Excavating the Mind: Notes for a Junior Mnemo-Archaeologist

Excavating the Mind is a single player journaling game about how the items we keep can characterize our lives, and how they fail to do so. Your character, an archaeological student from the future, will be projecting into a memory space that comprises the real life physical space around you. Using the objects in your space, you’ll answer questions from card prompts and piece together a story about the person who lived here long ago.

As a junior mnemo-archaeologist, you will be making your first excavation into the memories of someone who has come and gone-- and you’ll be graded on what you produce. You only have access to the public Dig Simulator available at the campus library, so you’ll have limited time on the device to complete your report. You know your professor has a reputation for being a harsh grader. You’re determined to identify three “Defining Moments” in your subject’s life and analyze how they string together to explain who the subject was-- nailing the perfect grade-- before your time on the library’s Dig Simulator comes to an end. And maybe you'll learn something about yourself while you're at it.

Play involves moving across cards & answering prompts from the rulebook. You will need a 52 card deck, a token, the attached Artifact Log or some way to take notes, and a real or imagined space full of objects in which to play.

This game was created for the #CartaJam, and is thus based on the Carta system, from Cat McDonald and Peach Garden Games.