A detective, a gambler, and an actor walk into a bar…or do they? What happens next? That’s all up to you! The plot is all up to you. Will you aim to solve a murder? Uncover a big secret? Catch a thief in the act? Let’s find out as the chapters unfold!

What Is It?

Cooperative – Players work together to tell a story

Storytelling – Players will weave their person, place, and thing cards together through well-crafted sentences. They will earn plot points for cards they play, and can use those to thicken the plot (use other players’ cards to connect to their own portion of the story), switch cards in hand for new ones from the decks, and edit whenever that pesky writer block hits. At the end of the game, the player with the most plot points on other players’ cards is the main character, who gets to craft the ending to the story, and the player with the most plot points on their cards is the author, who gets to title the story.

Who Is It For?

  • 2 to 4 Players – More players leads to more story points, of course, so it can be a little more interesting, but also makes for a longer game and can get harder to follow all the story/characters. It’s important to find the right balance for the right player count
  • Ages 12 & Up; Light Gamers – Straightforward rules, great for a wide audience. But for some younger players. you might just want to audit some of the cards first
  • Fans of cooperative games and storytelling
  • Players who have fun with being creative, and get really into character/plot building

PROS

  • Aesthetics – Clean graphic design
  • Components – Nice quality cards, and I love the little magnifying glasses for plot points
  • Variability – Good variety of cards, plus you can vary length/number of chapters easily
  • Rules – Well written and clear
  • Fun that the plot points determine ‘main character’ and ‘author’, so players have a reason to try and use certain cards
  • A lot of free reign for players to guide the game how they want to; can lead to a lot of laughs , wild tales, et cetera

CONS

  • Aesthetics – The art isn’t very interesting on cards, but I assumed that was so players could have more personal creativity with descriptions
  • I wish players started with a few plot points (maybe 3?), just so they could use them right away
  • If players get stuck, it can really interrupt the flow of the story and make for some not super fun or interesting sessions; no way to really help guide the story if this happens

Final Thoughts

I was an English major in college, and writing stories has always been my thing, so I did think this was definitely interested in seeing that translate to a game. With no real “winning” or “losing” condition, I view this as more of an activity than a game, personally, but that said, I thought it was a fun exercise.

If you enjoy storytelling, being creative, and thinking on your feet, and you want to build a story with others, intertwining your characters (which can usually lease to some interesting interactions) it’s worth checking out! You definitely want to make sure you play with the right people though. If anyone really isn’t into the characters/world/story, it’ll fall flat fast.

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 6/10

Designers – Mike Callahan, Brigette Indelicato, Thomas Rochelle
Artists – Brigette Indelicato, Kwanchai Moriya
Publisher – Bright Eye Games
MSRP – $25.00 (3 genres available)
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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