Exploring The Transformation Nebula: A TF Journaling Game
A downloadable game
Assemble a crew of bold explorers, outfit a mighty space ship for a year long space adventure and set coarse FOR THE TRANSFORMATION NEBULA!
No one is coming back... human.
In this space adventure solo journaling game, you take on the role not only of the captain of a star ship adventuring out into an unknown galaxy, but also a crew of seasoned veterans and weirdos as you boldly go where no man has gone before... and come back no longer a man!
Using a deck of playing cards, you will randomly generate a crew, a ship, strange worlds, wacky adventures and transformations that will one by one change the crew, logging entries into your captains log all the way so that when you come back to Earth, humanity will have a story to explain why the ship is now full of super intelligent crystalline beings, frog-dogs, robots and for some reason a fantasy elf with actual magic powers...
And if you need help generating personalities, planetary details, quirks for the aliens you meet and/or twists for the transformations, a second booklet of random tables has also been included, ensuring that you should have FAR less trouble coming up with wild adventures then your crew ill have surviving them!
Required:
1 Deck of playing cards (Jokers not included)
Optional, but recommended:
1 D6 (for the optional booklet)
Something to write on or with or a recording device to allow you to make your captains logs.
(Update 11/7/25 - fixed a few typos)
Download
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Comments
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Very fun game! Been enjoying playing so far, and tempted to try making one of my own
Please do! I'd love to see more solo games and would happily promote yours if you make one!
And thank you, that's very kind of you to say!
Thank you for the inspiration!
any tips for making them?
Super short version:
Pick a theme, pick a system for randomization (dice/playing cards/tarot) and then try and break down whatever TF theme you want to go for into pieces that can be spread out over a dozen or so journals.
After that try and come up with as many journal prompts as the randomizer provides. (IE. If your using a D6, you need 6 prompts. If your using playing cards, 13 ranks, 4 suits and/or 52 cards. If your using the major arcana of a tarot deck 22 cards. Est.)
Finally add as many small epilogue prompts or twists or partner reactions, est. To help add flavor and to ensure if someone plays your game more then once it will feel fresh each time, not like they are just repeating the same events over and over.
Finally, pick a randomizer that fits how big the idea is. I've done games with a D10 for Stoned (statue TF) cus 10 is more then enough for something that specific and nitch. Major arcana for Short Stacked (fantasy monster TF) cus the idea is much broader, but didn't need to be HUGELY complex and then for this game and Livestocked (barnyard TF) I played with using playing cards having the 13 ranks provide less over all options then the tarot, but with the suits as modifiers to add more variety.
I'd recommend starting smaller, make something manageable and if you enjoy the process, aim higher if you have a bigger idea!
Also look at my other games (you can download them all for free) and copy my homework, used my friends game Slugfest for inspiration for my first game and I don't mind other people doing the same. <3
The more people making games the better and if you put it out, let me know and I'll highlight it on my page!