Monsters Under the Bed

The monsters that lived under your bed when you were a kid? They're real. You may have stopped believing in them as an adult, but they were there while you grew up. During the day, they inhabited your stuffed animals, listening to you through hard times. At night, they conducted your nightmares, uncovering your deepest fears. Monsters don't mean to hurt anyone; they just have a lot of feelings.

Monsters Under the Bed is a whimsical game about taking the emotions of childhood seriously. Alternatingly lighthearted and serious, it brings those monsters to life, with movement, laughter and tears.

The main character in Monsters Under the Bed is a child who we collectively create and who everyone plays in turns. Each player plays a monster under the bed at night, inhabiting a stuffed animal in the daytime.

This game involves nightmares, and nightmares are scary. But in the end, the child will wake up, and they will be okay.

Monsters Under the Bed first ran at Intercon T in 2020, and has since run at Camp Nerdly and Big Bad Con. I'm running it at Be Con 2025! I don't plan to run it at any particular point in the future, but if you want to play it I would probably be open to running it.

Rules and instructions for running: PDF download
Cards (print double-sided and cut out): PDF download