Physical copies are available at:

• Blinking Birch Games (US)
• Indie Press Revolution (US)
• Knave of Cups (US)
• Heart of the Deernicorn (US)
• Tabletop Bookshelf (US)
• ratti incantati (Canada)
• The Lost Bay (UK, EU)

Discounted damaged copies are available on the Blinking Birch Games website.

The answers to mysteries often lie buried in the past.

In The World We Left Behind, play as astronauts trekking across an alien planet. Learn about the planet’s flora and fauna while uncovering vestiges of the past. What happened to the sapient species that called this planet home? Why do only remnants of their lives remain?

During this casual worldbuilding game, players draw symbols on playing cards to create a planet, populate it with traits, and uncover the mystery of the species that left this world behind. Tell a story of wonder, companionship, and legacy in the midst of a lonely planet.

The World We Left Behind is GMless and designed for 1-5 players. The game is 44 pages long (including covers), there is zero prep needed to play, and a full game lasts 2-4 sessions. Alternate rules for one-shots are found in the back of the book.

Instructions and templates for online, one-shot play are included in the digital bundle.

Featured on Polygon!

Materials For Play

To play The World We Left Behind, you will need the following:

• A standard deck of playing cards (these cards will be written on during play)
• At least one fine-tipped permanent marker
• A six-sided die (d6)
• A flat surface
• A few hours of time per session

The Ballet

The World We Left Behind was originally commissioned by BalletCollective to be used as Source Art in their 2023 season, THE MOMENT IS IMMINENT. Composer Phong Tran and choreographer Troy Schumacher played The World We Left Behind and used it as inspiration for the music and choreography of the ballet.

The ballet The World We Left Behind premiered in NYC in Fall 2023, performed by dancers from New York City Ballet. It returned for an encore show for BalletCollective's 2024 season: THE ENTRANCE IS THE EXIT.

A free livestream of the show took place on Oct 30th at 7:30pm ET. The video is available to watch - The World We Left Behind begins at time stamp 1:38:00.

The World We Left Behind TTRPG has been heavily edited since the ballet first premiered, but the original version of the game presented to BalletCollective is free and available on this page.

The Album

Phong Tran, the composer of the ballet, released an album through cmntx records of the music he composed for The World We Left Behind. You can listen to it here. 

It is also available for digital purchase and in cassette form.

The Team

• Author:  Samantha Leigh
• Artist (Cover & Spot Art):  Helena Santana
• Graphic Designer:  Sinta Posadas

The original version of The World We Left Behind was commissioned by BalletCollective and designed in collaboration with Troy Schumacher and Phong Tran.

NO Generative AI was used in the making of this game.

Physical copies are available at:

• Blinking Birch Games (US)
• Indie Press Revolution (US)
  
• Knave of Cups (US)
• Heart of the Deernicorn (US)
• Tabletop Bookshelf (US)
• ratti incantati (Canada)
• The Lost Bay (UK, EU)

Discounted damaged copies are available on the Blinking Birch Games website.