22 June 2009

A storytelling game

I've played this game a few times now and have really enjoyed it. I've only tried it with two players. It might work with more.

Rules

Each player starts by jotting down a very brief story outline: just five lines. Each line should be seven words or less. It's OK to steal the outline of a familiar story, as in the example below.

  1. a girl in red
  2. a wolf with a plan
  3. the wolf eats grandma
  4. the wolf's disguise is unconvincing
  5. someone saves the day with an axe

Or of course you can make up your own. You do not have to stick to fairy tales.

Each player passes their story outline face-down to another player. (No peeking!) Then the game begins.

From here on out, it's very simple. All the players are going to cooperate to tell one big story including all the elements in all the story outlines. On your turn, look at the first line of the story outline that someone placed in front of you. Suppose it says ‘a lonely house on a hill’. Tell the first little bit of the story. Keep it brief, and be sure to work in a lonely house on a hill.

Then it will be someone else's turn. Perhaps they will read: ‘a girl in red’. They will pick up the story where you left off, adding a girl in red.

Take turns for five rounds.

The end.

A few game design notes

I haven't played many storytelling games. This game mostly tries to avoid the mistakes of Once Upon a Time, which I greatly enjoyed back in the day, but which has some flaws. It features actual competitive gameplay and a winner. But you don't win by telling the best story. You win by getting all the cards out of your hand.

The fixed deck of character, setting, and item cards in Once Upon a Time got boring after just a few games. At some point, the cards stopped helping. Instead I would find myself trying to scrape together yet another storyline involving a shepherdess, a ring, and a disguise. (I have not played Nanofictionary, but it seems like it might have the same problem.) It was usually fun anyway. But I think having the players instead supply fresh material for each game might help. And story outlines seem better than cards in other ways. They naturally provide characters and exposition early in the game, plot developments in the midgame, and endings at the end. They can revisit previously introduced elements instead of constantly adding more folderol to the story. And they're fun to make.

The endgame in Once Upon a Time was especially unsatisfying: as soon as a player could play all the cards from his hand, he would turn over his Happily Ever After card and crash-land the story into the overly specific, predetermined ending printed on it. This would be something like, ‘...and for all I know, they may be dancing still.’ Constraining the last words of the story just seems like a mistake. In this game, everyone gets to tell an ending, and when it's your last turn of the game, you know it. So every player gets their crowning moment, and loose ends tend to get tied off.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good storytelling games are so difficult to find, and so I appreciate your blog entry. Thanks for the heads up on "Nanofictionary", which I have also not played. But, I couldn't agree more about the flaws of "Once Upon a Time" as a storytelling game, despite its beautiful illustrations! Also back in the day, I played it a number of times with my family but we quickly lost interest. The experience would quickly lose all its storytelling power, and winning would inevitably become the point. Gone was the promise of anyone touching individual or mutual creativity. We never even remembered the story in the end! I like the idea you mention about making your own cards, each with a line that contributes to a very brief story outline. People do better when there are some main elements to build upon. You're also doing a "PASS-AROUND"! Telling one big cooperative story brings so much fun and unexpected twists and turns and inevitably brings laughter and connection! So much more memorable and satisfying! If you like this kind of thing, then check out my favorite storytelling game: "PASS-AROUND STORYTELLING: THE SHARED STORYTELLING GAME" by Cheryl Chitayat and Dafna Soltes Stein. This storytelling game works well with two players and it's also great fun in a group and with all ages! Creativity all the way! You can find it on Amazon.com: (http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Around-Storytelling-Shared-Game-Cards/dp/0979905400) or they have a website where you can see some actual cards (http://www.passaroundthemagic.com). The game allows for that structure you speak of needing early in the game which allows for plot and character development. Anyone can be a Pass-Around Storyteller, because the storytelling is shared and you can always pass :-). Enjoyed your blog and will visit again.

shagbark said...

Once Upon a Time is a fabulous game, but only if you play it with people who aren't trying to win. It isn't the game's fault if the players are so competitive that they deliberately make it not-fun.