A downloadable draw-and-journal game

Buy Now$5.00 USD or more

It's 2024, and you plant a small tree seedling, imagining its future.

Bonsai trees can live hundreds of years. Who will inherit this living being? What will that person think of you in 2178? Will they think of you at all?


The game prompts introspection, and if my experience is anything to go by, it will leave you pondering long after you’ve put down your pen. In an age of fast-paced digital distractions, this tactile, thoughtful experience is a sanctuary of sorts.

-- review, Emil's Game Room


This is a beautifully contemplative game, in which you embody various generations that are all responsible for caring for a bonsai tree (and possibly more).

-- Mint, There's a TTRPG for That!


Use simple brush or pen strokes to shape your bonsai. On each page, you'll trace your previous bonsai and add one more stroke. Watch your bonsai grow bigger, page after page. Draw impulsively, or draw with intention.

As you play, the game asks you: Who are you? What do you hope for the future?


Watch it played

Xoe Allred of Knife Bunny Games plays through the entirety of The Bonsai Diary:

Updated 6 days ago
StatusIn development
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(5 total ratings)
AuthorSticky Doodler
Tagsbonsai, Drawing, journaling, Print & Play, solarpunk, tree
Average sessionAbout a half-hour
LanguagesEnglish

Purchase

Buy Now$5.00 USD or more

In order to download this draw-and-journal game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:

The Bonsai Diary print-and-play, v0.42 (PDF) 1.5 MB

Exclusive content

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Community Copy

If you simply can't pay for a copy of The Bonsai Diary, please help yourself to a community copy.

Development log

Comments

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(+2)

Great game! I'm glad I got a chance to play it!


https://emilsgameroom.com/the-bonsai-diary-a-solo-journaling-game/

(+1)

I truly love this drawing-journaling-meditation concept

Thanks for sharing, I love journaling games focused on drawing or doodling!

(+2)

Thank you so, so much, Angela! Your comment means so much to me. If you get a chance to play it, I'd love any feedback. I know the instructions still need work.