A Letter To Fellow Travelers,

I started writing the first notes for ESKELETOS in a journal during a time when my world felt like it was falling apart. I was searching for a way to process the heavy and frightening circumstances surrounding my grief, both the immediate grief of losing my home to a hurricane, and the long and enduring grief from childhood traumas-- Without a clear guide. The silent, internal rules of loss, whatever it is that we have lost both large and small can become too much, and the sheer effort of trying to hold it all together can put anyone close to a breaking point. 

Grief is the catalyst for this project. When we talk about grief, we are often expected to follow a neat, packaged timeline that promises a clean beginning and end--But anyone who has lived through it knows that grief is rarely linear. It spirals. It doubles back. It forces us to move back and forth between confronting the raw loss and simply trying to survive the day.

I built ESKELETOS by taking those classic timelines and hybridizing them with the messier, non-linear reality of human experience. The spiraling board, the Gateway checks, the sideboards, and the suppression mechanics were all designed to mirror that true movement—showing that revisiting an earlier layer isn't a failure, but a natural part of processing trauma at a deeper level.

A board game gives us something rare: a physical container for chaotic feelings. It lets us touch difficult emotions at a safe distance, manage our light and dark energies, and practice moving forward even when the path turns in unexpected directions.

You don't need to be experiencing an active loss to play this game. But if you are carrying something heavy, know that this space was built with care for you. Take your time. Honor your pace. Resolution is always within reach.

— Carmen
Designer of ESKELETOS