The Fool’s Journey Through the Artwork of a Tarot Deck

Follow an interesting adventure through a deck of Tarot cards with the unique solo game of The Fool’s Journey.
There are many sorts of solo board games that exist within my collection. With limited space, sometimes I prefer some of the free options that only require a PDF rulebook! The Fool’s Journey is one such example. Only a deck of Tarot cards is required, along with some way to track vitality. The simple components give way to a wonderful experience!
Game Overview
Game Name: The Fool’s Journey
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Desmond Meraz
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Possibly the best part is the ability to use any Tarot deck. Everyone has unique artwork preferences, so it’s nice to be able to choose the main component!
My deck is the Victorian Fairy Tarot by Llewellyn Publications. It’s out-of-print and difficult to find, but I simply love everything about it! Now to go adventuring…
First Play
August 4, 2017
Complexity
1
Latest Play
July 4, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
66
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
20
Game Area
26" x 18"
Low Score
0
A Lengthy Journey
The goal is to get through the entire deck and overcome all of the challenges, represented by the numbered major arcana cards. Each one requires a different value.
The minor arcana cards, which make up most of the deck, may be used in different ways to overcome each challenge.
Of course, the Fool begins with a certain amount of vitality. Should this run out at any point, the journey comes to an end and results in a loss.
The concept sounds similar to a standard dungeon crawl, yet the Tarot cards bring the experience to life!
Oddities in the Card Order
My luck was rather unusual with my initial play. There are 4 suits in the minor arcana and plenty of variety. So I was absolutely puzzled when I drew every autumn card right near the start. They just kept coming out! Unfortunately, this led to a situation where I had no room to store anything and was forced to discard a fair number of them.
Since autumn cards help double the value of other cards, I knew this journey was going to be difficult. In a way, it was like the Fool started trekking about at the end of autumn. Poor planning, as I learned from Oregon Trail II. Ha ha!
Creating a Story
Every decision varies from being obvious to tricky. There are all sorts of considerations to make. I may do a more detailed post at a later time to explain the mechanics.
Take this example. A pentacle card, which corresponds with the autumn cards here, may be used to play a court card of another suit on a matching card to double its value.
In this case, the Queen of Winter is placed on the Three of Winter by discarding the Nine of Autumn.
I imagined that the cozy nesting fairy knitted or crocheted something extra warm to get through the winter.
The Card Details
There are many artistic and designer decks of standard cards, but rarely will one include the details present in a Tarot deck. It’s just so wonderful to see the cards laid out!
The main benefit to these details is the ability to create a narrative, or simply play for about 10 minutes.
My deck works for me because the individual fairies are human-like and far from perfect. They’re all different sizes, shapes, ages, and genders. Quite a diverse group!
The color palette is nice and warm, and every card features simply gorgeous details. I’ll let this card speak for itself!
An Abrupt Ending
With the goal of overcoming every challenge, sometimes it’s just impossible to survive. My Fool faced Awakening and The Sun at the very end, and his journey was over.
It’s interesting how I still find new ways to explore gameplay. This was one of my first solo games years ago, and I can find slight nuances in the strategies to this day.
Part of me has definitely mastered the general decisions, but I always enjoy my time. It’s still a challenging game.
There are multiple ways to change the difficulty level. Even adjusting the starting vitality makes a difference!
Session Overview
Play Number: 53 and 54
Deck: Victorian Fairy Tarot by Llewellyn Publications
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Play Details: 15 Starting Vitality
Required Play Space: 26″ x 18″
Setup Time: Almost None
Play Time: 10 Minutes per Play
Outcome: 0 and 0 (2 Losses)
I managed to guide the Fool almost to the end again, only to fall to the pair of challenges in The Fairy Bride and The Magistrate. It seemed somewhat logical, though. Ha ha!
%
60 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
9
Quality
Components & Rules
6
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
Victory Conditions
Overcome All 20 Challenges
- Overall Goal Progress 75%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game with full vitality (15) at the end.
Win at least 1 game with full vitality (20) at the end.
Win at least 1 game with full vitality (25) at the end.
Win at least 1 game without using any aces.
Continue the Conversation
Do you have a Tarot deck that might work well with The Fool’s Journey? It’s a rather unique sort of adventure that can be enjoyed as a simple game, or as the framework for a story. What other component-light games do you enjoy? This is a pretty standard solo board game in my rotation, and I look forward to successfully guiding the next Fool. Or so I hope!
Oh did not know about this game and I have a collection of tarot decks. Thanks for the post.
You’re very welcome, and I hope you enjoy it! The rulebook can be a little difficult to get through at first, yet there’s an awesome game to be found. I’m planning on posting a tutorial of sorts in the near future to go through the mechanics and strategies. Feel free to ask any questions, though! I’ve been playing for years, and always come back to this one.
I hope you do tutorial because the rules look difficult to figure out. I really like your tarot deck.
Thanks, Marita! I keep meaning to get this back to the table to do a rules tutorial. I really need to start putting together a proper list of my ideas… There are so many! Let me see if I can work on something during the next week. It’s an excellent game, yet it took me probably 10-20 plays to really grasp the rules. You’re not alone!