In Fabula Rasa, players take turns telling a constantly changing story as is typical of oral traditions. The motifs on the cards provide visual bullet points for people, objects, and locations that are central to the action, things that must be remembered in the correct order, with cards disappearing and new ones being added each round. Those who, as a narrator, manage to present their version of the story without errors will be rewarded accordingly.

In Fabula Rasa: Seemannsgarn, players slip into the role of sea dogs who tell each other all sorts of fantastic stories in the harbor bar about sunken ships, treasure maps, pirates, mysterious islands, dangers, and adventures at sea.