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Columns > Unplugged > #17: Storytime
Fans of role playing games are made, not born. Often all someone needs is the appropriate creative outlet to create a fascinating story. Others can be gently introduced into the hobby by an RPG/board game mix.  QuickStats Game: Once Upon a Time Publisher: Atlas Games Designer: Richard Lambert, Andrew Rilstone, James Wallis Players: 2-6 Ages: 6+ Time to Play: 10 minutes MSRP: $21 ($16 for Once Upon a Time at GameFest.com) Once Upon a Time is a game that will be an instant hit or miss for any given gaming group. This game of creative storytelling works well with a group looking for some form of social entertainment, while groups of people hankering for a bunch of strategic decision-making will find little to appreciate in this card game. To start, players are each given a set of story cards containing words such as girl, tiny, a fight, king, frog, or forest. They also receive a "happily ever after" card containing a brief, one sentence story ending. During the game, the active player tries to tell a story using up all of their story cards by telling a tale that involves the words on their cards. When a card's text is used, it is discarded. Other players are allowed to continue to the story if the storyteller passes, makes a mistake, or pauses for too long. They can also interrupt the storyteller with special cards or if any of their own text cards are peripherally mentioned in the story. Since the game is simply two decks of cards, the word cards and the ending cards, it is very portable. The cards themselves are backed with intricate, colorful drawings while the playing sides are decorated with art appropriate for the written text. In all, the art really adds to the sort of "Fairy Tale" feel that surrounds the game. I would expect its creative nature would be welcome in most classrooms looking for new ways for students to improve their creative abilities. In practice, this is an excellent game for creative, outgoing types but can run into problems when the crowd is a mixture of introverts and extroverts. There are supplemental rule suggestions for helping to even out player abilities, such as changing the starting number of cards or offering multiple happily ever after ending cards to some, but not other players. The game claims it is good for ages 6+. Particularly creative children at that age could do well but it might be prudent for parents to first weed out a few cards. Some text cards contain words that are a bit challenging and other ending cards are a little closer to the old-fashioned fairy tale style, rather than the more cleaned-up, Disneyesque ones. For those who really enjoy the darker side of real fairy tales, there is a new expansion available, Once Upon a Time: Dark Tales which has cards to be mixed in with the original set. This expansion (about $8) adds in darker themes such as trolls under bridges, evil mother-in-laws and such things to bring the game much more in line with how fairy tales actually were written. A fun game for the correct group, and a great way to help people get back in touch with their creative side at the same time. Probably not quite meaty enough for an evening of gaming, but definitely fun for a few rounds just before or after another event or game. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 8+ Genre: Light Party Game Score: 3.5 out of 5 QuickStats Game: Dungeoneer Publisher: Atlas Games Designer: Thomas Denmark Players: 2 - 4 Ages: 12+ Time to Play: about 20 minutes per person MSRP: $20 ($16 for Tomb of the Lich Lord or $16 for Vault of the Fiends at GameFest.com) Dungeoneer is a sort of hybrid game, about three parts card game and one part role playing game. All players begin the game at the entrance to a dungeon with a character, a hand of cards, and a few quests. The first person to complete three quests wins the game. As some quests are personal and available only to a single player, others are achievable by anyone, providing a bit of suspense and healthy competition. Most quests are difficult to perform at first, so early game play often consists of improving your character's abilities by acquiring those two common RPG words: experience and equipment. During play, the dungeon is built up one card at a time as players draw new cards and add them onto the table. As characters move through the dungeon, the various locations increase the player's glory and peril points. Glory points are spent by a player in order to bring items and spells into play that improve their abilities. In a nifty turn-about, your peril points are used by other players to play negative cards against you. The most common use of peril points is to play monster encounters against another player. That player then suffers an attack by the monster. If the monster is defeated, the attacked player gains a benefit, if the monster survives the attack, it is placed off to one side for possible future use. Peril can also be used to pay for one-off cards such as curses or trap encounters that can damage a player or their items. While cards in a player's hand play a significant role within the game, the map cards frequently contain their own special events and problems. Some rooms offer an opportunity for treasure if certain risks are successfully undertaken, while other rooms simply contain traps or trials that must be crossed in order to get to the other side. Eventually, characters are able to increase in level to become slightly more powerful. There are six characters available in the main game and each begin the game with a focus on one of three attack powers. As they progress they grow in all three, but tend to specialize in one. In addition, every character has a special ability that is typically activated by spending glory points. The mix of characters adds additional variety to replays of the game and ensures that different players will more easily accomplish different sets of goals. In addition to the standard, main game there are rules variations for several occasions. One variation places monsters into the dungeon permanently, forcing them to roam about after the player characters. Another variation makes the game into a short campaign game with characters progressing from one game to the next in standard RPG fashion. People have even written their own solo play versions of the rules. The two main games can be mixed together for a longer game, and there are two new stand alone expansions. Each of the new expansions, Haunted Woods of Malthorin and Den of the Wererats run about $8 and are playable as stand-alone games for two players. They can also be mixed into a regular Dungeoneer game. The Haunted Woods adds in an above-ground area to explore while the Den of Wererats allows players to explore a crime-riddled city. As each main game has six possible characters to play and the expansions provide three, there is a large number of possible character combinations. If you play with multiple expansions, it is sometimes advisable to cull out a few of the non-quest centric cards. Since most quest cards depend on a specific dungeon location, players may otherwise have to wait a long time to finish off any specific quest. Dungeoneer provides a fairly rich but light role playing experience for a very reasonable price. The game plays like a board game, but has definite role playing game (RPG) overtones so that it could be used as a jumping off point for learning more traditional RPGs. I found the standard game to be a bit deadly when played by only two players, as the monsters can sometimes overwhelm and kill a character early in the game, but this clears up some with additional players. The game is small and portable, but requires a decent sized surface for play. With a healthy mix of combat and decision-making, Dungeoneer can be just the thing for young or old gamers looking for a brief one-shot time of smacking around a crowd of monsters Reviewer Recommended Ages: 12+ Genre: Card/Board RPG Score: 3 out of 5 Kid Factor: Both games serve as a good "training" vehicle for introducing someone into the world of role playing games. They are fun in their own right, but also serve as a good tool for judging whether someone might enjoy the larger time commitment that role playing games often require. With Dungeoneer, hack and slash style role players will quickly become evident, while Once Upon a Time is a great way to help increase the level of creativity within a group. Once Upon a Time is accessible enough for any child who's creative and a fairly proficient reader, probably 3rd grade or higher. Due to the complexity of the rules, Dungeoneer is probably best suited for pre-teens or young teens and older.
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