Mooning over Universalis.
Jan. 21st, 2007 03:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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zamiel, I got interested in a game called Universalis. So I ordered it.
After having read through it, and read everything I could find on its website and web forum, I am totally enthralled with the game. Which makes it so painful that I can't seem to get any of my friends interested in playing it.
It's not like an ordinary "roleplaying" game at all. It's more of a storytelling game, where everyone has an equal stake in deciding the direction of events. All the players are given a certain amount of "coins," and they can use these coins to buy facts in the game and influence the direction in which the plot goes. There are ways of getting more coins—including through the conflict resolution system, called "Complications," which are not so much a contest between two or more characters as they are a contest between two or more authors to see who gets to decide the outcome of the event.
The first chapter of the revised version of the book, which is an overview of the system and its play, is online here (word document), and a number of other helpful resources are on the publisher's Resources page. And those are all you really need to play if at least one member of your gaming group has the rules. And the rules are so intuitive that once you've played a few sessions, you may never need to refer to the book again.
I just wish I could find some people to play it with. I think it would be an utter blast.
Matthijs Holter Capsule Review
Christopher Bradley Playtest Review
Jonathan Walton Capsule Review
J.B. Bell Playtest Review
Lael Buchanan Playtest Review
zamiel, I got interested in a game called Universalis. So I ordered it.After having read through it, and read everything I could find on its website and web forum, I am totally enthralled with the game. Which makes it so painful that I can't seem to get any of my friends interested in playing it.
It's not like an ordinary "roleplaying" game at all. It's more of a storytelling game, where everyone has an equal stake in deciding the direction of events. All the players are given a certain amount of "coins," and they can use these coins to buy facts in the game and influence the direction in which the plot goes. There are ways of getting more coins—including through the conflict resolution system, called "Complications," which are not so much a contest between two or more characters as they are a contest between two or more authors to see who gets to decide the outcome of the event.
The first chapter of the revised version of the book, which is an overview of the system and its play, is online here (word document), and a number of other helpful resources are on the publisher's Resources page. And those are all you really need to play if at least one member of your gaming group has the rules. And the rules are so intuitive that once you've played a few sessions, you may never need to refer to the book again.
I just wish I could find some people to play it with. I think it would be an utter blast.