December 4th, 2024 - Xenolanguage: A Game about Alien Language and Human Memory
From Thorny Games, the makers of bestselling and award-winning games, Dialect and Sign, comes Xenolanguage.
We are no longer alone. In this roleplaying game, you play as the first humans tasked with deciphering an alien language. As you uncover meaning, you begin to see the world differently.
Xenolanguage is a game about first contact with alien life, messy human relationships, and what happens when they mix together. Play centers on the Platform: a custom channeling board of mysterious origin. Use a planchette-like Lens to channel over alien symbols as you receive and interpret messages. Players will progressively discover meanings for the alien symbols on the board, grapple with what they learn, and experience how it changes them.
The base game of Xenolanguage includes a custom channeling board with 30 alien symbols, planchette-like lens, story deck and digital soundscapes. This game takes inspiration from soulful sci-fi stories (Arrival, Story of Your Life, Contact, Interstellar and many more) but you'll tell your own story.
A story game for 3-5 players in 3-4 hours.
- "The single most evocative and emotional game I have ever played. I was totally blown away by the experience this game delivered." -- Matthew Gravelyn (Humblewood, Mall Kids)
- "... a beautiful game that is both spine-tingling and full of intense relationships ... Thorny Games definitely hit the nail on the head with this perfect marriage of theme and mechanics." -- Banana Chan (Game and a Curry)
- "We built a shared language through curiousity and cooperation, and I was left marveling at how personal an experience of first contact might be. " -- Jenn Martin (tenpenjenn)
What's Included
- The Platform Board
- The Lens
- 30 x Alien Symbols
- 57 x Story Cards
- 5 x Archetype Cards
- 7 x Relationship Cards
- 5 x Epilogue Cards
- 1 x Notepad for Alien Meanings
- Custom soundscapes for gameplay.
Find an excerpt of rules available here.
