On Wed, Jun 27, 2= 012 at 12:20 AM, Robin Lee Powell <rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org> wrote:

On Sun, Jun 24, 2012 at 01= :19:39AM -0700, Robin Lee Powell wrote:
>
> http://www.lame= mage.com/
>
> It's a history-construction game. =A0I have the PDF. =A0I'm go= ing to
> try to make people play it at LogFest. =A0We should do it as a phone > game, too. =A0In Lojban.

IRC actually might be better, because it'd all be recorded.

Anyways, here's a summary of the gameplay, stolen from the PDF.
It's essentially a shared world-building co-op storytelling game,
*except* that no collaboration, or even suggesting, is allowed.
This has (I belive, I've not actually played it) two important
effects: (1) everybody gets to be surprised by what happens, which
increases engagement (2) the pushy people can't dominate everything.
- --------------------

- Humanity spreads to the stars and forges a galactic civilization=85

- Fledgling nations arise from the ruins of the empire=85

- An ancient line of dragon-kings dies out as magic fades from the
=A0realm=85

These are all examples of Microscope games.

In Microscope, you build an epic history as you play. Want to play a
game that spans =A0the =A0entire =A0Dune =A0series, =A0the =A0Silmarillion,= =A0or
the =A0rise =A0and =A0fall of Rome in an afternoon? That=92s Microscope.
But =A0you =A0don=92t =A0play =A0the =A0history =A0from =A0start =A0to =A0f= inish,
marching =A0along in chronological order. Instead, you build your
history from the outside in. You start off knowing the big picture,
the grand scheme of what happens, then you dive in and explore what
happened in between, the how and why that shaped events.

You are free to jump backwards or forwards, zooming in or out to
look at whatever you want, defying limits of time and space. Want to
leap a thousand years into 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=92s normal in Microscope. You have vast creative authority. You
can make whole empires rise and fall at will. Dream up a utopia or
destroy one with nuclear fire. You have that power, but remember
you=92re not alone: everyone else at the table can do it too.

You =A0create =A0independently, =A0but =A0not =A0in =A0isolation. =A0Each = =A0facet
you =A0add to history builds on what other players built before you.
You expand on their ideas, and they expand on yours. History might
not turn out the way you expected. Be prepared to think on your
feet.

When you zoom all the way in to a particular moment in time, all the
players share the stage and role-play together to find out something
we want to learn about the history. Did the crew of the Icarus know
the aliens were on Titan? Did the rebels really fake the government
crackdown? Do the knights remember the original meaning of their
ritual vows? We role-play and see. The more you play, the more your
once simple summary becomes a detailed tapestry, full of meaning and
surprises. History snowballs.

What you need to play

Microscope is for two to five players, but three or four are best.
There=92s no game prep and no GM. You can play a single session, or
keep coming back and exploring the same history over and over again.

You=92ll need a stack of index cards and something to write with,
along with table space to lay everything out. Smaller cards, like
blank flash cards, work even better because they take up less space
on the table.

[snip]

teaching step 1: explain the concept

First, read the =93What Is Microscope?=94 section out loud. Instead of
reading it all yourself, have the other players take turns. Then
say:

=93The author of the game says I should read this part to you because
it=92s really important: All of us sitting at this table have =A0equal
creative =A0power. =A0At =A0times =A0we=92ll =A0have =A0different roles and=
authority, but we=92re all equal participants and authors.

=93It may sound like I=92m running the game because I=92m going to be
explaining a lot about the rules, and I may interrupt and jump in to
clarify how the game is played. But I don=92t have any more authority
than anyone else when it comes to actually playing the game --
there=92s no GM.

=93Now that we know what the game=92s about, we=92re ready to get
started.=94

teaching step 2: game setup

Follow the steps in =93Starting a New Game.=94 You can read the first
one or two paragraphs of each step out loud or just summarize, as
you prefer.

Players new to Microscope may try to brainstorm too much detail
about the history during the setup. Don=92t hesitate to jump in and
tell players to save those ideas for later. Follow the steps
rigorously.

=93Microscope =A0is =A0a =A0little like Poker: you want =A0to =A0keep =A0yo= ur cool
ideas close to your vest until you use them. If the rest of us know
what you=92re going to do ahead of time, it=92s not as interesting.=94

teaching step 3: explain play

=93Now =A0that =A0setup =A0is =A0done, =A0we=92re =A0ready =A0to =A0start = =A0play. =A0We
already know more about our history than we did when we came up with
the single sentence idea, and as we play we=92ll find out more and
more.

=93The =A0basic =A0structure =A0of =A0the =A0game =A0is =A0that =A0we =A0ke= ep =A0going
around the table adding to the history, making either a Period, an
Event or a Scene. For each rotation there=92s going to be one player
called the Lens, and that player is going to pick a particular Focus
that everything we create has to relate to. So if the Focus is a
city, each player is going to get to add something to the history
that somehow relates to that city. It=92s a topic to keep us all on
the same page.

=93If you make a Period or Event, just describe what happens as though
we=92re seeing it from a birds-eye view. You=92re in charge, =A0and =A0the<= br> rest =A0of =A0us =A0are =A0eagerly =A0listening =A0to =A0hear what =A0you = =A0have =A0to
say. =A0If =A0you =A0make =A0a =A0Scene, =A0we =A0all =A0pick characters an= d
role-play to find out what really happened in that moment of
history.=94

- --------------------

-Robin

--
http://singinst.org/= : =A0Our last, best hope for a fantastic future.
.i ko na cpedu lo nu stidi vau loi jbopre .i danfu lu na go'i li'u = .e
lu go'i li'u .i ji'a go'i lu na'e go'i li'u .e = lu go'i na'i li'u .e
lu no'e go'i li'u .e lu to'e go'i li'u .e lu lo mam= ta be do cu sofybakni li'u

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