The first game to open my mind to GMless play, and how lucky I am that it was. The Belonging Outside Belonging system has launched a thousand RPG ships for good reason; these games simply work. And there's two of them! Heartbreaking queer apocalypse AND the passionate yearnings of the Jewish shtetl? Truly, what more could you ask for?
These are nearly always my first recommendations for folks who want to try GM-less/GM-ful play for the first time, and I don't imagine that changing anytime soon.
An incredible foundational text for the Belonging Outside Belonging system. The 2 settings are deeply evocative and interesting. Game play is crisp and was a wonderful decompression tool for me as a burnt out forever GM.
Not only do you get two amazing games, but you also get an introduction to how to write role-playing games, even when you've never thought about getting into game design yourself. You get the final product and a run-through of the decisions that went into crafting it, as well as an explicit invitation to make a variation of your own. Foundational work.
Truely a great work of game design, I had the opportunity to take da deep dive on it working on the german translation and I am still impressed. The attitude of Dream Apart towards history and culture is as inspiring as the Design of the characters, setting elements and the flow of gm-less play.
I was sooo reluctant to play Dream Askew (because post-apocalyptic games always mean confronting the fact that I probably wouldn't have survived to be in their world), but it still gave me room to play complex, traumatized, imperfect queers trying to build lives with those of us who did survive.
I was sooo reluctant to play Dream Apart (because I'm German and worried a lot about doing things wrong), but it very kindly took my hand and invited me in, gave me lots of information to start with and permission to make mistakes, and gave me an opportunity to be brave and to keep learning.
Both games are beautifully written, very well-explained, and full of great ideas. And the "Designing Your Own" chapter is super generous and made so many other games possible. 💖
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The first game to open my mind to GMless play, and how lucky I am that it was. The Belonging Outside Belonging system has launched a thousand RPG ships for good reason; these games simply work. And there's two of them! Heartbreaking queer apocalypse AND the passionate yearnings of the Jewish shtetl? Truly, what more could you ask for?
These are nearly always my first recommendations for folks who want to try GM-less/GM-ful play for the first time, and I don't imagine that changing anytime soon.
One of the best TTRPG systems with two fantastic games! A must read for any designer or player interested in narrative-focused TTRPGs!
An incredible foundational text for the Belonging Outside Belonging system. The 2 settings are deeply evocative and interesting. Game play is crisp and was a wonderful decompression tool for me as a burnt out forever GM.
Not only do you get two amazing games, but you also get an introduction to how to write role-playing games, even when you've never thought about getting into game design yourself. You get the final product and a run-through of the decisions that went into crafting it, as well as an explicit invitation to make a variation of your own. Foundational work.
The game that turned me into a game designer *and* sparked my first lesbian relationship <3
Truely a great work of game design, I had the opportunity to take da deep dive on it working on the german translation and I am still impressed. The attitude of Dream Apart towards history and culture is as inspiring as the Design of the characters, setting elements and the flow of gm-less play.
I was sooo reluctant to play Dream Askew (because post-apocalyptic games always mean confronting the fact that I probably wouldn't have survived to be in their world), but it still gave me room to play complex, traumatized, imperfect queers trying to build lives with those of us who did survive.
I was sooo reluctant to play Dream Apart (because I'm German and worried a lot about doing things wrong), but it very kindly took my hand and invited me in, gave me lots of information to start with and permission to make mistakes, and gave me an opportunity to be brave and to keep learning.
Both games are beautifully written, very well-explained, and full of great ideas. And the "Designing Your Own" chapter is super generous and made so many other games possible. 💖
An all-time great, two brilliant games built around a flexible, eminently hackable framework.
These games made me realize what my favorite playstyle was, when I just had a vague idea before. Also led me to create my own BOB!
Revolutionary for the ttrpg scene, truly a corner stone, I think everyone who wants to make games should read Dream Askew/Dream Apart