Housesitting for a Spell
A downloadable game
Housesitting for a Spell is a solo journaling RPG steeped in cozy magic.
Your aunt is going on a yearlong trip, and she’s asked you to look after her house while she’s away. What she didn't say is what you've suspected since you were very young: she's a witch! When you arrive, you can practically feel the magic crackling off her walls even before she leaves.
To play, we suggest gathering the following items:
- a deck of playing cards with the jokers removed
- paper and something to write with
- optional: your favorite drink, some relaxing music, and/or a little snack
With the aces marking the change of the seasons, you'll turn over cards and answer the prompts to uncover new experiences, make friends, and maybe even learn a little magic of your own.
It’s going to be a great year.
This game is based on the excellent Carta SRD by Cat McDonald and Peach Garden Games.
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Supporting this game at or above the recommended price will also add a free copy for the community.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $3 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
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Community Copies!
If you're unable to afford this game for any reason, please help yourself to a community copy! Consider leaving us a rating or comment as another form of support.
A new community copy will be added each time someone...
- leaves a nice review
- rates this game
- purchases this game
We'll also add a few with each new game we release.
Development log
- Community copies added!Jul 30, 2023
Comments
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I have just dipped my toes into the Solo Journaling niche and chose this because I got it in the fire relief bundle and I love reading cozy fantasy books.
I am having a blast so far!
It was a surprisingly fun and relaxing experience that also encouraged me start practicing writing prose. I've just been trying to do a prompt every day.
So far, my character has:
scolded and shoo-ed away a teenage thief who wanted to irresponsibly make love potions
Made awkward small talk with an adorkable scholar visiting this small town
Bond and made friend with the magical sentient shop/house
And tried to recreate Airbuds via using a loophole in a magic animal racing competition to have a piece of sentient plank from the house I enchanted to be able to fly as my mount.
(I still lost the race. But because the plank made me rescue a stray pastry-loving kitten during it).
What a cute and cozy game!
The house and the events are described in such vivid detail that you can breathe in the magic. I love that you can even learn and use spells, like a real apprentice. I think it's one of its coolest features! ✨
For me, playing it was mostly a fun and relaxing experience. One of my favorite moments was going into the attic and discovering some talking mirrors! They were so noisy and I had the chance to use my new skills.
If I may suggest one thing, it is to consider a separate section for aces and seasons descriptions. I think their current placement isn't much intuitive and it still makes you flip back through the suits pages.
But overall it is a lovely, well-made, and graphically neat game. I will definitely play it again, I still have so much to discover about the house and the city!
Thank you for the game, and thank you so much for the community copies 🙏🏻🩷
I have a doubt about the setup and the prompts.
From what I've understood from the "Setup" section, the five cards for each season row can be from different suits because they all come from a single stack.
When checking the prompts, though, each suit is associated with a season entirely (ex. Hearts/Spring), not just the ace. This seems to imply that, for example, the spring row should be made just by heart cards. But if that's the case, the setup would need four stacks.
What's the intended setup then?
Thank you!
Hi! You've got the setup correct. There should only be one stack to draw from, and the five cards for each season row will likely be from different suits.
The season listed in each section's header applies to the aces and is there so players don't have to flip back to the setup page to check each time. For all other cards, you'll use the suit listed in the header and the value of your drawn card to locate the prompt. For example, the Hearts/Spring header means this is the section to find prompts for all heart cards, and the ace of hearts out to the left means you're in Spring.
Hope this helps!
It helps indeed, thank you so much for the explanation!