Microscope: fractal gaming
Posted: May 11th, 2010, 8:49 pm
Last year there was a lot more demand for Microscope than I expected, so this time I'm trying to plan ahead a bit. I'll definitely be ready to drop some on-demand history-building pickup game action, but if folks want to be sure they get a chance to play I'll schedule games too.
And if you're reading this saying, "what the heck is Microscope?" here's the pitch:
It hasn't been released yet, but it's been playtested externally by a bunch of groups, and I've played it about three dozen times. The rules are pretty refined. For folks who played last year: the structure is generally the same, but key improvements have been made. I loved it back then, but I like it even more now.
Wanna play? Have question? Chime in.
And if you're reading this saying, "what the heck is Microscope?" here's the pitch:
It's GMless, no prep, very high creative involvement from everyone at the table.Mankind spreads to the stars and founds a galactic civilization. A brilliant general conquers the world and dies young, leaving behind a fractured empire. An ancient line of dragon-kings die out as magic fades from the realm.
Those are all examples of Microscope games.
Microscope is a roleplaying game, but you don’t have your own character. You don’t play in chronological order. You know how things end before you know why they really happened. Yeah, it’s a bit experimental.
You start with the big picture, the grand scheme of your history, then zoom in and explore all the nooks and crannies. The more you play, the more complex the history becomes. Your once simple summary becomes a detailed tapestry, full of meaning and surprises.
It’s fractal gaming.
Want to leap a thousand years in the future and see how an institution shaped society? Want to jump back to the childhood of the king you just saw assassinated and find out what made him such a hated ruler? That’s normal play in Microscope. You have the freedom to move around and examine whatever you want, defying limits of time and space.
Want to do a game spanning centuries or thousands of years, like the Silmarillion, the Foundation books, or the entire Dune series? Microscope says yes.
It hasn't been released yet, but it's been playtested externally by a bunch of groups, and I've played it about three dozen times. The rules are pretty refined. For folks who played last year: the structure is generally the same, but key improvements have been made. I loved it back then, but I like it even more now.
Wanna play? Have question? Chime in.