Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.

Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.

A "Pole Star" is an in-game element (e.g. dragons) or a general topic (e.g. war) that you want the game to be about. The most interesting Pole Star games will have characters who all have different attitudes about the thing, but who have motives to work together despite their differences.

• A fictional element you like (dragons, magic, time travel)
• An important personal or social topic (crime, poverty)
• A contentious event (the coronation of an unpopular ruler)
• A moral or ethical concept (responding to tyranny)