaining something nearly lost. This is also a resource management game, but with a twist. When you run out of coins you can roll an eight-sided miracle die (or spin a dreidel a couple of times) to recover and acquire more resources.

This game is setting-agnostic and very open ended. Roll tables are used to find out who you are and what you have lost. You may be an old man trying to remember his name or a down and out thief trying to steal enough valuables to buy back her family treasure. There is an example of play in the PDF to give you some ideas of how to structure your own story.

All of the art is by the talented Jeffrey Thompson.

A note on the title: The miracle of Chanukah is sometimes called an unnecessary miracle because according to Jewish law, when one is unable to perform a commandment, they are exempt from the obligation. In this game, you will need the miracles, unless you plan to tell a very short story.