How to make & use your dystopian fortune-teller

For use with templates available in the “dystopia” merit badge post. There’s also a good paper fortune-teller diagram at Wikipedia if you need help beyond these instructions.

Making the fortune-teller

↑ Print a template and cut it out. If you’re using the blank template, fill in the center triangles with horrifying predictions for the future.

↑ Lay the square of paper printed side down. Fold each corner into the center of the square…

↑ …so it looks like the above picture.

↑ Flip the paper over, and repeat folding the corners to the center.

↑ It will look like the above when you’re finished.

↑ Fold it in half to make a rectangle.

↑ Open it back up…

↑ …and crease it into a rectangle the opposite way.

↑ Stick your thumbs and index fingers into the four paper flaps. Pinch thumbs and fingers together to make the fortune-teller take its final shape.

↑ Done! With your thumbs and fingers still in the flaps, practice operating the fortune-teller. Pinch it so that numbers 1, 2, 5, & 6 show in the middle. Then pinch it the other way so numbers 3, 4, 7, & 8 show.

Using the fortune-teller

Note: There aren’t hard and fast rules to this. If you don’t like telling fortunes this way, just flip the thing around randomly and pick a number. The dystopia won’t mind.


↑ Start with the fortune-teller pinched closed. Have a friend pick a set of words from any of the outside flaps (such as “thing” or “very worst”).

↑ Spell out the words your friend picked. Each time you say a letter, pinch the fortune-teller one way…

↑ …then pinch it the other way when you say the next letter. When you run out of letters, you can have your friend pick one of the numbers that’s showing and pinch back and forth again as you count to that number.

You can go on making them pick numbers and flipping the fortune-teller for as long as you want, but they’ll probably get an “urgent text message” and have to leave if you keep it up too long.

↑ Have your friend pick a final number. Open up that flap and tell them why their life will be terrible in the future.

Close the fortune-teller back up and repeat the process until the end of civilization as we know it or your dad throws the fortune-teller out of the car window. (Whichever comes first.)

Back to the “dystopia” merit badge.