Once Upon a Time 3rd Edition

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$29.95
$29.95
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Weave a whimsical or wicked fairy tale alongside your friends in an award-winning, fluid narrative sprint that utilizes a high-interaction card-interruption engine and hidden resolution goals for the ultimate creative party showdown.

Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game (3rd Edition) (designed by James Wallis, Andrew Rilstone, and Richard Lambert, and published by Atlas Games) stands as the absolute gold standard of the collaborative storytelling genre. Moving completely away from fixed map grids, dense rulebooks, and rigid turn structures, this title transforms vocal creativity and conversational flow into a competitive game. The core objective is beautifully elegant: players act as competitive authors, taking turns guiding a shared fairy tale narrative using the tropes and ingredients in their hand, aiming to smoothly steer the plot toward their own secret, pre-determined resolution card.

The primary hurdle lies in maintaining control of the narrative thread without letting your opponents derail your plot. As the active Storyteller, you verbally build the fairy tale, playing a Storytelling Card from your hand whenever you naturally integrate its element—such as a King, a Dungeon, a Sword, or an Aspect like "Sleeping"—into the plot. However, if you hesitate, ramble, or mention a trope that matches an Interrupt Card held by a rival, that player can instantly jump in, cut you off, and seize control of the story. The strategic tension peaks as players attempt to seamlessly transition a wild plot toward their specific Happy Ever After Card (e.g., "So the evil-doers were thrown into a well"). This third edition features a complete visual overhaul with stunning watercolor art by legendary fantasy illustrator Omar Rayyan, alongside a thoroughly re-balanced card list designed to keep story pacing crisp, fast-moving, and full of surprising twists across a 20-to-40 minute session.

Game Specs at a Glance:
Age Range: 8+ Years
Publisher: Atlas Games
Play Time: 20-40 Minutes
Player Count: 2-6 Players
Complexity: Low (Collaborative Storytelling, Hand Management, Interrupt Mechanism, Secret Goals)

What's in the Box?

  • 114 Storytelling Cards
  • 51 Secret Happy Ever After Ending Cards
  • 1 Rule Sheet and Quick-Start Guide
  • 1 "Book-Style" Flip-Top Box with Insert

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Once Upon a Time 3rd Edition

$29.95

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