mint&minotaur
v1.0
o n e c o i n + y o u r
How to P lay
Remember those make-believe games we used to play as
kids, where we’ll pretend to be knights or queens or kung-
fu masters out to defeat robot dinosaurs? It’s exactly like
that, except you use coin, pen, and paper to track what your
character’s abilities are, and whether they can perform actions
that build the story.
One friend will act as a referee. They’ll facilitate a story by
narrating scenarios where characters can act and respond.
“You see a minotaur,” for example. Everybody will tell stories
of what their character will do. The referee reacts and adjusts
the story based on what everyone else did. “I punch them”
you say, and the referee can reply, “They punch back.”
But first, non-referee players start with character creation.
Character Creation
Give your character a name, and a one-sentence description.
On a piece of paper, write the following aspects in order:
1 | The fondest memory you’ve ever had
2 | A unique capability you were born with
3 | A profession or vocation where you’ve always excelled
4 | An item that stays close by your side
Lastly, write one goal your character would like to achieve.
i m a g i n at i o n = i n f i n i t e
Action
Whenever you’re doing something important that has a
chance of failing, flip a coin 3 times.
Flip it an additional time for every aspect that’s related to the
action. For example, if you’re running away from a minotaur,
and one of your aspects is “three-time 100-m dash champion”,
then you can flip the coin 4 times instead of 3.
Reduce your coin flips by 1 if the action is very difficult; by 2 if
the action is impossibly difficult.
0-1 HEADS You have completely failed. The referee will
narrate the unfortunate consequences of your failure.
2 HEADS Pick: you either succeed with consequence or fail
with opportunity. Succeeding with consequence means you
get what you want, but there’s a significant complication that
will make your life or your allies’ lives difficult later on. Failing
with opportunity means you don’t achieve your goal, but you’ll
get a boon in return.
3 HEADS Success! You get what you want, no more, no less.
4+ HEADS You’ve overshot. Your success has an unintended,
negative consequence. It’s bad—you or other characters will
be affected.
Helping. Another character may help you if they have a
related aspect and can narrate how they are assisting. If they
do so, make another coin flip.
a d v e n t u r e
Danger
When you are attempting something very dangerous, flip
another coin separately. This is the damage coin. If the action
failed and the damage coin is a head, scratch out the highest-
numbered aspect you have.
When you lose all aspects, your character must retire. Explain
how they exit from the story. The referee will also narrate how
their retirment made an indelible impact on the adventure.
Magic
You start with one spell for each aspect you have that is
explicitly related to your spellcasting. You cannot use these
aspects anymore to improve your coin toss.
For each spell that you have, combine a noun and a verb of
your choosing—for example, “breathe fire”. It becomes your
spell. If your spell is too vague or too broad, your coin toss
becomes more difficult. Also, if you lose all magic-related
aspects through damage, you can no longer cast spells.
Growing your Character
If your character has achieved their goal, add a new aspect.
Then create two new goals. Once that’s been fulfilled, add an-
other aspect, then create three goals. And so on. Keep adding
one goal every time you “grow”.
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