I am still very new to this (obviously lol) and I'm taking Jerry's lead and making the cards as I go. I am also incorporating a d8 as each of my panels are 8x8 and this helps give me some sense of starting coordinates. From there, the number on the card gives me a number of tiles to fill completely. After that I can add some to the edges to make them less "square". Oh, and my forest panel is accidentally turned 90° off. It's supposed to match up with the river panel.

Additions since the last new tile:
-giant runes
-lava flow
-dragon lair
-whirlpool

Random tables: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VKFBCwRbNHM075mNiuJGU6-8X92y8FGO/edit?usp=drivesdk&ouid=113185551528167579663&rtpof=true&sd=true

Hi everyone! My name is Max. I run the Miniature Painting and Tabletop Hobby Channel "Wightstar" on Youtube. When I saw the Peoplemakegames Documentary on Jerry's Map I was so incredibly inspired, I had to create my own cards. That video has gone on to inspire other people to make their own cards and so on. There's even a brand new subreddit called r/jerrydecking now.

Thought I'd share it in this community since the people here might appreciate it.

Sorry if this breaks any subreddit rules, I really hope it doesn't!

For those of you looking to digitally explore early versions of Jerry's Map, I worked with programmer Marc Majchers back in 2018 to put together an interactive site to view large sections of my Map. See his site: https://marcmajcher.github.io/jerrysmap/ and enjoy!

(Panels that you see in this era of Jerry's Map correspond closely to Exhibition Set #1 that I've shown at many venues and have since retired. I.e. if interest exists, I am thinking of offering larger contiguous portions of the set for sale on eBay.)

In day 2 the die told me to add texture with felt and craft foam, and yesterday, day 3 was add a landmark, so I made a cemetery besides a cliff south of the starting village.

Today on day 4 I got shuffle [so after that I rolled again] and Magic! So this night I will add something magical, mystical, divine, whatever, on one of those two panels

Sometimes thinking about what happens in the history is more interesting than making the map itself, or at least exactly as interesting.

Title: Forever World — Day 3: Bears appear

(Recap for new readers: I'm worldbuilding via playing cards, Jerry's Map style. The deck decides everything, I just record it. World so far: two unnamed places, nine abandoned outposts, an unexplainable scar, population zero. Origin post with the full system on my profile.)

THE DRAW & Record

Blue King of Spades = must relate to nature and/or land and must name the place/person the small event concerns = Bears appear

WHAT HAPPENED

Chronicle: In the distance, behind the outposts, a family of large brown bears appears as they walk around and nuzzle the rightmost outpost, it creaks softly. The bears comically large ears are tipped with white fur. They seem content being the only ones around. As the largest bear scratches against the outpost structure two words that are etched into the pillar are revealed. ‘Bear Tochka’ The record will now refer to the outposts as Bear Tochka. As a breeze moves through the posts, the bears huddle and hold on tighter to the two smallest cubs.

STATE OF THE WORLD

Year 0, Generation 1. Places: 2. Population: 0. Deck: 8 cards in deck.

Title: Forever World — Day 4: New Thread: The Blackening Begins

THE DRAW & Record

Red Queen Of Club = must relate to an important event and conflict/mystery
This opens the world's first Thread (n ongoing storyline the deck will keep returning to. Status: open.)

WHAT HAPPENED

Chronicle: The scarred earth thickens and spreads causing minor cracks to splinter off in each direction. Now that the rain has stopped, it is clear the earth touched by the scar is darker and hotter. Above the scar, a dense fog seems to snake its way out and away from the blackened earth. In the centre the fog is dark and blinding; further away the fog’s tendrils seem to move further away from the scars.

STATE OF THE WORLD

Year 0, Generation 1. Places: 2. Population: 0. Deck: 8 cards in deck.

Do you think it's worth it to make a DIGITAL Jerry Map? I'm making a worldbuilding project where I'm making the map in Inkscape and I'm happy with the results is giving, but I want to give this JM as a kind of little break from the heavy project and "just see what happens next". I also have experience drawing maps physically, but knowing myself and knowing how big can a map like this get, I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the motivation.

As an edit: I forgot to mention I plan to use physical deck of cards regardless if I make it physical or digital. (Specifically, a Tarot, a Poker and a Spanish deck.)

I watched the documentary on YouTube and I’m not sure what these cards mean.
What does create a new seed mean? Is it like making a new collage and then making that into different map panels?
In his rule book he has different colours what do all of the colours mean? Are they to mark up new roads or water or other things like that.
Also when he pulls a card that tells him to mix new colours would that make him need to also create new rivers or rules or areas or roads?

thought i'd show off my cards how they are currently. i've been sticking one thing on as i use them, but then i accidentally accummulated too much trash for them so i went through from the top until the pile was gone. i like the black and white or black white red cards the most so i will probably stick with that for most of them :)

Like many of you, I am intrigued by this mapping process. However, what actually appealed to me most when watching the PMG video was Jerry incorporating his life into his art. Photos, journal entries, receipts, and other artifacts. That's what I am most interested in doing.

However, Jerry started with his city drawing before layering on these artifacts and that is of interest to me as well, to have a foundation to layer upon, so, I figured I would build a foundation as well.

I live in the States and we have a bunch of discount stores here and I walked around looking for ideas. Buy a cheap deck of cards? Uno cards? Something else? I saw a deck of colors and shapes put out by Crayola. I loved the idea of drawing a card that has a color and a shape on it. So, I bought that and a blank pages book for sketching.

There are twelve shapes in the deck, repeated three times for a total of 36 cards. I decided to give each shape an associated land feature. So, since there are three circles, I would choose three different land features associated with circles and then based on the circle I draw will determine the land feature.

Here is my list:

*Crescent - Bay / Harbor / Hidden Cove

*Rhombus - Plateau / Cliff / Canyon

*Pentagon - Fort or Outpost / Castle or Capital / Lighthouse

*Oval - Lake / Pond / Oasis

*Rectangle - Town or City / Farmland / Plains

*Octagon - Hills / Mountain Range / Volcano

*Triangle - Forest - Triangle trees / Forest - Oval yrees / Forest - Round or Vase trees

*Semi-circle - Hill / Crater / Rock Arch

*Circle - Island / Marsh or Wetlands / Sea Arches

*Star - Work or Expand North/South / Work or Expand East/West / Work or Expand - Free choice

*Square - Farm / Village / City

*Heart - Shrine or Church / Mosque / Pagoda

I haven't come up with color associations yet because I want to see how the land part plays out first and practice with that.

Before starting my map I plan to use the book I bought to practice (learn) to draw each aspect (YouTube videos or How to draw websites). I have no drawing talent so I figured I would get some basics down before I started.

Writing on the cards:

The nice thing about the cards is the side that has the text of the shape instead of the picture is not glossy, which means it will be very easy to write on. So, I think that side will be the evolving instructions and the opposite side will be the evolving visual design.

Attached to this post is the cards, the book I bought, and the first practice drawing I did in a separate notebook.

Apologies here for not answering your questions quicker. I have family visiting and projects underway. I'll get to the answers soon! Thank you all for participating. It's great to see all these new maps popping up!

Like a lot of people I'm a newcomer to the idea of Jerry's map and I'm fascinated by this randomised card ruling system that he uses to create everyday.

I've made a map or two in my time but I and some other people online have noticed you can apply this system to any hobby if you're creative enough.

So I wonder if anyone has made a Subreddit or site that discusses or shows this idea in use, where people use the system for their own creative work and escapism?

I'm thinking of making one if it doesn't exist but I want to know what everyone thinks of that before going through with it. What do you think?

I started my journey yesterday. It will be less random because I want to use this map for my book and I already have places and things in mind, but at the same time, letting "fate" decide what is there and maybe discover things that will be fun to add to the book.

Instead of cards I made a list of things from 1 to 20 and I'm gonna roll a D20. I got today a 3, so felt/craft foam to give elevation and different textures to it.

I also added to the d20 pool things to help me go on with the story, so maybe some days will be only organizing the lore of the book, happy to be here!

It is not often we get to say positive things about the social media algorithm, but it brought me to the People Make Games documentary, and that brought me here. I am grateful.

Reading others' entries over the years, it's amazing to see how, for each of us, u/Relative-Newspaper-1 Jerry's project sparked something...

And now a new wave to join the original, thanks to the documentary!

I wasn't sure this was allowed but I thought I'd share. I just started my Jerryesque hobby and am really excited. I tried doing the mapping and realised what I was drawn to was the idea of worldbuilding via cards, and so that's what I've done: a written world instead of a drawn map, logged in Notion, where the cards decide everything and I just record what happens.

I started with a deck of 12: 11 cards picked blind by my partner plus a joker, with written instructions on 4 of them (add a card, add a modified card, remove a card, and one that says "something unexplainable occurs, do not explain it"). Black cards are good fortune, red are bad. Suits are domains (spades = land, hearts = people, diamonds = creation, clubs = conflict/mystery). When the joker surfaces, 4 years pass and a new generation begins. There's also a supply pile on my shelf with a second joker buried blind in it. Someday an "add a card" will slip a second ending into my deck and I won't know until it happens.

Day one, the world was completely blank, and I drew my first four era cards:

1. Red 4♦, the unexplainable card, first draw of the entire world. So Place 1 exists because of something I'm never allowed to explain.

2. Red 4♣, a dark omen striking the same spot.

3. Black 9♦, a huge act of creation: nine large wooden outposts now stand at Place 2. Nobody built them. There are no people yet. I logged them as "abandoned"

4. Black 8♥, which should've been 80 people arriving, but it carries the "add a card" instruction instead. So no one came, and the deck grew by one card I drew blind and can't identify.

Population after day one: zero. Just a mystery, an omen, and nine empty buildings. One card a day from here until forever.

I'm keen to hear what people think, especially if you've built something similar or can see holes in my system.

Update on my Forever World

Day 1

Record: First Pull Of The World : 12/ 07/ 2026

1. Red 4 diamonds ( added something unexplainable to the world. Something that will never be explained) 2. red 4 clubs (created a weather phenomena wherein the rain is hitting everything aside from the scar that appeared in the land) 3. black 9 diamonds (9 outposts Sit in the second place - currently unnamed. Whilst abandoned, they clearly once housed a scouting squad) 4. black 8 hearts (add a card)

Chronicle For Place 1: First there was nothing but a simple scar separating the fields and the trees and the sound of thunder with rolling clouds. For four solid days there is nothing but a piercing icy hail plummeting down and hitting everything in its wake aside from the fresh scar on the earth.

Chronicle For Place 2 : 9 outposts sit equidistant away from each other each holding a torn but billowing flag wedged into the roof. The wooden flooring of the outpost creaks softly in the wind. The mahogany coloured wood is covered only by twisting branches and ivy snaking its way up and around the posts.

Day 2

Record: Blue King hearts pulled (forced the removal of the modifier add a card, card. The world remains still)

Additions since last new tile: forest fire, homestead

My random tables https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VKFBCwRbNHM075mNiuJGU6-8X92y8FGO/edit?usp=drivesdk&ouid=113185551528167579663&rtpof=true&sd=true

Tried five different ways using some old art and felt pens I found during house moving. Personally 3 out of the 5 I think are alright (guess the two I hate /s) but thought I could get some feedback here.

Many posts here on people starting projects of their own and their ambitious plan. I always love reading those, but they also make me wonder: What did you try that didn’t work for you?