Among the heavyweights nominated for the 2026 Origins Award for Roleplaying Game of the Year (Daggerheart, the Cosmere RPG, Starfinder Second Edition) sits something genuinely unusual. The Bonsai Diary, a quiet draw-and-journal game by Gene Koo of Sticky Doodler Games, is the first journaling RPG to land on the Origins shortlist.
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See how it worksThe game asks you to tend a single bonsai tree across generations of its life, sketched out across the pages of a small diary. Each entry, you trace the tree from the page before, add one new brush stroke, and answer two journaling prompts: one about the tree, one about its caretaker. Slowly, generations of carers and seasons of growth pile up in your hands. There are no dice, no character sheets and no GM. Just a pen, a few pages and 15 quiet minutes a day.
Koo first posted The Bonsai Diary on itch.io in January 2023, where it can still be downloaded for free, then ran a successful Kickstarter in May 2025 to print a proper hardback. It is one of only two zines on this year's RPG shortlist, which has tended to favour books with bigger marketing budgets. The Origins Awards run via the Game Manufacturer's Association, whose shortlist process has been criticised for the third year running for not naming individual designers. Winners will be announced at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, between 17 and 21 June 2026.
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Set up your group for freeIf your idea of a perfect game night involves a cup of tea and zero shouting, The Bonsai Diary is worth the free download. It is also a good gateway for friends who say they "couldn't possibly do RPGs."
Sources: Sticky Doodler Devlog | Bell of Lost Souls | Rascal News
