Tag: Jason Cordova

Our Monday group has been playing Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker ‘s Apocalypse World: Dark Age. Given there are about a million hacks of Apocalypse World, it feels somewhat weird to have one that is “branded” so. Setting that aside, the game is pretty damn good, even in beta. 

The AW hack that gets the most play around these parts is Dungeon World, and because of that, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that AW does social encounters extremely well (Dungeon World being almost entirely focused on exploring dungeons). This game really drives that home. 

Dark Age is a game that sets out to tell a gritty, low-fantasy story of politics, birthrights, and cryptic prophecies. It transparently uses Game of Thrones as its inspiration, and the tropes from that style of fantasy story are peppered throughout. Some of the standout moves in this one, which really help reinforce the flavor, are Claim Your Right, Take Stock, and Take Your Bearings. Claim Your Right is a social move that relies heavily on the idea that your character has claim over certain peoples or lands. Take Stock is all about assessing your current situation vis a vis your rivals (resources, vulnerabilities, etc.). And Take Your Bearings is a nifty move that lets you learn some insight about a new place or situation as you enter it.

I’m also fond of the Draw Someone Out move. It’s a conversation move that lets you learn some more about the character you’re interacting with. It’s a pretty standard AW  thing, but some of the hacks we have played (like Dungeon World or Monster of the Week) have no equivalent, and so it’s kind of fun to explore this aspect of play. In fact, this move, more than any other, really makes me want to return to straight-up Apocalypse World, which I haven’t played in awhile. 

Anyway, things are going pretty well. I imagine we have about 3 more sessions until we’re done (for a total of 6). There are few minor issues we’re having, but I’m waiting to see if they resolve themselves with more play before I comment on them. 

Thanks to Russell Benner Daniel Fowler Daniel Lewis Ferrell Riley and Rob Ferguson !

Durance. Oh, Durance…

We played Durance last year and it was kind of a flop at that time. Convinced it was because one of the players last year was not playing in the spirit of the game, we gave it another shot yesterday for Story Game Sunday. The verdict? It was a lot better, but still had some issues. 

The biggest problem with the game is player ownership of characters. This creates a lot of weird situations. For example, if I am the Guide of the scene, I have to ask a question that does not implicate one of my two characters, because I’m not supposed to be roleplaying in that scene. This is hard to do and still keep the story interesting. Much better would be making a big pool of characters and saying they are all up for grabs (as in The Final Girl). 

Another issue is all the planetary survey information and colony details. The mechanics, which revolve around the breaking of solemn Oaths, do not encourage exploring these details in the story, but rather keep the action focused on interpersonal connections and political gamesmanship. There are also just too many of these details to manage. Much better would be picking 2-3 things and focusing exclusively on those. 

All that said, there is a lot to love here. The premise (outer space penal colony) is tantalizing, and the process by which you set-up your game is engaging. The book is gorgeous and evocative. We even enjoyed the conflict resolution system this time (which was a big hang-up last time we played). Rob is going to give this one another go in an upcoming Wednesday One-Shots, utilizing some of the changes discussed here. 

Thanks to Rob Ferguson Ferrell Riley and Russell Benner !