Punderworld: A Tabletop Wordplaying Game

Prologue

Almost anywhere there is the recorded word, there is a dot. It might be an extra period, pen mark, tanween, or stray scratch on a wax tablet, but rest assured, it is there. You won’t find it if you go looking, but you just might catch it out of the corner of your eye, winking back at you. Be careful – this is a doorway, and if you get too lost in a book, too absorbed in a story, you might end up…somewhere else. Two realms, two sides of the same coin, hanging suspended in the unending void of the Lands Unwritten.

Welcome to Punderworld

Your words are already magic, but here, they have power. If you’re familiar with Tabletop Roleplaying Games – this is one. However, first and foremost this is a Tabletop WordPlaying Game. When you speak, not just your intent but your very words come to life. Vaulting vocabulary, indignant idioms, alluring allegories - here, you'll encounter them all. 

Most stories start in the City of Wit, whose razor sharp towers reach ever skyward. It’s a place of erudite wordplay and boisterous ripostes. However, not all is as it seems, and fowl play may be afoot in the Citadel of Cleverness. Pride goeth before a fall, and even the mightiest can be revealed a chicken. 

Far beneath the ivory towers lies the Punderworld, where the difference between "literally" and "figuratively" can be life or death. A place where your wildest dreams can come true, or your deepest nightmares – here, a rose by any other name definitely will not smell as sweet, and being a man of your word means more than anything. 

These are places of whimsy and wonder for those who can use their wit to bend wordplay to their will and, or a place of pain and punishment for those who cannot.

Sharpen Your Wit

The Core Mechanic: Wordplays

To attempt an action in Punderworld, you’ll make a Wordplay! A Wordplay is an intentional use of figurative language interpreted literally (or vice versa). Sometimes you’ll pun precisely enough to make everyone at the table groan, and it’s Enough Said (as judged by the Groan Master, or GM). But not every pun is perfect: most times you’ll have to rely on the ambient amount of Pun Energy (Punergy, if you will) in the world.

Which brings us to:

You Can (Pun) Run, but You Can’t Hide

But what if (gasp) I’m not that good at finding the perfect pun? Or just plain stuck? 

If truly stuck, you can attempt to make a number (dependent on Punergy Levels) of puns on a topic of the GM’s choosing. The lower the meter, the more puns you’ll have to make! 

If you succeed, the Punergy Meter resets to 1 –  however, if you go above and beyond, you can add any extra puns from your run to the Punergy Meter. 

The Rest of It is Groanworthy, Too

The Groan Master has plenty of words to play with as well, with custom mechanics (how about Cutting to the Chase or Making a Long Story Short) and everything else they might need to keep the story going – from figurative language help and idea sections, GM advice, to descriptions of the people and places of Wit and Punderworld.

Who Are You?

You’ll play as either a Figure of Speech (native to either Wit or the Punderworld) or a Traveler, pulled into this strange world by a particularly excellent book.

As you explore the City of Wit and Punderworld, you’ll run into a number of colorful characters, including:

Between Wit and Punderworld, heated conflict is brewing (and available in to-go cups for Pun Runs), between those who would wish the wild and magical language of these lands to propagate unrestrained, and those who would seek to control it. 

Your adventure may take you into the heart of this conflict, so be prepared and sharpen your wits. In this world, the pen is absolutely mightier than the sword.

Actual Play

Want to see pun-powered gameplay in action? Our friends at Rolling With Difficulty recently released the very first actual play of Punderworld: A Tabletop Wordplaying Game, on their channel! 

Join Groan Master (and Punderworld guest writer!) Noir, Austin Funk as The Mussel, Sophia Ricciardi as Miss En Place, OSP Red as Happy to Brie Here, and Wally as Serial De-Monogamous on an adventure like pun other:

Testimonials

“This game seems like four people chained to a table while you cackle for three hours” - William Cunningham, Boston University

“I was super engaged the entire time. A lot of games where I’m not running it I tend to zone out for periods of time–the opposite with Punderworld. I was always paying really close attention to find a specific word to pun off of.” - Austin Funk, Rolling with Difficulty

What's Inside?

Each copy of Punderworld includes:

• 12+ Playable Figures of Speech
• A Field Guide of 60+ locations, Witizens, and Punderdwellers to fill your world
• Introductory Story Starters and adventure hooks from guest TTRPG writers
• Figurative language and pun tables for punspiration
• GM Guide for running wordplay-powered adventures

Rewards

Add Ons

Stretch Goals

Timeline

Punderworld is currently in playtesting, with editing and layout next on the horizon. We expect the hardcover edition will be sent to print in late summer, with goals to fulfill all pledges in Fall 2026. 

Shipping and Fulfillment

Orders are slated to be fulfilled and shipped from NYC. Because of fluctuations in global shipping rates, you will be charged for shipping closer to the fulfillment date, once you complete your backer survey confirming your delivery address. 

Meet the Team

Artificial Intelli-be-gone-from-hence

If it wasn’t already clear, no part of this game is being made with AI. This is for a couple reasons. One, because AI is dumb and is actively contributing to environmental destruction, increased global inequality, and the actual dumbing down of our brains. And second, because AI is fundamentally opposed to what this game is all about–thinking for yourself, playing with language in unique and unexpected ways, and celebrating the wit and whimsy only present in the human imagination. Rest assured, this thing is 100% human made.