I’m in official pre-production mode for Tabletop Season Three, so I’ve been looking at tons of games (seriously, thank you for all the suggestions), and playing as many of them as I can with my friends, or on my iPad (Suburbia on iPad is pretty much perfect, if you were wondering).Idea that I’m putting here, so I don’t forget: include information about tablet versions of games that we play on the show, if tablet versions exist.I’m also beginning to look at indie RPGs, because we had such a great time playing Fiasco. So far, candidates include:
- A Penny For My Thoughts
- Monsterhearts
- Durance
- The Quiet Year
- Carolina Death Crawl
- Microscope
- Dread
I don’t know if we’ll be able to make any of these work (Dread has player elimination, for example), but I just love GM-less storytelling games, and I think Tabletop is the perfect place to show them off, because most of the people who come to play with us are inherently good storytellers.I’m interested to hear your thoughts on Indie RPGs that fit with this bunch, and also if you’d like to watch us play some of these. Keep in mind that we’d be able to, at most, split it into two episodes, which means we’d have to play a satisfying session in about four hours.
As before, please leave your suggestion here, so it’s easy for me to find. Also, publishers and writers: please don’t use this as an invitation to mount a campaign to get me to play your game.
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Serpent’s Tooth would be perfect for TableTop.
http://www.heartofthedeernicorn.com/serpentstooth/
Fiasco definitely up there among my favourite Tabletop episodes. More of the same would be aces!
I would be interested in seeing more versions of Fluxx and Munchkin. Why not try Star Munchkin and some of the Fluxx variations.
I thinknu should play cash n guns 2nd edition. It can play up to 8 people, fit under 90 minutes, easy to teach at 5 minutes, and the overall fun of just pointing guns at eac other and having silly, drunken fun makes this game all the worth.
That looks like a really interesting set of games to include on tabletop, and you’re. Right – you have the people who can make those games sing. An additional choice you might consider is Analise (gothic horror) or Grey Ranks (teenage resistance in Warsaw, ww2). Look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Dungeon World would be a great choice. Easy rules, fast paced. It is also full of concepts and themes from classic fantasy and D&D that everyone will easily get behind.
Thanks Wil for Tabletop!
Tabletop is a crazy-important show. Why? (Best reason for last.)
1) Socialization benefits of board games.
2) Teach about relationships.
3) Creativity, the answer for solving problems (we need more of this in the world).
4) Improve thinking skills.
From A Psychology Today Article
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199807/wanna-play
“Psychologically speaking, games have a knack for setting us free.”
(“Whoa” – Neo)
“What every great game does is take the bad stress of socializing out of the social situation, while leaving the good stress, the frisson of competition, in.”
and 5) The Ritual
A Game is an actual ritual, something our society sorely lacks, as the rituals of our society – like commuting, using a drive-thru, or filling out forms in triplicate, don’t exactly exalt life, imagination, creativity, wonder, or happiness.
In short, Games hack the Matrix.
Games are rituals. For instance, in Arkham Horror, we all try to banish the Ancient Evil. “Bones” will be cast, the “omens” will be observed, what are the Elder Signs?
Tokaido is a ritual. Go is an abstract ritual. Other obvious rituals are: Terra Mystica, Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar, 7 Wonders, Twilight Imperium (all day ritual), Eldritch Horror, Stone Age, Village, Seasons, Shadows over Camelot, Elder Sign, and RPGs (neo-shamanic ritual games), and -even- Monopoly.
To quote a wise dude:
Tabletop “takes the power away from the network and gives it to the people … we can make television better than the networks and we don’t have to answer to anyone.” – A Toaster Punk
I cannot think of another show out there that is demonstrating to everyone that -they- can be directly involved in these social rituals. Yes, 14% more people attended GenCon this year than last, massive growth. http://www.gencon.com/press/2014recordattendance
Gaming is a secret some of us knew about since the 1980s (or earlier for some) and it’s finally going mainstream. This is the Tabletop effect.
Tabletop can grow, people need and want positive social rituals to give meaning and socialization to life.
Thanks Wil! Thanks Tabletop! Thanks Geek and Sundry! Season 3 is going to be the best ever!
The board game is the fire and we are all dancing around it.
(PS:
Oh yeah, RPG suggestions!: Monster of the Week, Dread, Microscope (looks wild), more Fiasco!, A Penny for My Thoughts, Trail of Cthulhu.)
The Gale Force Nine version of Firefly and it would be amazing if you could get Nathan Fillion or some of the cast to show up and play it. The game may be a bit long but it could be edited down easily enough.
That would be awesome! In the same vein, the Battlestar Galactica board game would be awesome!
+100 to the above comment!
Have you guys tried out Telestrations yet?
My suggestion is “Red November” (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=36&esem=2); I never played it but some friends of mine did and they told me it’s hilarious. I’d like to see it played!!
Well I was trying to get you a game to play on the show. I will send you a copy of the games for Season Number 4. You have to play this game. It is super sweet!
http://www.terreneodyssey.com
Please take a look at what we are doing for Top Table Gaming #CGCGames4Life
Definitely want to leave a +1 for Psi*Run by Meguey Baker. Not GMless, but GM-light, perhaps, but the system is both interesting /and/ easy to pick up.
And really fun to watch, especially with big dice on a playmat for the risks sheet.
I’d like to see xenoshift onslaught, five tribes, and istanbul. Although 2/3 haven’t been released yet and might make time frames fairly tight.
Hellos. I’ve been a follower of your blog and twitter for a little bit. I was just thinking of something since the new show “The Quest” just ended. Why don’t you make the RPG show a little like that show was. Seeing as that show won’t be coming back because it didn’t really find it’s footing and didn’t find an audience. I think you would do a wonderful job as a host of a RPG/Survivor type show being a RPG Jeff Probsts. Each week the characters/contestants competing in challenges and then the other people in their groups having to decide who will move on. Of course the game all going on story line and intrigue as well as the brawn. The best part is that the game/plot can be whatever the creators want it to be because it will be original to the show. Then at the end of the season with the final contestants just like survivor you can maybe have the audience decide who they fell “Played” the game well enough to take it all. The other thing if it does well enough Netflix or Hulu will have no issue picking it up because it’s on youtube and they can see the popularity automatically. You don’t have to worry about the messy rating system. So yeah that’s about it. Just thought it would be cool to have that type of a RPG ran by people who enjoy that type of game and competition and hosted by someone who actually enjoys RPG. Would be awesome to watch and to see everyday people participate in 😀
Please consider Sheriff of Nottingham as your “bluff game episode” Coup is great but not all ages/personalities quickly pick up on the nuances and when your out your out quick. sheriff has been great for all and would create good small dramas of sneaking items/getting caught and also would be fun for one person to make it their mission to have ALL the ____ 🙂 fun drama. Any who thanks for making my passion more accessible for people. It’s great having people show up to my place excited and ready to play after watching tabletop. 🙂
I can’t tell for sure, but think most of the games are new.
Why not go back in time a show a games that cannot be bought around the corner, but we had so much fun to play it in the 80’s/90’s. I would love to see that. I just realized some can be bought again.
Maybe one of the following games is in your collection and if not happy to help to find them…
• Merchant of Venus (Avalon Hill)
• Kings & Things (Games Workshop)
• Cosmic Encounter (West End Games)
• Talisman (Games Workshop)
• Junta (West End Games)
• Machiavelli Chess aka Djambi
Last but not least, something we had to translate the game rules on our own.
• Super Gang (actually still no English copy) http://www.jedisjeux.net/jeux.php?game_id=362&PHPSESSID=561ef6551ffb0b95a256c80240671503)
For an GM-less indie RPG, try the Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen!
It’s cool that you like Suburbia. My friend Ted Alspach is the designer of that game (and many others) under his company name of Bezier Games
The cool thing is you guys look alike, so much that you could be brothers, especially when you’re both sporting beards.
Firefly would define a rely fit the fan basis and maybe you could even get someone from the show to come play!
my family are big boardgame players and we really like watching your show and thought of a suggestion.
the game is called Nightfall its a strategy deck building game that uses a cool mechanic to play your cards called chaining. the game is kind of complicated the first time you play but it gets easier to understand.
we cant wait to see the next season.
Not sure what counts as “indie” so I’ll just list off a few,
Trail of Cthulhu – Pelgrane Press: Ken Hite and Robin Laws. ‘Nuff said. Plus it has plenty of ready-to-go adventures.
Numenera – Monte Cook: I haven’t played this myself, but the guys at my FNGS love it.
Don’t Rest Your Head – Evil Hat: I think you’ll like this one. Characters are described in a few quick sentences and it’s off to the Mad City. This is just one flavor of some cool Evil Hat games.
Prowlers and Paragons – LakeSide Games: Want a cape and a mask? This one has a shared narration mechanic and some ready-to-go heroes.
Deadlands Noir – Pinnacle: I’d rate this one higher, but I don’t know if it’s “indie” enough since it uses the Savage Worlds rules. It was funded through Kickstarter and it’s set in 1930’s New Orleans, so I figure it’s worth mentioning.
Slasher Flick – Spectrum Games: Indie gold! Shared secondary characters chum the waters before the main course, but this one will feature player elimination. But when you sat down to play Slasher Flick you knew that, right?
Check out Planetfall (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/137430/Planetfall?term=planetfall), simple story telling game about space exploration. No GM and, like Fiasco, very player guided, and light hearted, which is something games like Carolina Death Crawl and Quiet Year (both of which I love) seem to lack which I feel would make them not good as games to watch and laugh,
Also, if you read this, let me just say you’re one of my heroes!
I saw a recommendation for another Meguey Baker game, and wanted to add A Thousand and One Nights- it’s GM-less, and is a storytelling game about telling stories, similar to Baron Munchausen. Also, I highly recommend Apocalypse World- if you’re considering Monsterhearts, you should probably consider the game it’s based on. Polaris is an older GM less game you might want to look into, and if you like cyberpunk, you should try Always/Never/Now and Lacuna, which both have GMs but let you feel like you’re in a movie and give the GMs awesome tools. And if you’re feeling like a light, fun game, Jared Sorensen’s Parseley Games (Action Castle is the most well known) are a ton of fun, despite not really being RPGs- you play a text adventure aloud, as a group.
I second on other versions of Munchkin. It’s become a favorite in my house. However it can, on occasion, prove too much for my stepson. I blame his tears on you, Wheaton!
Any chance of doing Castles of Burgundy? or another Feld title?
Thou art but a warrior
A game powered by the polaris rules engine. Like its progenitor the game plays without a gamemaster. Another feature of TabaW is, that it brings politics, religion and other usually complicated topics to the gaming table in a very playable and unagitated way. Last, but not least it shows how to have fun with a quasi-historic setting.
Sagas of the icelanders
Like the last suggestion the game features a great and rather popular indie system. This time it is the Apocalypse World Engine (also used in Dungeon World or Monsterhearts). What sets SotI apart is, that it’s all about relationships, personal honour and freedom and much less about fantasy. It’s set in iceland during the sagas-period.
Do: pilgrims of the flying temple
Helping others and getting into trouble are the things you do in this light-hearted game of wild imagination. Futhermore it makes use of a quite unorthodox rules system, that is to be played without a GM.
Bacchanalia
This is a narrative game set in the Roman Empire and it is using cards.
Like other games on this list, there is no GM. Player characters get to meet Bacchus and other roman Gods while getting involved in a chaotic bacchanal. Will they be lost forever in the revelry or meet their goals.
… hope you can understand my rusted English & greetings from Germany.
I am going to recommend Bhaloidam, A collaborative storytelling game where players take turns telling a story, and you spend points to determine how much influence too exert on the story (1 point=1 sentence).