#RPGaDAY2015, Day 23: The Perfect Game

by ThomasNo Comments

So, Day 23 is Perfect Game for Me on #RPGaDAY2015.

I’ve been paying attention as I’ve been writing, and common themes come up:

  • Player investment and ownership in what happens at the table, outside of just reacting to the setting and story.
  • A fast-playing system for what goes on under the hood. Something interesting to interact with but not so elaborate that it detracts from the story formed at the game table.
  • A game system that informs the game’s players ((Remember that the GM — or whatever term you use for that facilitator role — is also playing the game.)) what the game is designed for.
  • A low prep time for the game’s facilitator.

Three games instantly spring to mind: Inspectres, Lady Blackbird, and Primetime Adventures.

InSpectres really shines with the Confessional bit ((Although the “once per game” or whatever limitation the Confessional Scenes has in the game is fun-limiting. Just go to Confessional whenever the players want.)) where characters reveal that the game is a reality tv show and they can introduce elements into the “now” that weren’t shown on screen earlier. It’s also a fast system with very little prep from the Ghost Master (or whatever the GM is called in that game). Get it now for $10! ((InSpectres is available in PDF only through that link. I am not sure where you can get a physical copy.))

Lady Blackbird does a similar thing that InSpectre’s Confessional Scenes do with the refreshement scenes — especially the scenes that are done as flashbacks. Both games’ scenes increase the player’s investment into the game and let the players dictate how some of the story is going. And a bonus: neither game needs any prep. Get it now for free!

Primetime Adventures doesn’t need any prep, either. Just show up and run. Plus, the game is set up to have the players create a great deal of the story, force the GM to focus on all characters equally over the course of a series, gets the players to reward each other for entertaining everyone at the table ((Which will probably come up again in Day 24’s “Favorite House Rule” post)) , and there’s also the Audience Participation rules that lets everyone play the game. Get it now for $10! ((It is a $25+ for a physical copy of PTA, depending on where your mail box lives.))

Did I mention there’s no prep for these games? I really don’t have much time to prepare for a game; these three games are literal time-savers. InSpectres is great for (Ghostbusters-flavored) comedy, Lady Blackbird is great for action, Primetime Adventures is great for drama.

 

Edit: You know, I’m going to add Apocalypse World to that list. It hits everything, except for generating the fronts after character generation. But once that’s done, it’s smooth sailing from then on. AW also has my favorite game system, but you can read more about that on an earlier day’s entry.

#RPGaDAY, Last Year: Day 24 – Coolest Looking RPG

by ThomasNo Comments

Last year, I was asked to write about the Coolest looking RPG product/book I have.

I’m not going to name anything I’ve worked on here, because (a) I don’t want to appear as someone that thinks his own work is superior to those of others and (b) when I look back on things I’ve worked on, I just see elements that I should correct or improve.

Recent purchase, that’s FFG’s Star Wars line of games. I went on and on about Age of Rebellion earlier on the 4th. Rather than repeat myself, let’s just link it in. ((Original link: https://plus.google.com/+ThomasDeeny/posts/a8oKdEwVyr5 ))

winter5
Slightly older book ((Which would be 2008.)) , I’m gonna go with Mouse Guard. It’s a cool looking book and, like the Hellboy RPG and Marvel Heroic, designed to fit the form factor of the actual comic. The overleaf, the treatment of each page’s outside margin, the color of the ink chosen (and the typography), and one of the best uses of licensed artwork in an RPG.

Mouse Guard uses a book design element used in most of Luke Crane’s games (and in Fate’s Atomic Robo): three icons to indicate important passages of text (which, in any other game, would be a sidebar). I am not a fan of this technique. I feel it often doesn’t work the way it is intended, and it interrupts the flow of the text. Here, in Mouse Guard, it actually complements the layout design instead of detracting from it. ((For everything I like about the layout of Atomic Robo, that’s the one thing I wish was dropped or done in a different way.))

Everything about the look of the Mouse Guard book is fantastic.

There is no credit in the book for graphic design or book layout, so I’m assuming it was Luke Crane himself. Good show, sir! Not everyone can layout their own work, yet alone do it this well. (There are so many other games on the market that speak for that!)

What about today, sir?

Man, I still have to back to Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars RPG line. The art direction is simply stunning.

#RPGaDAY2015, Day 22: Perfect Gaming Environment

by ThomasNo Comments

Fell a bit behind on the #RPGaDAY2015 thing, but we just had our wedding anniversary over the weekend ((Eighteen. We could send our marriage off to college.)) and I’m going to use that as an excuse when, in fact, I was just lazy. ((Busy too, and not just playing Shadowrun Hong Kong. Actual work stuff.)) So. What topics have I missed?

Sorry, but I just had to change it from that horrible pink color. Click through if you want to grab the color-shifted fullsized image.
Sorry, but I just had to change it from that horrible pink color. Click through if you want to grab the color-shifted fullsized image.

Day 22: Perfect Gaming Environment.

I like a game environment where I have the opportunity to stand up and move. If we’re at a table, I just have to stand at times, sit at others. I think I get away with this because I’m usually running games, so when I’m standing, I’m physically elevating myself over the players and it introduces a little psychological trickery, but really I’m just antsy. When I’m playing online, I’m at my standing desk, but there’s a high stool that I use to rest on sometimes — I change stance and camera angle a few times during the game session.

So a place where I can change stances.

Daniel Solis' t-shirt design. Click and buy.
Daniel Solis’ t-shirt design. Click and buy.

Other than that, I don’t have much of a preference. I’ve run games in public at game days and conventions — my favorite game, Primetime Adventures, is fantastic for that. In PTA, there’s a rule called “Audience Participation”, a rule that I don’t know if anyone else but I have ever used, where people watching the game being played can contribute to the story. You know, I might be saving that up for the 25th, which is “Favorite Revolutionary Game Mechanic”, but you can read more about it in my PTA: Play in Public guide that I should update for the third edition.

My friend Jason loves playing at a table, but his group always spreads out in the living room. That would drive me nuts.