Introduction

Before They Leave is a meditative, solo game about drawing, music, exploration, and bird watching. Inspired by the places you roam, whether at home, or in urban and outdoor settings, there’s always a bird to spot.

Spend 10-15 minutes up to three times per day, at dawn, midday, and evening, spotting and naming birds, and transcribing their songs. Occasionally, one will get away, and that’s just the way it goes.

What you need

6 six-sided dice, a journal, pencil, and eraser. Use real-world dates, times, and weather to guide your experience.

Completely optional are colored pencils, water colors, or pastels for coloring your specimen.

How to play

1. Settle in: Take in your surroundings, then document the date, time of day, location, and weather.

2. Rolling 6 six-sided dice to spot the bird and sketch what you see. Careful, if you roll three 1s and takes off before you can sketch it!

3. Name the species using your surroundings, i.e. dewy willow, or yellow-spotted monk

4. Optionally, transcribe its song in your journal.

Each new urban or outdoor location you visit is home to a single species pair. To encounter new species, you must keep exploring!

Credits

Design & layout by Jean Luc Lariviere-Lacombe
With photos and illustrations by Tania Herrero, Han Chenxu, Mark Olsen, and the public domain