Context
I've been reading role playing poems
again recently – they are very short role playing games (or
storytelling games, or improvisation exercises, in case you have a
very narrow definition of RPG), 15 minutes or less, and because they
ar so short, they can and have to explore a single, very narrow
theme. Often they play with ideas that have no place in bigger games –
like emotions hitting close to home, boredom, identity, body. Somehow,
the following one sprang to my mind. I'm sure it needs refinement.
Talking to Strangers
A game poem for three or more friends walking through town.
One player plays the Stranger. They should play to be a person with
similar interests, but possibly a different personality to themselves.
The other players play a group of Friends, walking through town
minding their own business. The Friends must have names different
from the players. By chance, the Stranger is walking in a very similar
direction as the Friends, at a very similar pace, unable to not listen
to their conversations.
The game proceeds for about 8–12 minutes, until the departure point
where the paths of the Stranger and the Friends would split. (They can
there make the decision to hesitate shortly, or even join to go to one
destination.)
- If the Stranger reaches the departure point without talking to the
Friends, the Stranger wins.
- If a Friend asks the Stranger for some contact details, the Stranger
wins.
- If the Stranger talks to the Friends, the Friends win.
Notes
- This is not a zero-sum game: One side winning does not mean the other loses.
- The win conditions want to achieve the following: The first
condition wants to motivate the Stranger to be shy and mind their
own business. The third condition wants to motivate the Friends to
have a conversation that is so relevant to the Stranger that they
cannot but join. The second condition wants to motivate the Stranger
to open up, make a good impression and make Friends, but also be a
small incentive to the Friends to not be too open with the Stranger
who just joined them out of no-where (because they have already won,
see? Denying the Stranger the victory will be the next-best thing.)
- I'm not sure about the title.
![[Quote] http://source/](/images/games.jpg)
