What is Pocket Party?

Pocket party is a role-playing game, or RPG for short. Don’t worry if that sounds fancy. If you’ve ever told a story with friends, played pretend, or said, “What if the floor is lava and we’re secret agents?”, then you already understand the heart of it.

In Pocket party, you and your friends take on the roles of kids adventuring through Pocket worlds born from their imagination. You’ll create a character, along with their very own dimension, then venture into these worlds to create thrilling stories.

As you adventure, you and your friends will expand your Pocket worlds by facing villains, solving mysteries, and teaming up with the strange and wonderful inhabitants you meet along the way.

When things get tricky or uncertain, you’ll use cards you created to help shape the story. Each draw brings surprises, consequences, and unexpected twists. You never quite know whether things will go your way, blow up in your face, or take the story somewhere wildly new.

In Pocket party, everyone wins together by weaving a memorable, thrilling story!

The Roles

Before getting into the action, it is important to understand the different roles around the table.

Players

Anyone sitting at the table and playing an episode of Pocket party is a Player. Together, you share the spotlight, toss around wild ideas, and build a story full of surprises and heart. Everyone has equal power to shape the world, make decisions, and bring the adventure to life.

The Guide

One Player is the Guide.Their role is to help spark the adventure and keep it rolling! They breath life into the world by describing how it reacts to Adventurers’ actions. They set up engaging scenes and sometimes throw a few challenges your way. Think of them as the narrator, stage manager, and biggest fan of the chaos about to be unleashed.

The Adventurers

Everyone else is an Adventurer. They explore the world through their character: curious, brave, or just trying their best. They venture through Pocket worlds, solve problems, and make big (or very silly) choices. Along the way, they help build the world too: adding cool details, running jokes, and moments that make everyone go, “whoa.”

Using Cards

Cards are the beating heart of Pocket party! They decide how tense moments unfold, and whether luck, wit, or chaos takes the wheel.

Each Player has their own collection of cards:

The Guide collects Trouble cards: obstacles, fears, dangers and rising tension are all on the menu.

Adventurers collect Hero cards: background story, dreams and overcomplicated gadgets that allow them to save the day!

When tension rises, the Adventurers and the Guide create a stack by playing cards from their collection that fit into the narrative of the action. You shuffle them and dramatically draw to reveal how the story will move forward. We call this an Action draw. It creates fun, unexpected twists and keep Players on their toes!

There’s no wrong way to make a set of cards for Pocket party: grab blank playing cards, reuse an old deck, doodle on sticky notes, or cut up scrap paper. The only real rule is that you must be able to make a stack where you can’t tell the cards apart, so drawing at random stays fair and fun.

When you see this symbol, framed this way, it means that we are walking you through the process of crafting a specific card!

The Kin Code

When a group of people comes together to build something, it helps to agree on a few ground rules so everyone knows what they’re getting into.

That’s where the Kin Code comes in.

It reflects a play philosophy we deeply believe in at Knot Knot. While you’re free to ignore it, we truly think it will help Players enjoy the full experience we’ve built for them.

Play together

  • Players communicate their intentions clearly and act in good faith, gladly putting personal goals aside so everyone can have a good time.
  • No Player has the power to overrule decisions made by the rest of the group, regardless of their role at the table.
  • Players support one another and enrich the game with creative ideas and wild suggestions, while always respecting each player’s agency and freedom of action.

Build together

  • The characters’ and Players’ motivations are the engine of the adventure. The story is built around their actions, not the other way around.
  • While some Players may portray the world, they do not own it; the game universe is co-created by everyone at the table.
  • The rules are here to guide you, but the story is what truly matters. If a great moment comes along, the table can always bend the rules to let the story shine.

Enjoy together

  • Players share the spotlight fairly, and everyone is responsible for making sure the game is fun for all.
  • Players foster an environment where constructive feedback is welcome, and everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts.
  • Players are mindful of each other’s boundaries, and any discomfort or issues that arise during play are addressed immediately.