Play and imagination
The Impossible Lost-and-Found: a story game for 2–6
Someone has handed in an umbrella that rains upwards. Who owns it, how did it get lost, and how will you return it? Run a tiny lost-and-found office together: two cases, six story lines each, with no points or acting required.
Open the office
For 2–6 people. You need this page and somewhere to sit together; paper and a pen are optional. One person can read a card aloud, or everyone can read it. No special cards, accounts or game experience are needed.
You are all staff at an imaginary lost-and-found office. Choose a card below. Its strange object and return condition stay true throughout that case. Everything else is yours to invent. The cards are story prompts, not riddles with hidden answers. All magical properties and return conditions apply inside the invented story; they do not restrict what players can say aloud or do in the room.
One case, three steps, six turns
Choose a starting player, then take turns in a fixed order. On each turn, answer the next numbered prompt with one short sentence. Build on the details already added. A case is complete after all six prompts have answers.
- 1. Owner: who does the object belong to? Invent a person, creature or place.
- 2. Owner: what does the owner use it for?
- 3. Loss: how did the object end up away from its owner?
- 4. Loss: what clue at the office connects the object to that owner?
- 5. Return: how do you get the object back while meeting the condition on the card?
- 6. Return: what happens when it arrives, or what thank-you does the office receive?
Close after two cases
Start the next case with the person after whoever answered prompt 6, whether aloud or in writing. Use a different card and begin again at prompt 1. After the second case, name your office and close for the day. You have made two tiny stories. There is no score or winner.
Without passes: with two people, alternate: each person answers three prompts per case. With six, each person answers one. With three, four or five, keep the same order and continue around as needed.
If an idea does not come
Say “pass” or point to the next person: the same prompt moves on, without explanation. If everyone passes on that prompt, put the unfinished case aside; it does not count towards your two cases. Choose another card and restart at prompt 1 with the person after the last player who passed. You can also stop the session there.
You can write your sentence instead of speaking, and let someone else read it if you want. Keep the written sentences together so the next player can follow them.
Keep the people and events fictional. Nobody has to describe a personal experience, do an impression or perform an action. If a detail is unwelcome, replace it and carry on. If two details contradict each other, agree a small change before the next turn.
A plain answer counts. “We put it in a box and deliver it” is fine when it fits the card. If you want a nudge, try an owner with an unusual job, a loss during an ordinary errand, or a delivery using something already in the story.
A complete example: the jar of sunset
This is an invented example, not a transcript of a playtest. Three players could take these six turns, in order:
- 1. Alex: “The sunset belongs to the keeper of a lighthouse inside a wardrobe.”
- 2. Bo: “She lights the little lighthouse with it when the wardrobe doors are closed.”
- 3. Casey: “She left the jar on a bus while carrying a very large coat.”
- 4. Alex: “The jar has a label showing a lighthouse with a coat hanging from its roof.”
- 5. Bo: “We deliver the sealed jar; through the glass, the keeper recognises the little green flash she put in her sunset.”
- 6. Casey: “The next morning, a thank-you postcard arrives with a tiny beam lighting up the stamp.”
Choose your first case
Use the card picker, choose a number from the full list, or print the cards. You only need two cards for a session. Drawing or printing a card does not start a timer; take the time your group wants.
Twelve impossible finds
Pick two cards. For each card, take six turns: owner; use; loss; clue; return meeting the card’s condition; what happens afterwards. One sentence per turn; passing is allowed. Stop after two completed cases.
The upward-rain umbrella
When this umbrella opens, raindrops rise from its rim into the sky. Return it to its owner without getting anyone wet.
The key to drawn doors
This key opens doors drawn on paper. Its owner lives on a blank postcard. Return the key without making a mark on that postcard.
A spare sunset in a jar
A small sunset glows inside this jar. It must stay sealed until its owner receives it. Invent a way for the owner to recognise their sunset through the glass.
The teacup with a pocket cloud
One tiny cloud floats above this teacup and follows it everywhere. Its owner cannot carry the cup. Return both cup and cloud without making the cloud rain.
The scarf that borrows voices
This scarf repeats the last sentence it heard, in the same voice. Return it without saying its owner’s name aloud.
The shoes that step into tomorrow
Whenever their laces are tied, these shoes take one step into tomorrow. Return both shoes on the same day without tying the laces.
The map of places that move
The streets on this map change places whenever someone folds it. Its owner is waiting at the address in the centre. Make the delivery without folding the map.
An envelope full of breeze
This unsealed envelope holds a breeze that lifts loose paper. Hand it over inside the office without letting any of the office’s papers blow away.
The bell only statues can hear
Only statues can hear this bell. Its owner is asleep in a garden. Arrange the return without waking the owner.
The glove for holding moonlight
This glove lets its wearer hold a beam of moonlight like a ribbon. Return it before moonrise without anyone touching the glove directly.
The mirror of the room next door
This mirror shows the room next door instead of a reflection. Pack it for its owner’s journey without covering its shiny surface.
The spoon that stirs colours
This spoon can stir colours in the air as if they were soup. Return it while the office is being repainted, without the spoon changing the colour of anything.
Where this game comes from
Coru created the object prompts, the six-turn case structure and the example for this page. In comparing familiar storytelling formats, we looked at Rory’s Story Cubes, which builds stories from rolled images, and Once Upon a Time, whose players use story cards and steer towards a secret ending. Their publishers’ overviews are linked below.
This version uses a shared office, a visible return condition and a fixed ending, with no scoring or secret objective. The rules have had an editorial walkthrough, not a session with a group of players. If you try them, the feedback form below is a useful place to say which card or instruction helped—or got in the way.