Noumena

A solo journaling game inspired by the Zen bums of the Beat Generation.

Try the meditation of the trail, just walk along looking at the trail at your feet and don’t look about and just fall into a trance as the ground zips by.

—Jack Kerouac

Game Details

Noumena encourages spontaneous writing that’s driven by your stream of consciousness. Roll some dice to get some inspiration from beat-inspired prompts and then write your heart out.

The idea for this game came from my own struggles with the ever-threatening blank page. The prompts are meant to be vague, yet enticing enough to help you cast away perfectionism for the sake of getting something on the page.

Don't linger too long on constructing the perfect narrative, just have fun! All you need is some dice and something to write with.

Principles

• First thought, best thought
• No nitpicking spelling mistakes or grammar
• Write by hand to keep things creative

Thanks to Smithsonian Open Access for the images.