We are Mushrooms: a new journaling game from Exeunt press
We are Mushrooms is a new solo journaling game that you can play together. You might even be eaten, but that's okay. You'll grow back. Includes a cute lil' crochet mushroom pattern too!
Get We are Mushrooms (Print + PDF) in the shop! Skeleton Code Machine readers can use code IMAFUNGI for 10% off your order. Offer expires August 7, 2026.
You are a mushroom.
You don’t move. You don’t speak. You simply grow, observe, and wait. Seasons come and go.
You might even be eaten, but that’s okay.
You’ll grow back.
It’s just nice to be a mushroom for a while.
Amigurumi mushroom crochet pattern inside! See below!
A mushroom journaling game
I’m happy to announce a new game from Exeunt Press!
In We are Mushrooms, you begin the game by deciding what sort of mushroom you’d like to be: shape, size, color, notable feature, edibility, and name. You make a map and situate yourself within the forest. Each round you’ll observe (and journal) what you see and grow larger.
Thieves, knights, monks, animals, and others will pass through your forest clearing, each leaving their mark.1 One might bury a box only to have another dig it up later. A fox will create a burrow and raise pups. Shrines are created and destroyed. You might even be picked by the herbalist or eaten by a deer.
Grow and spread
Each round of the game you’ll have a chance to grow. Some forest visitors may cause your growth to decrease (e.g. if they eat you), but don’t worry too much about being picked or eaten. Most of your mushroom structure is safely underground. You’ll just take a short break and then grow right back.
If you ever reach your maximum growth value (three dice stacked, each at their maximum value), you will disperse your spores and spread to nearby areas. When that happens, you’ll choose two adjacent locations on the map and draw your mushroom in them.2 Then you’ll reset your growth and begin the cycle again.
Eventually winter will arrive.
For a mushroom, that simply means waiting and reflecting on your time in the forest as the game comes to a peaceful conclusion.
A solo game to play together
Can you play this solo game with others? Yes!
Some parts of the experience can be shared. All players start and end the game at the same time. When rolling for an encounter, all players (i.e. mushrooms) will experience that same event. How players react to and imagine events, however, will be an individual experience for each player.
Rules are included for a Head Mushroom to facilitate and coordinate the game.
The goal is to provide a framework where any number of players can have a shared activity and yet feel comfortable exploring their own creativity and imagination.
Make your own lil’ mushroom friend
We are Mushrooms includes a crochet pattern for “Cocoa the Mushroom” custom designed for the game by Ceylon Crochet. Photos and step-by-step instructions guide you through the process, including recommended colors.3
I couldn’t be happier with the design. He’s adorable!
Print + PDF included
When you order We are Mushrooms via the Exeunt Press Shop, you’ll get both the print version (perfect-bound, A5, approx. 88 pages) and the digital PDF.4 Your order will include a printed slip when it ships containing a download key redeemable at itch.io.5
If you’d prefer to get just the PDF by itself, that is also available.
A quiet game of observation
We are Mushrooms is, in some ways, the spiritual successor to You are a Muffin.
It is the same relaxed and cozy experience of careful observation and reflection. It is made to be played by yourself but also, however, made to be played with others. It is explicitly both a solo game and a multiplayer game.
Now more than ever, there is value in solo roleplaying as an exercise in analog creativity. In a world inundated by screens and driven by algorithms, it can be nice to spend some quiet time with pen and paper. It might be even nicer to spend that quiet time together.
Whether you choose to play this game by yourself or with others, have fun being a mushroom… if only for a little while.
Get it now at the Exeunt Press Shop. Use code IMAFUNGI for 10% off your order.
– E.P. 💀
I’m pretty excited about the visitor system in We are Mushrooms. Duplicate dice rolls (e.g. rolling 36 twice in the same game) can often be unsatisfying. I took that and turned it into a system where you want to get duplicate rolls. Rolling the same visitor increments what the visitor is doing. The first time the druids pass through, the birds chirp to welcome them. On subsequent visits, they plant saplings and construct stone circles.
A printable map grid is included in the PDF download package. It is also available as a free stand-alone download at the Exeunt Press Shop.
Note: The crochet pattern uses 12mm safety eyes. Safety eyes are not safe for small children or pets. If you are making this for a child or pet, embroider the eyes instead.
If you have ADVENTURE! from Exeunt Press, that’s roughly the same size and shape. This one might be a few pages longer.
Your download key will not be emailed. If you don’t immediately see the slip in your order, check inside the front cover.
EP shop link was broken. It's fixed now! Sorry!
this seems so lovely! mushrooms are wonderful; and it's such a nice idea with a multiplayer solo game :) being alone together <3 (is definitely a lot better than being together alone)
thank you for making, and sharing about it <3