The Quiet Year (A Post-Apoc Map Building Game)

[mcdaldno]

Hey,

I have this game. It's about consensus, community building and map making. Also, it's about how you live in a post-apocalyptic world, and you have a quiet year in which to rebuild your community. I've played it four or five times, at this point, and I'm really excited about it.

The game is very simple - a mixture of player-created content and card-drawn oracle content introduce problems into a community, and we the players are left to figure out what to do about those problems and how to decide amongst ourselves. Do we invest the precious time we have in making sure every voice gets heard, or do we start calling our own shots like lawless cowboys? How do we handle violence and exclusion in the community? Do we consume our resources when we need them, or conserve them for the future?

The game is built for 2-4 people. I'd love to facilitate one game, and observe another, ideally. Or maybe there's just enough interest for one game.

Thoughts? Interested?

[Derek]

I'd be interested, I'm new to this whole story game thing and there are a few I really want to try (Grey Ranks, Roach and Apocalypse World) but if you're doing it at a time that wouldn't bump one of those opportunities it sounds interesting.

[mcdaldno]

Awesome, Derek.

This one is weird, as far as story games go, because we don't really have "characters." Instead, we speak in our own voices, making decisions about the community in a more abstracted manner. So, if you're interested in exploring the full gamut of what story games can do, it'll definitely be interesting to get something like this under your belt.

Though if it conflicts, I totally understand why someone might want to skip out to play Apocalypse World or Grey Ranks. They are made of awesome stuff.

[theg33k]

Hell yes, I'd be into trying some of that. I'm especially intrigued by the idea of having a post-apoc game which isn't dominated by gas and guns. I mean, I love G&G as much as the next person, but I'd love to see a game that wasn't built on that. Cooperative community building? Neat.

[Derek]

I'm curious, how well do you think this game would work as setting creation to lead into more traditional RPGs?

[mcdaldno]

Derek,

I feel like it really depends on the play session in question.
Most quiet years result in a rich local history, a lot of interpersonal struggle, and some big questions about What Happened. Factions start to emerge, but they rarely come to a head.

Have you ever watched the show Twin Peaks? Does it lay a good foundation for other stories? I feel like The Quiet Year creates a backdrop in the same way that Twin Peaks does (an analogy I just thought of, not a design goal).

Personally, I've always felt content ending the village's plight with the game's conclusion: someone draws the King of Spades, and the Frost Shepherds arrive, just over there on the horizon. What they bring with them, and whether the village survives or not... well, that's never made clear. I've never felt compelled to go play out The Noisy Year, afterwards, but the option is definitely available. A story about how you wage war against the Frost Shepherds, perhaps? It's possible.

[Derek]

Specifically I was thinking leading it into a game of Apocalypse World.

Does anyone know when a real schedule of games will start to appear? I'm really looking forward to trying this one and I want to figure out if I'll be able to there or if I'll have to figure it out on my own.

[mcdaldno]

Derek,

I am making up a couple little playtest kits to take with me to GPNW, in case there are people who want to play it that I don't get a chance to play it with. So, I'll definitely pass one over to you if you and I don't get to sit down to a game together.

Also: I think this'd be a very interesting lead-up to an Apocalypse World game. Rather than "Follow the PCs around for a day," you would have "Follow the PCs around for a year."

Though I think Apocalypse World and The Quiet Year have some very different assumptions built into them. They accept different premises about dialogue, violence and consent, and then they build very different systems upon those premises. So... I wonder if it'd work well or not. Maybe we could schedule a 2-block event: The Quiet Year, followed by Apocalypse World. TQY takes about 2 hours to run through, leaving 5 hours for AW (which is ideal, for a one shot, in my experience. 4 is tight.).

[Caesar_X]

I've very interested in the format and the genre. Though not necessarily as a lead-in to AW. I've played Archipelago 2 in a post-apoc setting, and this could be a really cool kickstarter.

I'd love to see a playtest kit in case we don't get a chance to play it together. I'm easy to find:)

-Chris

[gammaraygames]

Well, I do love me some postapocalyptica and unique story mechanics, I'll keep my eye on this and see if it can work with my con schedule.