Last night we ended up playing Warrior-Poet (the haiku game) instead of One Last Job, which has been moved to…

Last night we ended up playing Warrior-Poet (the haiku game) instead of One Last Job, which has been moved to…

Last night we ended up playing Warrior-Poet (the haiku game) instead of One Last Job, which has been moved to Wednesday. So, how did Warrior-Poet go? Not great. In fact, it kind of sucked.

Character creation was a lot of fun and, conceptually, the haiku-based mechanics are pretty cool. But in actual play, it falls apart completely. There is simply too much waiting around while the combatants write their line of haiku. A single fight takes FOREVER. On top of that, the actual mechanical outcomes just aren’t that interesting. You spend an eternity writing and judging these haikus, just so you can earn bonus dice in the combat. You roll all the dice you have earned and then whoever has the most matched pairs wins. It’s pretty damn flat. On top of that, the character creation process gives you these really sweet traits and concepts to work with, but they literally do NOTHING in terms of the mechanics. It feels very wasted. 

All that said, I can appreciate the author’s attempt to push the hobby into new and interesting territory. But, on this one, the execution was just deeply flawed. 

12 thoughts on “Last night we ended up playing Warrior-Poet (the haiku game) instead of One Last Job, which has been moved to…”

  1. I had my concerns about how this particular game would pan out. It certainly sounded like something that could be really interesting. I must confess I’m disappointed that my concerns were proven valid 🙁

  2. I had my concerns about how this particular game would pan out. It certainly sounded like something that could be really interesting. I must confess I’m disappointed that my concerns were proven valid 🙁

  5. I’m so conflicted about this game.  It was terrible to play, but a large part of me still thinks it is the best thing ever.  

    It does such an amazing job of getting across the feel of what it’s trying to make happen.  I want nothing more than to play the game that it promises.  It’s a damn shame that the mechanics don’t actually make that happen.  Honestly, after playing last night, I think that it’s promising an experience that no gaming system is ever going to deliver, but I do really admire it for trying.  

  6. I’m so conflicted about this game.  It was terrible to play, but a large part of me still thinks it is the best thing ever.  

    It does such an amazing job of getting across the feel of what it’s trying to make happen.  I want nothing more than to play the game that it promises.  It’s a damn shame that the mechanics don’t actually make that happen.  Honestly, after playing last night, I think that it’s promising an experience that no gaming system is ever going to deliver, but I do really admire it for trying.  

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