Review - Zhenya’s Wonder Tales
By Alex White
- 18 minutes read - 3764 wordsThis is a game with six sets of cards to enable you to tell dark slavic themed fairy stories in 1-2 hours. I think it is designed for four players, but has options for different numbers. I don’t own this game, but played it with a friend who does own it.
We played it online, using the roll20 version of the game.
The Basics
You choose which of the stories you want to play, and lay the cards out on the table in a grid, with a character at each corner. The cards you can see on the table represent key story points which are going to come up, and the edging tells you which story card belongs to each person. The four in the central column could be used by anyone.
It is very free form; you decide who is going to be in a scene and then play that scene out until it comes to an appropriate point to end it. Along the way, it is possible that one (or more) of the cards will be triggered. You can see what cards are on the table with their trigger conditions, and that makes it easy to play into the direction the story wants to go.
The games included are
- Bird rivals
- Bear Lovers
- The Carp Princess
- The King of the Snakes
- Silver Hands
- The Funeral of Night
Playing the Game
First we decided which story we wanted to play, and then we each chose one of the characters that we thought would be interesting. The three cards around each of the characters gave some insights into what the character might be doing... but until you’ve triggered a card, you don’t know how that is going to work out!
We decide the first scene, and set out the scene and identify who is present. Conversation starts as we role-play that scene, until someone mentions one of the trigger phrases on a card they have access to.
The person triggering a card picks it up, reads the back, and then proceeds appropriately. Sometimes it offers a choice you have to make, sometimes it offers a choice you have to give someone else. Sometimes you keep the card to yourself, and sometimes you’ll put it out for everyone to see. The instructions on the cards are clear, but often disturbing! Just like fairy stories have a mind of their own and are going to drag people to certain conclusions no matter what they might want, these cards can be opinionated, and will put you in a tough situation!
The game ends when you have probably revealed all the cards and you all agree that you have come to what seems like an appropriate conclusion.
Why I like this game
It really feels like slavic folk tale/fairy stories. The matter of fact way in that you can have a king of snakes married to a human queen, or bear lovers which doesn’t strike anyone in the game as strange really emphasises that dark folk nature of the game.
The cards give you a sense of the direction that things are going to take, and you have flexibility about how you want to handle that, but sometimes the cards are going to force you in a direction which you hadn’t expected, and that’s great. If I can be allowed a metaphor, you are navigating your personal story like a canoe down a river, but the overarching story means that the river is actually the rapids - and it will buffet you this way and that as you attempt your journey!
I think the stories lean more towards grim and dark endings, and that’s great (I love that kind of thing)
Something I struggled with
The Roll20 implementation of the game was quite hard to work with. That is an issue of Roll20 rather than the game though. The text on the cards is too small to read, and if you blow it up it takes over the whole screen. I ended up taking screen shots of cards I drew, shrinking them down, and keeping them visible so I could remember what was going on. This would be so much easier playing face to face with the actual cards! I wish there was a playingcards.io set available, which makes card games like this much easier to manage online. Still, it is what it is, and we managed to have a great game nonetheless.
At the very start of the game I didn’t have quite enough of a handle on what my character was like, so there was a little bit of stumbling along at the start (at least on my part) but it didn’t take long to get into the flow of things. A minor struggle, all things considered!
Where can you find the game
https://bullypulpitgames.com/products/zhenyas-wonder-tales
Would you like to see a story?
We played The Snake King. I played the titular king, Jen Adcock played Queen Jasna, Asa Donald played the servant Daryna, and Camilla Zamboni played Vadim, the merchant.
Important! There may be spoilers, so take care about proceeding!
Vadim is building a road through the Snake King’s lands, and the Snake King has invited him to an audience to discuss those plans.
This is an outline of the scenes which we played
Scene 1 - Queen Jasna goes to welcome Vadim
The queen takes her serving girl Daryna and goes to welcome Vadim. The queen is dressed in her finest gown of human manufacture, which she had worn to her wedding with the king. Daryna is dressed very modestly, in darker clothes that disguise her obvious beauty. She is not there to be a distraction, she is there to help.
Vadim sees her, and Camilla takes the card “When you first see the serving girl, Daryna”. She describes him taking a bow with a practiced smile on his face, but when he rises he catches a glimpse of the serving girl and can’t help staring. There is a look of pleasant shock on his face.
He composes himself, and continues with his pleasantries to the queen.
The queen is really enjoying this additional human company, and so takes him on a tour of the underground palace. She has acclimated to leaving with the snakes so much that she doesn’t notice how odd some of the things are - gilded warming stones, the shedding chamber where shed skins are gathered and used for textiles, the music room with atonal snake music, and the spiderweb tapestries!
Vadim tries to lay groundwork for his plans with the queen, by talking about the commerce and opportunities his new road will bring, and the additional human interaction and profit. Of course the tin mine and road will plough through this palace, but it is the future, and it will bring humans and snakes much closer together. As he smiles, a gold tooth glints. Could you help me convince your husband the king...?
Perhaps you are right, queen Jasna ponders. I’ll take your message to the king.
Scene 2 - Queen Jasna visits the king of snakes
She enters the throne room, where the king of snakes lounges across his throne, his coils piled up on the seat and arms.
Jasna tells the king, her love, that she has greeted the human visitor and made him comfortable. She showed him the splendours of the palace and he had said that the road would make them all wealthy... but it may destroy part of the palace.
The kings eyes flash “He would dare to do something that would destroy my palace! After he has already driven his road through my woods and destroyed the homes of some of my subjects without asking first! How dare he approach me like this when I offer him an invitation! Does he not understand what my power is like?!”
The queen admits that Vadim had tried to appeal to her human nature to take his side, but she is pledged to the king by love and loyalty, now and always. The king is grateful for the love she has for him.
The queen admits that she does miss human company sometimes, but she is happy to remain here as his queen. She feels a little tickle on her calf, and the kings tail has curled round and is caressing her leg in affection.
The king asks queen Jasna for advice, knowing that she understands the human world (I pick up the relevant card. To my dismay, I find out that although the king deeply loves his queen, he is afraid that she will leave him and return to the human world. He is afraid that if he clings to her, it will drive her away; if he lets her go, she probably won’t come back. What is a royal snake to do?)
They discuss the situation further, and the king places his trust in his queen, and he leans forwards and they kiss tenderly.
Scene 3 - Daryna is attending to Vadim
As Vadim’s servants are setting things up in his accommodation area, there is a moment when Vadim and Daryna are alone together. They are glancing at each other and then away clumsily. Hesitantly, Vadim brings out a necklace with a locket and hands it to her as a gift. It is much less fine than all his other jewellery, and old.
She opens the locket and sees a picture of a young man with a little baby. Vadim tells her that when he was young and poor and foolish he was desperate. The king of snakes takes what he wants, and he wanted Vadim’s only child, so he gave the child over as payment for a debt. Could Daryna be that child?
Daryna looks at him and says “Father, I want to escape this place” and Asa draws the “When you plead with Vadim for help” card. Will you help me? Vadim is given a choice of two options, and he agrees, although his help will ultimately be worthless. He hugs her, and promises to get her free, no matter what.
Scene 4 - Queen Jasna and Daryna
Daryna is attending the queen and doing her hair for the big event. Hairdos are something the snake attendants could never get the hang of! The queens curls are piled up to represent a huge coiled snake - over the years the queen has enjoyed Daryna’s company and so has asked her to make more and more complex hairstyles.
The queen asks how Daryna found her time attending to Vadim, and this triggers “share a private moment with the queen” and she chooses that this is a time for the queen to unburden herself.
The queen is very concerned with all the negotiations which are surrounding Vadim’s visit and asks Daryna to report back anything she can find out about Vadim and his plans. She is reminding Daryna of her duties here and asks whether Daryna ever wishes to be part of the human world again? They discuss together the nature of promises and debts and the honour of the king. They don’t make an honest attempt at compromise with their views, and snake servants are going to be watching Daryna as well as Vadim.
Before Daryna goes, the queen rests her hands on her shoulders and feels how tense she is. Jasna says that she had to harden her heart to live here, and her blood is not as warm as it was. Daryna must learn the same.
Scene 5 - The King and Daryna
The king of snakes has summoned Daryna to his throne room. He wants to know if the human visitors are being treated well and fed properly (there may have been some problems with uncooked vegetables and provision of rats)
Daryna explains that the queen had mentioned concerns about dealing with Vadim and wonders if there is anything she can do to help out.
The king of snakes reiterates how pleased with the skills and companionship that Daryna provides to his queen. The human contact he recognises as so valuable to Jasna’s wellbeing, and thus his concern for Daryna’s wellbeing too. That’s why he remembers Daryna’s birthday every year, and it’s coming up, so he has a present prepared for her. He finds it and says that he has noticed her being sad. Although he doesn’t cry himself he knows about tears and what it represents for humans.
Daryna is taken aback by the second gift she has been given in a day. She accepts it and opens it in front of the king. It is a beautiful framed painting of a mountain sunrise with a ribbon and note on it. The note says that recognising it is fair to give her the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise for real, there is a pass so that the guards will let her out of the palace.
The King of Snakes says that it is a token of his affection and thanks for her many years of faithful service - a service which she had not chosen, but which she had embraced wholeheartedly. He appreciates how much Daryna has brightened up his queen’s life, and he now wants to brighten her life too.
Daryna has tears welling up, and realises that the king has welcomed her and in many ways been a father to her all the years she has been growing up.
As the scene ends Daryna is musing that she has a father who offers a chance of escape but who abandoned her as a child, and on the other hand she has had a hard life as a servant and is lonely but she has a father figure who remembers her birthday and wants her to be comfortable and happy!
Scene 6 - The meeting in the throne room
The throne room is huge and formal. The king of snakes sits on this throne, and queen Jasna sits on her throne next to him. Daryna is in attendance and Vadim comes in with his servants. The servants deposit an insane amount of gifts at the foot of the throne. Vadim is clearly hugely wealthy and isn’t afraid to show it off.
He says that it is an honour to be here to discuss the road.
The king of snakes apologies because he is not sure whether they have met before. (he finds it difficult to tell humans apart, which is why he loves his wife’s huge hairstyles). Vadim’s wealth clearly speaks highly of his skills as a merchant. Was he born to wealth, or did he build it himself?
Vadim says that he was born poor and lost everything including his dignity to poverty, but bit by bit he built his empire. Now he can interact with kings on an equal footing. He is bragging and draws the relevant card, but as a result the king of snakes treats him with pity.
The king says “there is the wealth of minerals and goods and shiny things which is loved by many. And there is the wealth of a full heart and family relationships. Were I to weigh these things in the balance, I would put a greater weight in the matters of heart and family. Those are the things that are really important to me” He glances over to his queen. “I look at your wealth here, and I wonder what price you paid to gain this material wealth. Because I see you surrounded by servants, but not surrounded by family and friends. Why would that be?”
Vadim doubles down on his plans for the road and how it is time to move forward. He brushes off the damage done to the homes of the king’s subjects, which the king responds to with a soliloquy about the value of homes and history.
Vadim counters by saying the king is content in his righteousness, compounded by the fact that everyone agrees with him. Yet he keeps human servants, who have a life underground forced on them.
The King of Snakes responds. “I would rather say that the imposition was by the person who decided that they would like to offer their child as a deposit for a debt. They want money and would give up their child in order to get that money. I notice that you come here with all this wealth in order to build a road and make a mine, to bring you more money. Whereas you could have come with a proposal for your daughter. And yet you don’t. So which truly is more important to you?”
Vadim says that he is prepared to walk away from the arrangement if Daryna can come with him.
The king turns to Daryna. “Look me in the eyes my child. If you wish to go with this man and have your future with him, that is my wish too. I want nobody to be held against their will. You were provided as a debt of honour, and you have repaid that debt so many times in so many ways. I gave you a birthday gift and I’m delighted if you choose to use it. But the decision in this matter is not mine. It is yours, Daryna”
Daryna is put on the spot and filled with conflicting emotions.
The queen is looking on and thinking “What the @&£% is that?”
Daryna looks over at Vadim and says “I’m really sorry, but my duty is with the king” (Asa then picks up the card “when you serve the king truly and well” and his face is a picture as he reads it and digests the implications!). She runs out of the room.
Vadim seems confused and nonplussed, and the king tells him that he will allow him a day to compose his thoughts, and they will reconvene tomorrow morning which seems fair.
Scene 7 - Queen Jasna visits Daryna
The queen hurries off after Daryna and finds her in her bedchamber, hurriedly putting away the two presents from the day. The queen says that she could not have borne her service here in the King's palace if it hadn’t been for her companionship. And what did the king give you as a gift this year?
Daryna pulls out the painting and the pass and shows it to the queen. She says how the king had seen her sadness and given this pass so she could visit the outside world.
We see a calculation running in the queen’s head. Of course, very generous, very... thoughtful of him.
Daryna pushes the pass into the queen’s hands and asks her to take it, but the queen refuses. “I’m sure the king would give me a pass if I asked. I’m sure he would”
The queen takes her leave.
Scene 8 - Daryna tiptoes round the palace that night to see Vadim
While she is tiptoeing around (Asa draws the card “When you tip toe around the palace at night”) she finds something heartbreaking.
The king of snakes is in his chamber, talking to himself about the mirror. He is afraid that he is going to lose the queen that he loves. He can see her sadness, and he fears that if he tries to keep her, she will escape - but if he lets her go, she will never return. Every direction looks like heartbreak for him. He slithers back to the bedchamber and watches his beloved as she sleeps. Enjoying each moment he has left before he talks to her tomorrow.
Daryna proceeds on to Vadim’s room. Although part of her dies at the thought of abandoning the king and breaking the families blood oath, she must get out. She reaches Vadim’s room and he is pacing back and forth, all packed. Daryna sputters about having to leave but doesn’t want to leave and the queen is trapped and shes got to leave but it will break his heart and I don’t know what to do.
Vadim decides to take her right now. Escape without notice and deal with consequences later. He will redirect the road far away from here, so nobody will come near the lands belonging to the king of snakes again. This is a violation of hospitality, and the common snakes become implacable enemies of Vadim and his family from now on. Guards bring news of the escape to the King of Snakes, but he says “Let them go. I gave Daryna the option in the court when all eyes were upon her. Perhaps that is unfair. If this is her decision, let her go”
Queen Jasna doesn’t take it so well though. Daryna leaving breaks her heart. She’s learned many things here as queen of snakes, including things she was never supposed to learn as a human, including forbidden snake magic. Once upon a time a snake could shed his skin and become human. Or a human could shed their skin and become a snake. There is magic which is powerful and destructive. The queen goes to the shedding chamber and gathers up spare skins and uses them to weave a snake skin for Daryna which will bind her here as a snake. But as a human she cannot work the ritual properly, and Daryna is transformed into a monster, a terrible creature belonging to neither world. She retains her human torso but her lower half becomes the body of a serpent!
Epilogue
Vadim is horrified but gathers her up and carries her away. He assumes that this was a cruel trick of the king of snakes, with a curse to transform anyone who actually leaves, and he hates the king of snakes even more. He spreads terrible rumours about snakes, and the land of people and the land of snakes break apart in enmity that lasts until this day. The king of snakes never knows what caused this breakdown of trust between his people and the humans, and it makes him sad.
Vadim builds a gilded palace for her daughter, but won’t let her go out as she is now a monster.
Queen Jasna lives a sad life - loved by the king of snakes who is kindly, but having lost the one human companion she ever had. She loves the king and doesn’t want to break both their hearts by leaving. The tragedy is that the king would let her go if she asks; she could come and go as she pleases - but she doesn’t realise that he trusts her that much, so she is too afraid to ask.
What a desperately tragic end for everyone!