Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure with Winnie the Pooh? That’s the prospect behind the upcoming expansion for Brambletrek, a journaling TTRPG focused on cute animals and deep dives into scary woods.
Brambletrek is a GM-less journaling adventure where players live in the Forest of Hyill as Mousefolk, small cute creatures who feel the call to adventure and may need to answer a number of dilemmas. The game is designed to inspire you to make big decisions, to take on monsters and villains and journey across the world of Akeroth in your own written prompts.
Journaling RPGs are something quite new to this writer, although it’s not hard to see the appeal of using guided fictional prompts to spark a story. But what inspired this game?
“Brambletrek started when a D&D session got canceled, and I wanted a solo way to scratch that adventure itch,” Ash Swain, Brambletrek’s game designer told The Fandomentals. “I also wanted to create a game my son and I could play when he got older—something simple yet deep. That led to the Talebinder system, a card-driven journaling RPG.”
The game was published by Crossed Paths Press in 2023, with several expansions and additional adventures released in tandem. Crossed Paths decided to release Tales in the Hundred Acre Woods in March 2025 as part of Backerkit’s Pocketopia series, a collection of “portable, easy-to-learn tabletop games.”
The Hundred Acre Woods expansion specifically adds classic characters like Pooh Bear, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga and several others as playable characters alongside a set of prompts and story concepts all based in A.A. Milne’s iconic setting and offers a chance to explore this setting. Players will not only get to meet the iconic characters, but will have to help them push back an encroaching darkness that threatens to cloud their minds and dull their warmth through strange magical crystals.
The game only references Milne’s books because they entered the public domain in 2022. Disney continues to hold copyright privileges regarding Winnie the Pooh’s modern interpretations like the television show or films.
How to Play Brambletrek:
The Talebinder System relies on a standard 52-card deck (no jokers), where the player will draw four cards for each “day” of adventuring. The card colors determine whether an event is “fortunate” or “unfortunate”, and then the numbers are used in tandem with the game’s Exploration Tables in your chosen adventure to determine what sort of event is going on. For example, they might come upon a friendly traveler or find a rare herb that’s extremely useful. It’s also possible that the character could get lost or caught in a storm. Simple prompts like this determine what the player goes through.
Each player makes their adventurer through a series of random tables. They’ll draw cards to determine their reason for adventuring, their background and perhaps a trinket of some value to them. Characters will also have three key traits; their Health, Morale and Supplies. The stat numbers are determined by drawing cards, which determine the amount at the start.
As they travel, events can impact these stats and complicate affairs as the player writes through the adventure. If any of these traits hit zero, the character becomes hindered and must take a day to recover and care for themselves in a relevant way.
What makes each player stand out is their Legacy, reflecting a sort of class system for the game. Perhaps they’re a hearty scrapper, or perhaps they’re a magical Seer. Each come with useful abilities that can be used in conflict.
Conflict is also resolved by drawing cards. When prompted, a player will draw appropriate cards to determine who their opposition is. In Brambletrek, the enemies are usually large beasts or monsters who are eager to defeat and prey on our small mice-like adventurers. The player first draws four cards and play appropriate ones that match your Legacy. This could feature the player playing a Two card, which wraps them with an arcane shield. Each Legacy has different abilities. The opponent’s card will be drawn, determining what sort of attack they’ll do. This goes back and forth until either the player or the monster’s health reaches 0.
The system “was inspired by a focus on narrative-driven, card-based storytelling. I wanted something cozy, introspective, and open-ended—like a storybook adventure that unfolds as you play,” Swain said.
All of these mechanics are quite fun on their own, but they’re designed to inspire story-writing. Players will be encouraged to “journal” through the adventure and to use the prompts to complete their goals or reach a conclusion they find fulfilling.
Why run a journaling RPG in this way? “Journaling RPGs let players immerse themselves in storytelling at their own pace. I wanted a game that encouraged creativity over strict rules, where players could shape their own adventures,” Swain said.
Solo RPGs are a burgeoning market, with dozens of unique books offering a plethora of writing prompts designed to inspire writers and creators to make really cool things. One aspect of Brambletrek that allows it to stand out is the addition of rules for group adventuring. Players each make their own adventurer with appropriate stats and background, then draw cards to determine a series of events and handle combat as a team. It’s an easy transition gameplay-wise to learn.
If you’re a TTRPG player eager to give a journaling RPG a chance and enjoy a cozier storytelling vibe, you should absolutely check out Brambletrek: Tales in the Hundred Acre Woods. The campaign will run until April 3. Meanwhile, the Brambletrek core rulebook and other expansions is available on their website.
Disclosure: The Fandomentals received a review copy and a preview of their new Hundred-Acre Wood inspired adventures for this story.
Images via Crossed Paths
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