1

Atlas is a collaborative map-making and world-building game. Play is all about the delightful sensation
you get when you're bouncing ideas back and forth, riffing off of each other’s thoughts, and becoming
increasingly fascinated/horrified/delighted by what you are producing together. By the end of play you'll
have a neat map and a deep, interesting world you can come back to later, either for future games, a
creative writing endeavor, or the simple pleasure of oohing and aahing over your collective creativity.

Materials
 A piece of paper for your map
 A notebook, or several pieces of paper, for your Encyclopedia
 Pencils
 Some people (2–4 including yourself)
 A set of tokens, one for each player, to be your Creative Tokens
 Another set of tokens, one less than the number of players, to be your Detail Tokens

Time
At least 2 hours
 2

How to Play

Step 1: Pick a Setting

Tone setting is really important, so everyone should be on the same page about the world you’re
creating together. Here’s how you pick a setting:
1. Everyone who wants to makes a setting pitch for the space you’ll be creating.
Examples: a greco-roman inspired setting with no magic; a fantasy setting with dragons,
dwarves, and magic; or a futuristic society with space travel and aliens
2. Discuss the pitches as a group, talking about why you’re interested in each one.
3. Pull an element from what you’ve been discussing as something you want included. An element
should be some part of what you've been talking about that you want to see in play. Every
player should participate in this step, even if you didn’t make a pitch in the first part.
Examples: classical architecture, magic, or space travel
4. Discuss the themes some more as a group, this time with an eye towards reconciling some of
the competing ideas and choosing a setting. You may not be able to make everyone’s ideas
work with the setting you choose. If you can’t that’s ok, but everyone should be excited about
the game you’re going to play.
5. If 2 or more people disagree about what the theme should be after discussion you can put it to
a vote, but since this game relies on everyone being excited about the world you all create I
recommend only doing this if everyone’s really excited about several ideas and just needs help
deciding between them.
6. To vote, have everyone secretly decide how they will vote. When you are ready, raise your arm
to show you have decided. Once everyone has indicated their readiness, have someone count
down from three. On “one” everyone points toward the person who’s theme they support.

Throughout this process it’s important that you do not pre-play the game. Be wary of getting too
specific when discussing your game. Mentioning that there’s room to combine space travel and magic
is great, but suggesting a school of magic that specializes in jet propulsion is too specific at this stage.
 3

Step 2: Decide on the scale

Your playgroup could map:
 A town
 A region
 A country
 A continent
 A world

Or anywhere in between! You could also map areas like a castle or a galaxy using this system, but you
might need to make some modifications. What matters is that everyone agrees what scale you’ll be
working at. For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to refer to the area you’re mapping as an Area.
Additionally, you’ll want a notebook or piece of paper to write notes about the various items you add
to this world. I’m going to refer to that as the Encyclopedia and the person who writes in it as the
Recordkeeper.

Step 3: Define the borders of your map.

Now you’ll work together to figure out where your Area is situated. You’ll do this by taking turns
deciding what lies beyond the edge of the map in each of the cardinal directions. When you decide
what lies beyond an edge of the map, take a Creative Token to show that you have gone. You don’t
need to go in any particular order, so long as every person gets a turn. If you’ve got 3 players, have each
player define one side of the map, and then work together to define the remaining side using the Fiat
Rules (see below). You don’t need to indicate the borders on the map, but you should make a note of
them somewhere.
For example:
 You might decide that to the west of this city lies an important pass, so you draw a road going
off the map with a little arrow pointing west saying “To Channi Pass.”
 You decide that to the south of your continent lies a vast icy wasteland. You make a note of it
in the Encyclopedia.
 You decide as a group that your world is flat, and past the edges is a bottomless void. You write
“The Void” in big scary letters in the area not taken up by your world
 4

Step 4: Play the game.

At this point you’re going to start playing the game!
Here’s how play works:

1. When you’ve got an idea for something you want to add to the map pick up one of the Creative
Tokens and draw a symbol for the item on the map.
A. The tokens are a tool to make sure everyone is getting a turn even though the game doesn’t
use a set turn order. After you have taken a Creative Token, and thus a turn adding
something to the map, you may not add a new item to them map until everyone else has
had a turn (though you can still offer details for other people’s items as below). Once
everyone has taken a token—and thus taken a turn adding an item to the map—everyone
returns their token to the center and play continues. Everyone is now able to add to the
map again.
B. When adding an item to the map, include things like:
I. A description of it
II. What it does
III. A connection it has to something else on the map
2. Someone should note down the gist of things in the Encyclopedia to help you remember it
later on, and to have a record of the super cool Area you’re creating.
A. Additionally, instead of adding to the map, a player can add directly to the Encyclopedia,
adding an organization, a detail to an existing location, or another piece of world-building.
The player takes a Creative Token as normal.
3. Everyone then has the option to add further descriptions or connections to other items.
A. Similar to when you add something to the map, when you add a detail to something, take a
Detail Token to show that you have gone. If you don’t have anything to add to this item
take a token anyway and say “I don’t have anything to add.” Once everyone has taken a
Detail Token put them all back and return to adding things to the map.
B. The person who first created the item has veto power over these amendments and gets The
Last Word (see below), but we encourage you to find ways to incorporate other people’s
ideas even if they don’t fit your original vision.
C. If you come up with a detail that requires adding something to the map, save it! You can
create that item on your next turn, or if everyone’s really excited about it, use the Fiat Rule
below.
4. Fiat Rule: At any time during the game, if everyone agrees that something needs to be added to
the map, add it to the map. No one needs to take a token, and all players share in describing
 5

and connecting the item. If someone disagrees with a detail and it cannot be resolved through
discussion, put it to a vote as described above.
A. Example: Several people have made mention of an important ford on one of the rivers in
your region, but no one has added it to the map yet. So you call for a fiat and everyone
agrees that should probably be on the map, so the group adds it on a bend just south of
Endelwaithe Manor.

Step 5: End the game.

When your group feels like it’s created enough (usually my brain can’t handle more than about 2
hours), step back and revel in your creation. Take time to chat about all the interesting and cool things
you generated together. Kibitz about possible implications some of your world-building has, or about
possible stories that could come out of this world. If someone’s particularly excited about using what
you’ve created to run a game or write a story set in this world let them take home the map and
Encyclopedia. If possible, see if someone will type up your Encyclopedia and scan the map to send out
to everyone.
 6

Gameplay Notes

How much should you contribute?

A key goal of this game is to get to that point in shared world creation where everyone’s ideas are
sizzling, bouncing off each other. As such, there are no hard and fast limits on how much you should
contribute for a Creative Token versus a Detail Token, but as a general rule I would say give about a
paragraph or so description by the originator for a Creative Token, and another sentence or so for
each Detail Token. However, if you’ve got a big idea you think fits with something someone just said,
spit it out and see what people think. If it’s something that would make a big time change to the original
item though, that’s a sign that you should save it for a Creative Token of your own. Alternatively,
maybe you’ve got an idea for something to add to the map, but aren’t sure on its details. Adding the
Montfort Genetics Lab to the map and then offering it to everyone else to fill out the details with their
contributions is totally fine!

The Last Word

After someone offers a detail to something you created, show your approval by some form of assent
(“Aw yeah!” “Sweet.”), or by adding onto the statement (“Oh and that makes perfect sense, because the
crab riders wouldn’t dream of venturing into the netherstorm.” “Oh god that sounds terrifying. What if
the ritual happens at the summer solstice too?”). Having the Last Word means you have veto power
over other people’s contributions, but it also is a great chance to affirm other people’s awesome
contributions! If you don’t like what someone is adding to your creation, try to offer alternatives
(“Hmm, I don’t know if I like the Reptoid invasion being so recent. What if it happened further back
in time than that, but the humans are still scared of the Reptoids like you said because they’ve
continued to flex their muscle in the wake of the invasion?” “I like the idea that she has this brutal rise
to power, but I think she spares her father.”). You may have noted that even though the person with
The Last Word has authority over what is or is not true about a particular aspect, the examples show
them seeking approval from the other players (“What if...” “I think...”). Just because you’ve got
absolute authority doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take into account other people’s input. Make sure
you’re checking in with people, even as you make your incontrovertible stamp on the world.

The Encyclopedia
Some people like writing in the Encyclopedia, some don’t, and that’s A-Okay. The only trick is to
make sure that the person doing the writing actually wants to be doing it. If no one wants to write it’s
fine to play without the Encyclopedia (see the Variants section below), you just won’t have as much of a
record of your game. I recommend having the person who is teaching the game to everyone be the
 7

Recordkeeper by default because they (probably) have a better handle on the game and will be better
able to keep record while also contributing to the game. Players can also take turns being the
Recordkeeper if you want to spread it around.

The Pressure-Release Valve

For this game I recommend playing with either The X-Card or another similar tool. The X-Card is a
tool to communicate how you’re feeling about what’s going on in the game. It is a good tool to use in
any game to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable. Plus, for this game in particular, it serves
as a pressure-release valve. In normal play, there’s no way to prevent someone from adding something
to the map or the lore that you don’t like, other than everyone’s shared vision of the world you’re
creating or if you have the Last Word. A significant portion of this game is about incorporating
everyone’s disparate ideas into a shared world. But what happens when someone introduces a Brittany
Spears-worshiping cult into your high fantasy world? That’s when it’s time to use this (or another) tool.
By signaling that this doesn’t fit with your conception of the group’s world, you create space to have a
discussion about it and clear up any misunderstandings your group might have had about tone or
content. If you can’t come to an agreement during your discussion you should put the game away and
decide later if you’re going to come back to it or not.

I Can’t Draw!
When drawing: do your best! It doesn’t matter if it looks weird or janky, this game isn’t about judging
each other’s art skills. When it’s your turn to add something to the map, get in there and put lines to
paper. I also find it helpful to label everything that gets put on the map so I can remember what it is
later, which can also take some of the pressure off when you're drawing.

Fiat Rule Redux

Sometimes when you're adding details to an item and doing the Last Word things will just click, and
suddenly everyone will have a million ideas about this item and its place in the world. So many ideas
that one detail token apiece isn't enough. This is the part of the game where the rules I have written
become irrelevant. Bounce and riff and create to your heart's content with each other. When you're
done, and the moment has passed, pick the rules back up and carry on. The only hard and fast rule is
that everyone should be involved. To this end, if you think its time to leave the rules behind for a
while, check in with everyone by asking “Are we flowing?” or something similar, and if everyone says
yeah, you're good. If someone isn't feeling it, save your cool ideas for your turn.
 8

Variants

Creators Gonna Create

Sometimes you’re using this game to create a world that you really want to remember or want to play in
again sometime. And other times you just want to pass the time with some world-building fun. While I
really recommend using an Encyclopedia in those first cases, you don’t really need it if you’re just
making the world for its own sake, especially if no one wants to do the writing. If that’s the case, then
it’s ok to drop the Encyclopedia.

Time’s Wheel
The Atlas base rules create a snapshot of a world, a frozen moment in time. But what if you want to
see what happens next? In this variant, play using the same rules as the base game except as follows.
Whenever everyone puts their Creative Tokens back into the middle, take stock and decide as a group
whether and how much to advance time. In this game you may end up erasing something you created
in a previous round. If you do, leave something there (e.g. Ruin of Galamere, The Abandoned Terra-
forming Warehouse) so that you can still find that area later. I would also recommend keeping track of
the changes over time in the Encyclopedia. Be aware, anyone can destroy anything in this game mode,
you don’t have to be the person who created an item to decide that it is destroyed.

Resources for Play

Name Generators
I really like the following name generators. If you’ve got others that are super cool let me know!

Wyler’s Fantasy Name Generator is nice because if you make a note of which prefix and suffixes
you’re using for which names you can keep them consistent and have a unique naming style for the
different groups in your world.

Seventh Sanctum has just a huge selection; you can’t go wrong with that many options. I’m particularly
partial to the weird name generator if you want exciting names that inspire a certain kind of character.
 9

Publishing Notes
Released under a Creative Commons attribution sharealike 4.0 International license (CC BY SA 4.0)
Originally published in 2015. Links updated and rereleased in 2024.

Acknowledgments

Playtesters:
Carmen Fendt, Wendy Gorman, Chris, David Hertz, Jon Cole, Natalie Silverman, AureusTech
Timothy, David Rothfeder, Karl, Kaspian, Kenan Anderson, Mark Wyler, Ben Francis, Adam, and
Robert.

Cover:
Map: Tom Fendt and Carmen Fendt
Photoshop: Wendy Gorman

Editing: Heather Silsbee and Jon Cole

Game Inspiration:
Microscope: For everything it has done to transform my play culture and the way I think about games.
Dawn of Worlds: For being the first game to make me think, whoa, instead of being prep for a game,
world-building could BE the game.
Deep Forest: For being a rad as heck game about making maps.