A Day at the Crystal Market
A downloadable game
Today's the day! For the first time (finally!), you're old enough to visit the magic crystal market on your own. You've got an empty pack on your back, a shopping list from your magic instructor, and a bit of spending money in your pocket. Your attention jumps between the bustling crowds, colorful shops, and the little crystal spirits flitting to and fro, but you're not worried. You have the whole day to take them all in, and that feels like all the time in the world.
A Day at the Crystal Market is a solo tabletop rpg where you play a child-aged magical apprentice running an errand to buy magic crystals for your teacher. You are excited, kind, and enthusiastic. Along the way, you’ll visit the shops, become distracted by the wonder around you, and maybe get a bit of spellcasting practice in. You’ll also interact with and befriend the tiny crystal spirits of the market, who will help you along on your journey. As you collect magic crystals, your spellcasting abilities and the number of spirit friends you might make will grow.
Within the game, you are supposed to gather all of the magic crystals before the day is over, but if you don’t, that’s just fine. Your teacher will understand.
The real goal of the game is to engage in the childlike wonder of being entrusted with a task that is larger than yourself, the childlike joy in observing the world, and the childlike kindness directed where adults might not think to look. It’s about a magical day in which nothing important happens, but everything that happens feels important. It’s about imagining the small details of a world, holding them in your head, inspecting them, and then letting them go.
It’s inspired by the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service, the book Eva Evergreen: Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe, and my own experiences visiting mundane markets with kids.
A Day at the Crystal Market was created for the RPG-Talk Discord server May 2021 design contest, whose theme was “magic crystals”, as well as the Carta Jam.
This work is based on the Carta system (found at https://peachgardengames.itch.io/carta-srd), from Cat McDonald and Peach Garden Games, and licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Purchase
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Community Copies
If you are experiencing any sort of financial hardship, or otherwise can't purchase this game, feel free to take one of these community copies, no questions asked.
Comments
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I'm fascinated by the writing system in the cover art. I invented one that looks quite similar when I was in high school, documented on an old blog here: https://paradox11.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/kandalinga-na-my-constructed-language...
I enjoyed this game much! I liked seeing the market take shape as I explored it with the descriptive prompts providing a strong sense of place and character whilst leaving space to storytell. I am trying picture mapping and annotating in the spaces as the cards are revealed. Works rather nicely! Thank you :-)
A poetic & magic little journaling game that makes you want to be a child again, with curiosity and open-wide eyes at the world around you.
i´ve never had the motiovation to enter creative writing, on my hour long playthough ive wrote 12 pages filled with character motivations, themes and posible ways to follow the narrative. 10/10
Hi!
We are considering doing a French edition of your lovely game!
Can you contact us if you are interested in our project? Even though you published under Creative Commons license, we would be glad to include you in the process!
Have a nice day!
This game was just what I needed today - it has a beautiful theme and low stress writing prompts. I will play this one again! Thank you for writing this!
I enjoyed every minute of playing this game. The prompts are well written and the theme is magical (in so many ways). Highly recommended. I have included a short review on my solo RPG blog https://rpgsologames.com/a-day-at-the-crystal-market-review/
I just played this today! It was a really fun light game, super quick and sweet. The prompts are a nice combination of specific and broad, and I had fun exploring the little market. I got all the crystals and made two spirit friends :)
Definitely recommend checking this out if you want a warmup or a quick break; it sparks creativity and makes it feel very easy. I bet kids would really enjoy this.
Will more Community Copies be added in the future?
Sure thing, I just added 100 more :) Enjoy!
Thank you so much!
This is a very cute and light-hearted game! This game captures the child-like wonder of exploring a place. The innocence of a child is also written into the card descriptions. The market is wonderfully described and built through the detailed descriptions provided. Each card builds other cards, which builds the excitement to explore the market. The game is very wholesome and fulfilling!
A Day At The Crystal Market is a chill, low-stakes, all-ages rpg about being a child wandering a magical market, buying crystals.
The PDF is 18 pages, with some nice simple illustrations and a laid back atmosphere.
Crystal Market uses the Carta engine for its mechanics, so you play by wandering a game board made of playing cards. Your objectives (the crystals you need to buy) are visible, but everything else is hidden. You *are* on a timer, but 'losing' the game isn't really a loss. The game's energy and voice are similar to a middle grade book. It recognizes that you're (at least playing) a child, and so Crystal Market's losses are experiences to learn from and reflect on, not a punishment for failing to perform at an adequate level.
As far as writing goes, everything in Crystal Market is consistently cozy and charming. The prompts for each card are creative and expand a little bit on the world, but they don't crowd the players imagination, and they always keep things oriented on "what do you do next?"
Overall, if you're looking for an rpg to play with younger kids, this is probably my new top recommendation. I think it'll also be a neat experience for adults who like reminiscence, *and* it's a really good example of a game that feels weighty and meaningful without ever losing its fun. Check it out if you can.
Such a cute game! Relaxing and reflective, with a great balance of prompts for imagining scenes.
Unfortunately, on my first go I got stuck in the top corner with two clubs blocking me in, but I suppose that's just the luck of the draw. My second run went much better. I'll definitely be playing more in the future, trying to remember the spells available to me. It's such a great little addition to the game that can help shape scenes.
Thanks for sharing such a great game!
Thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you liked it, and your comments here made my day.
Ofc!! c: