LoS: Tarot, Game, & Book Series
Posted: 28 Mar 2022, 23:07
I purchased a tarot deck called Labyrinth of Souls (LoS), created by Matthew Lowes and illustrated by Josephe Vandel. I initially purchased it as just a tarot deck because the black and white Gothic imagery on many of the cards appealed to me, but I soon discovered that there is a very entertaining and well-thought-out game associated with this deck. Then, just this past weekend, I discovered that there is an ongoing book project that has been inspired by this deck as well.
In this post, I will provide a brief overview of the deck, the game, and the book project, as well as provide links for anyone who is interested in investigating further. Since the deck, game, and book project are so closely related and since the deck is having an influence across various other media (gaming and literature), I felt it was best to review all three together in this thread.
THE DECK:
The Labyrinth of Souls Tarot is an 88 card deck (the extra 10 cards are used in the advanced version of the game). The Majors, Aces, Court Cards, and Extra cards are illustrated; the Minors are like playing cards, except that the associated tarot suit is also listed in the upper right corner of each card. I have provided a sample of one card from each category at the end of this section (The Extra card sample is The Lich).
The deck is poker size (2.5" x 3.5"), which unfortunately does not do justice to the dark and often difficult-to-see detail of the artwork, but it is an advantage regarding the game because far less table space is needed to lay out the smaller cards.
The deck is currently available from two different sources (The Gamecrafter and DriveThru RPG). As of August 2023, Gamecrafter has raised the price of the deck to $19.99 USD, while DriveThru RPG is still priced at $16.99 USD. According to the creator, the deck from DriveThru RPG has a better quality card stock and box. Also, the backs of the DriveThru RPG cards feature a red and black design, whereas The Gamecrafter version features tan and black.
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/du ... h-of-souls
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/20 ... Tarot-Deck
THE GAME:
There are three levels of difficulty to the game: Basic, Expert, and Advanced. The Basic Game can be played with any deck of playing cards. The Expert Game can be played with any deck of tarot cards. The Advanced Game needs an 88 card deck such as the Labyrinth of Souls Tarot or any other 88 card deck (such as the Pazzol Tarot or the Trionfi Della Luna). Since the Labyrinth of Souls deck is only $16.99 USD and the smaller cards facilitate easier game play, it might be the best choice for those who are interested. The game is very entertaining (and somewhat addictive). The game is very intelligently designed and offers a great deal of opportunity for the player's strategy and decisions to influence the outcome of the game, rather than just the luck of the draw.
The following description of the game is from the creator Matthew Lowes:
“Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls is a fantasy game for tarot cards. Defeat monsters, disarm traps, open door, and navigate mazes as you explore a dangerous dungeon. Collect treasure and magic items, gain skills, and gather companions. But beware, the dungeon is vast, and death awaits those who linger too long. If your torches burn out you will be lost forever in the darkness. If your rations run dry, you will starve or go mad.”
The rules for the Basic Labyrinth of Souls game are currently available for free at the following link under the game's previous title of “Tomb of Four Kings.”
https://matthewlowes.files.wordpress.co ... e-tofk.pdf
The rules for the Basic, Expert, and Advanced Game (as well as the rules for a two-player option) are available in the book pictured below for only $12.99 at Amazon. (A PDF of the rule book is available for less at DriveThru RPG.)
The book is very well written and easy to understand. There are also card meanings included for the Extra Arcana for those who wish to incorporate those cards into their tarot readings.
Matthew Lowes has also provided 3 demonstration videos for each of the Basic, Expert, and Advanced Games on his Youtube channel. The videos in question are titled "DS LoS Basic Game 1," "DS LoS Basic Game 2," and so on. They are all available at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... BEWkJkV5H
THE BOOK PROJECT:
The Labyrinth of Souls book project is set up very much like a tarot deck collaboration project. An author can reserve an available tarot card from the Labyrinth of Souls deck. Once the reservation is confirmed, the author writes a fantasy story that should incorporate the theme of the chosen tarot card into the story in some way. If the manuscript is approved, the story will be published as part of the Labyrinth of Souls book series with the chosen tarot card as the cover art (see sample photos at end of this section). There have been 12 books published as part of this series, so far.
As of the time of this posting, they are not accepting new submissions, but the following links will provide information for those authors who wish to learn more about the project and stay informed for possible open submission dates in the future. The most recent novel The Bee's Waltz was published in November of 2021.
https://shadowspinnerspress.com/labyrin ... formation/
https://shadowspinners.wordpress.com/20 ... uls-novel/
https://shadowspinnerspress.com/2017/08 ... g-readers/
I have just ordered a couple of the books (The Snake's Song and The Mole Train), as I am interested to see how the authors incorporate the theme of their tarot card into the stories. All of the novels from this series are available on Amazon in either a Kindle Edition (for around $3.99 USD) or in Paperback (for around $12.99 USD). If anyone has read any of these 12 novels, I would be interested to hear your impressions of them.
In this post, I will provide a brief overview of the deck, the game, and the book project, as well as provide links for anyone who is interested in investigating further. Since the deck, game, and book project are so closely related and since the deck is having an influence across various other media (gaming and literature), I felt it was best to review all three together in this thread.
THE DECK:
The Labyrinth of Souls Tarot is an 88 card deck (the extra 10 cards are used in the advanced version of the game). The Majors, Aces, Court Cards, and Extra cards are illustrated; the Minors are like playing cards, except that the associated tarot suit is also listed in the upper right corner of each card. I have provided a sample of one card from each category at the end of this section (The Extra card sample is The Lich).
The deck is poker size (2.5" x 3.5"), which unfortunately does not do justice to the dark and often difficult-to-see detail of the artwork, but it is an advantage regarding the game because far less table space is needed to lay out the smaller cards.
The deck is currently available from two different sources (The Gamecrafter and DriveThru RPG). As of August 2023, Gamecrafter has raised the price of the deck to $19.99 USD, while DriveThru RPG is still priced at $16.99 USD. According to the creator, the deck from DriveThru RPG has a better quality card stock and box. Also, the backs of the DriveThru RPG cards feature a red and black design, whereas The Gamecrafter version features tan and black.
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/du ... h-of-souls
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/20 ... Tarot-Deck
THE GAME:
There are three levels of difficulty to the game: Basic, Expert, and Advanced. The Basic Game can be played with any deck of playing cards. The Expert Game can be played with any deck of tarot cards. The Advanced Game needs an 88 card deck such as the Labyrinth of Souls Tarot or any other 88 card deck (such as the Pazzol Tarot or the Trionfi Della Luna). Since the Labyrinth of Souls deck is only $16.99 USD and the smaller cards facilitate easier game play, it might be the best choice for those who are interested. The game is very entertaining (and somewhat addictive). The game is very intelligently designed and offers a great deal of opportunity for the player's strategy and decisions to influence the outcome of the game, rather than just the luck of the draw.
The following description of the game is from the creator Matthew Lowes:
“Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls is a fantasy game for tarot cards. Defeat monsters, disarm traps, open door, and navigate mazes as you explore a dangerous dungeon. Collect treasure and magic items, gain skills, and gather companions. But beware, the dungeon is vast, and death awaits those who linger too long. If your torches burn out you will be lost forever in the darkness. If your rations run dry, you will starve or go mad.”
The rules for the Basic Labyrinth of Souls game are currently available for free at the following link under the game's previous title of “Tomb of Four Kings.”
https://matthewlowes.files.wordpress.co ... e-tofk.pdf
The rules for the Basic, Expert, and Advanced Game (as well as the rules for a two-player option) are available in the book pictured below for only $12.99 at Amazon. (A PDF of the rule book is available for less at DriveThru RPG.)
The book is very well written and easy to understand. There are also card meanings included for the Extra Arcana for those who wish to incorporate those cards into their tarot readings.
Matthew Lowes has also provided 3 demonstration videos for each of the Basic, Expert, and Advanced Games on his Youtube channel. The videos in question are titled "DS LoS Basic Game 1," "DS LoS Basic Game 2," and so on. They are all available at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... BEWkJkV5H
THE BOOK PROJECT:
The Labyrinth of Souls book project is set up very much like a tarot deck collaboration project. An author can reserve an available tarot card from the Labyrinth of Souls deck. Once the reservation is confirmed, the author writes a fantasy story that should incorporate the theme of the chosen tarot card into the story in some way. If the manuscript is approved, the story will be published as part of the Labyrinth of Souls book series with the chosen tarot card as the cover art (see sample photos at end of this section). There have been 12 books published as part of this series, so far.
As of the time of this posting, they are not accepting new submissions, but the following links will provide information for those authors who wish to learn more about the project and stay informed for possible open submission dates in the future. The most recent novel The Bee's Waltz was published in November of 2021.
https://shadowspinnerspress.com/labyrin ... formation/
https://shadowspinners.wordpress.com/20 ... uls-novel/
https://shadowspinnerspress.com/2017/08 ... g-readers/
I have just ordered a couple of the books (The Snake's Song and The Mole Train), as I am interested to see how the authors incorporate the theme of their tarot card into the stories. All of the novels from this series are available on Amazon in either a Kindle Edition (for around $3.99 USD) or in Paperback (for around $12.99 USD). If anyone has read any of these 12 novels, I would be interested to hear your impressions of them.