Writing from the Future: “The Lemon Game” by Brittany Redd

You are a regular person just trying to survive in a world where life only ever gives you lemons. Sometimes, you get a lot of lemons; sometimes only a few. It is up to you to decide what you do with them. You can make lemonade. You can make something else if you want. Whatever you try to do, sometimes it just won’t work out and there is nothing you can do but wait for more lemons to show up.

You will need a couple of 6-sided dice.

Roll or choose a Lemon specialty:

  1. Desserts
  2. Savory Dishes
  3. Drinks
  4. Cleaning Products
  5. Perfume
  6. Lemon Farming

Rules:

  • You have 2 stats: Lemon and Lemonade. You should divide 6 points between the two stats according to your preference. You will use Lemon to see how good you are at acquiring lemons and Lemonade to see how effectively you can do something about them. 
  • At the start of each round, everyone should roll a d6 to determine how many lemons they get. Then, decide what each of the lemons represents. Are they literal lemons? Or is the lemon a metaphor for the thing that keeps you awake at night that won’t seem to go away, no matter how deeply you try to repress it? 
  • Each player must then decide what they are actually going to do with their literal and/or metaphorical lemons. If you are using your specialty to do so, you may roll two d6s and keep the highest number. You need to meet the number of your chosen stat in order to successfully transform your lemon. If your lemons are not actually lemons but rather life-altering crises, what then does your lemon custard pie represent? Be creative!
  • Play as many rounds as you’d like until you have exhausted all optimism and creative solutions to the lemons that are thrown your way. You may want to avoid the color yellow for a day or two. 

Brittany Redd is a teacher and writer in Thailand. Her work appears in Corvid Queen, Pithead Chapel, Funicular Magazine, and elsewhere.

Image: vecteezy.com

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