Horse and Rider is a 2-player game about a horse rider taming, and forming a bond with, their horse. It's heavily inspired by techniques taught to me by an actual farrier, who has spent his entire life working with and around horses. Despite being the daughter of a loud-and-proud horse girl, it completely changed my perspectives on horses and our relationship with them. With this game, I hope to achieve a similar effect.

To that end, Horse and Rider is a collaborative story game. One person plays the horse, the other the rider and each work together to form a bond over the course of six stages. Each stage draws from the techniques used to tame horses and are mechanically represented through a six-sided dice and three pieces of string or ribbon that are braided together. This mechanic was chosen as a way to represent trust between the two parties and draws from the history of horse riders (including my mother) braiding horse hair.

The braiding mechanic is entirely unique to Horse and Rider and is designed to make it more accessible to those newer to ttrpgs. While not everyone has a full dice set lying around their house, most people do have three ribbons/strings and a six-sided die. The second half of the book is dedicated to the actual techniques taught to me. As I wanted the mechanics themselves to be more freeform, the second section is intended to educate and provide inspiration, rather than act as a strict ruleset. This is again intended to allow accessibility, as it gives less-experienced players a space to build from.

With this crowdfunding campaign, I hope to be able to do a small physical run of the books, pay for editing as well as cover the costs for art and further research for this game. The first half the book has been written and I intend to finish the second half after the research materials I ordered arrive.

Stretch Goals

$1900 - Accessible Layout

While I can manage doing a serviceable layout for my game, it's not an area I'm especially talented in. With this goal, I am aiming to have the money to not only hire a far more talented person to manage the layout, but the person I have in mind specializes in making games more accessible for those with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other visual processing disorders.  To that end, I hope to make Horse and Rider more accessible with this goal.

$2500 - Rosettes/Show Ribbons

For each physical book, you also get a rosette to play the game with. For those not in the know, a rosette (or show ribbon) is a type of award, traditionally given as a prize in horse shows and competitions. They can also be seen at country fairs. They generally consist of a circular centre, usually with the name of the event and placing in competition, surrounded by one or more layers of folded ribbon and two or more ribbons extending from the bottom.

The rosettes for this goal will have some text commemorating this crowdfunding campaign, as well as three ribbons extending from the bottom to allow for the game to be played with them. They will match the aesthetic of the game and can be displayed or kept with the game for playing purposes.

Credits

Cover art by Zed Nope.

Magazine Mockup template taken from Anthony Boyd on Freepik

PDF mockup template taken from Hello-Pixel on Freepik