The London Season

The London season of 1874, a perfect time for the aristocracy to advance the marriage prospects of their offsprings, entertain themselves through various social engagements and, naturally, gossip to their heart's content.

Women of course were expected to be particularly invested in this time of year, having been raised to believe that marriage was the highest form of actualization for our sex. To keep house and breed children was our collective calling, or so we were told.

We were also taught that once we attained marital bliss, our husband would take ownership of our wealth, property and body. They probably would have passed a law to ensure our mind became theirs as well, had it occured to them that we might actually have one.

The Game

Designed for the One-page RPG Jam 2023, The London Season is a rules-light solo journaling role playing game inspired by the like of Last Tea Shop and Over the Mountain. Thematically, it drew significant inspiration from one of my favourite board game, Obsession, by Dan Hallagan as well as from a lovely micro game by Elizabeth Hargrave called Tussie Mussie. The game only requires the use of a standard deck of playing cards, a pen and some paper. 

Create your young lady, decide if you hope to secure or avoid an engagement this season and carefully navigate 8 fortnights of glamorous events, social engagements and secret messages. 

Thematic Thoughts

The game is half love letter and half poisoned pen for late 18th to early 20th century London, as romanticized by Jane Austen, Bridgerton and Downtown Abbey. It is hard for me to reconcile my enjoyment of these stories knowing all of the social inequities they gloss over. Be warned, you are unlikely to be able to play this game without being immersed in a world of sexism, classism and racism.

The Download

This game consists of a single two-sided page containing all of the rules and tables required to play the game. In addition, a low ink arial font version is available for those who would like to print it out.