Telling Tales

If you are interested in making up stories, playing games, and looking for an alternative to the screen, you need one of these brilliant myriorama storytelling card games. With their great graphics — there are different illustrators for each set; archetypal characters — there’s a wolf in the woods, a mad scientist experimenting in the lab, and a butler lurking in the hall; and numerous paths to take the possibilities are endless. Your imagination is the only impediment and the key. In The Shadow World, the graphic designer Shan Jiang's two-tone palette of black and yellow with a hint of metallic blue creates an underworld industrial park meets steampunk meets science lab with a hint of mad obsession as a scientist delves into a theory that may have disastrous implications. Anything could happen in this underworld where space and time meet chaos. The Mystery Mansion recalls 1920s glamour with a splash of country gentry and Agatha Christie. Foul play is at hand, the butler is grumpy, revenge is in the air and there are too many accidents. The game is afoot. Lucille Clerc’s illustrations are charming and cleverly detailed leaving a trail of clues. Make your own rules and invent your mystery in this grand country house. If howling at the moon is more your style, then a walk in The Hollow Woods is on the cards. Rohan Daniel Eason’s excellent black and white pen illustrations are apt for these fairytale-inspired storytelling cards. Beware! On your journey, you may encounter a giant, a wolf, or a fire-breathing dragon. Sinister shadows abound, so keep moving and keep to the path. The most beautiful in this series so far is The Endless Odyssey. The stunning drawings are the work of award-winning illustrator Marion Dechars. Inspired by the Greek myth, here the Minotaur will roar, the warrior endure, magical creatures race across the landscape, and gods and goddesses help or hinder your journey. Fire up your imagination and let the telling of tales begin.