Skein

Skein
A short solo book exploration game

Skein uses books and text as the medium of play. It draws inspiration from House of Leaves and emulates the sense of losing oneself in thought.

A session takes about 10–20 minutes. As you read and play, you mark the text with a pencil. A hypothetical Presence/Minotaur that moves through the text with you. Resisting the thought abou the proverbial “pink elephant” keeps it away.

What you need to play:

• The Skein pamphlet (print and fold along the marked lines)

• Any book of your choice

• A pencil

How it plays:
The ruleset gives you several suggestions about how you can mark your progress through a book's labyrinth. While reading, you may scribble, circle, and trace your way through the text, making a maze as you go.
The trifold pamphlet doubles as a bookmark — a reminder of the Presence that followed you through the pages.
End the game when you reached an established Goal word, or when the Minotaur 'gets you'.

Note on design:
The ruleset layout is intentionally chaotic.
The multiple fonts, scrambled text, and highlights are used to simulate an ergodic reading experience. Navigating the text is as much part of the game as the rules themselves.