Runa designs transformative games that integrate ritual, storytelling, and play to foster personal growth and collective well-being.

C.S., Mycelial Games Player, July 2025

Through the ritual game, I was able to better understand the conflicting values I hold around embodying impact and sustainability in my life. The game helped me release frustration and burnout, and feel a much greater sense of compassion and understanding towards myself.

Meeting in person and collecting physical symbols for integration were very powerful, as I tend to skip steps of physical integration. This game felt like a solid year of therapeutic progress and maturing took place within a month. Zoë's ability to intuitively create and hold space is incredible, and I am so grateful for all that we were able to learn together.

Current offerings

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Mycelial Games

30-day personalized games that help you deal with life challenges in a more playful way.

  • $95 USD for a custom game and tutorial ($65 to $125 sliding scale)

  • An additional $95 USD ($65 to $125 sliding scale) for supportive facilitation while you play over 30 days, and a live 60-minute closing session.

  • Please reach out if this pricing is not accessible for you. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

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Ritual Mentorship

One-on-one support using personalized rituals and games to help you move through life transitions.

  • $95 USD for a live session ($65 to $125 sliding scale)

  • Each ritual session lasts 60 minutes. Sessions can be monthly or every other week.

  • A minimum 3-month commitment is required to begin.

  • Please reach out if this pricing is not accessible for you. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Book a free curiosity call

Runa’s team

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Hi, I’m Zoë!

My name is Zoë Ackerman and I am the Foundating Director of Runa. I draw on over a decade of experience in participatory design, rites of passage, and embodied storytelling. Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, I now live in Curitiba, Brazil, on the ancestral lands of the Guarani, Kaingang, and Xetá peoples.

Learn more about RUNA's story

Coming Soon: Senior Game Designer and Mycelial Care Network Director

C.A., Mycelial Games Player July 2025

"I was feeling really stuck in becoming a new mom—drained, uncreative, and not providing enough for my kiddo. The game helped me reflect and realize I had more tools and creativity than I gave myself credit for. Paying attention to my kid’s reactions showed me I didn’t always have to do a lot to make her happy—just being with her made her comfortable.

I really appreciated Zoë’s flexibility with the game and the end was so much cooler than I expected. I liked the reciprocity of the closing session and that it wasn’t just a self reflection but a partner reflection. I was also able to learn from Zoë to fill the needs I realized from the game which was awesome."

How do I book a game?

  • This 30-minute call is a chance to meet each other, learn about ritual games, reflect on how you’d like to play, and share any challenges you're currently navigating.

    *Runa offerings are open to people of any or no faith and are not tied to a specific tradition or fixed beliefs but instead offer flexible frameworks that help you identify your own questions, supportive tools, and ways of making meaning.

  • After your initial consult, the game design process begins. The cost is $95 and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. You’ll receive your custom-made game and a live walk-through within two weeks, or 10 business days.

    After you learn about the game, if you would like to play within a facilitated container, an additional $95 USD (sliding scale $65 to $125) covers:

    • 1:1 messaging support for 30 days

    • A 60-minute closing call

  • You’ll play the game in daily sessions and/or in longer sessions a few times a week.

    If you opt for a facilitated game, I will check in via messaging to help you adapt any part of the game to ensure it stays fun, purposeful, and doable.

  • At the end of the game, we'll have a 60-minute live session, where we'll wrap up the game in a playful way and reflect on what you learned.

    Note: This call must be scheduled within 6 weeks of beginning your game.

Book a curiosity call

“Building a ritual with Zoë was incredibly transformative. I left feeling so much more centered and grounded than when I began.”

— K. G., 2024 Ritual Mentorship Participant

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Sign up for Mycelial Games

Mycelial Games is Runa’s Substack, exploring how play, ritual, and story can support personal growth and collective wellbeing.

Your privacy matters; personal information is never shared without your consent.

“Ritual grew up in sacred play; poetry was born in play and nourished on play; music and dancing were pure play. We have to conclude, therefore, that civilization in its earliest phases, played.”

— John Huizinga, Historian