The thought occurred to me that, easy as it is to set up a fiasco, maybe it’d be nice to have one set up for you – perhaps a package writer could put together their favorite elements into a pick-up-and-play instapackage. Like this:
INSTAPACKAGE: A NICE SOUTHERN TOWN
RELATIONSHIPS
For three players…
Family: Siblings
Romance: Ex-spouses
Crime: Corrupt official and local big shot
For four players, add…
Friendship: Drug buddies
For five players, add…
Work: Professional and client
NEEDS
For three players…
To get even: With a rival
For four or five players, add…
To get out: Of a crushing debt coming due
LOCATIONS
For three, four or five players…
Main Street: El Perro Alto Mexican restaurant
OBJECTS
For three or four players…
Valuables: Suitcase full of cash
For five players, add…
Weapon: Poisonous snake
Write ’em on index cards, figure out who is who, and get playing. It shortcuts one of the really fun parts of the game, but it also cuts half an hour off the time it takes to play, which might occasionally be nice. It also allows the package writer to show off what they think is a golden combo, which might be instructive. What do you think?
This is a sweet idea. I’m working on a playset now that I will try to do this for. Also for the ones I have already done.
I really think this would have helped our playtest a great deal. Pregens or packages would give boundaries and offer starting points for people new to the game or this type of game in general. They also ‘explain’ to some extent, what the game is expected to do, if you get my drift.
Excellent idea.