Actual Play & Theorizin' 17 Jul 2007 05:16 am
bring in the dice
So last night I played Dogs. Sadly, it was the second time ever, but I really dug it. Let this be a sign of things to come.
One feeling I’ve been having about play lately that this game session supports is that I prefer play where the dice are out there and involved. More and more the words “let’s just roleplay it” translate to me as “let’s just have these next few minutes be less fun.” I like dice as cues and prompts and ideas and little polyhedron directors and advisors.
Dice in Dogs do a great job of that. I think Galactic dice do, too. They provide constraint and narration ideas. If you’re “just roleplaying it” anything can happen, and that’s often too much for me, but if I’m herded by dice results, I have a comfortable space in which to develop ideas.
on 17 Jul 2007 at 2:17 pm 1.Fred Hicks said …
Your perspective on (and frequency of) play with Dogs closely matches mine. The game taught me a lot about why *not* to take the dice out of a game, and I think a number of my designs are the better for it.
on 17 Jul 2007 at 5:58 pm 2.dogeared.matt said …
Hi Fred.
I haven’t played SOTC yet, but I see that approach in the rules. It’s one of the reasons why I’m looking forward to playing it.