Haven't played it yet but I have a copy! Looking forward to trying it out.

Afrikan tähti is a pretty easy game to play, you'd do fine with a Finnish copy if you have someone to explain it. There's a new version called Suomen aarre which uses the map of Finland, to make it less racist I think: www.peliko.com/pages/suomen...

More goals:

- Become able to have idiosyncratic opinions. (This game is a forgotten masterpiece!)
- Develop an unreasonable hatred of a popular game. (Monopoly is too easy obvs.)
- Become able to recommend games for someone else's taste.

Not there yet but progress is being made!

More learning goals:

- Learn enough about different designers that I can have faves.
- Understand BGG well enough that I can complain about the ranking.
- Get comfortable with the lingo. (Deck-building games, trick-taking games etc.)
(con't)

This makes me nostalgic for the times when a mouse would still have the track ball and you had to clean it regularly to keep it working.

(By "nostalgic" I mean, wistful for the past in a way that in no way implies I wish it would return.)

I believe the technical term for this is vibe-based roleplaying.

Except maybe some ideas about ensemble play. Building the ensemble consciously is always a good idea.

But for people new to roleplaying, people who like to engage with mechanics, people who want more organization, this offers nothing.

There's a reason why pretty much none of this thinking is in the releases I've put together for a big audience.

I've tried to make this into a publication twice, with Chernobyl, Mon Amour and Bad Sex: The Roleplaying Game. The problem with it is that it works when everyone involved know what they're doing. If players are clever and good at listening to each other, the game sings.

(cont)
- The characters succeed pretty much always when they try something.
- Sometimes I roll a single die if it feels like uncertainty benefits the game.
- I try to communicate genre as clearly as I can so players understand what kind of actions fit the fiction.

My method is built on these pillars:
- Build ensemble so that players and characters talk a lot with each other.
- You can always do stupid stuff. The results might be negative but something interesting is going to happen.
- I have a Powerpoint deck for each game with slides for NPCs, locations, etc

Schwarzenegger prevails by copying the ethos and tactics of his enemy. He becomes invisible by covering himself in mud that confuses the predator's heat-based vision. He relies on traps. Being smart and sneaky wins the day.

I mean, it's Civilization. I got totally caught up in it even when I was thinking it wasn't so good.

But Legion's failure feels more honorable because at least they went for a big swing. The design idea was exciting, but in the end the DLC where they had clear protagonists were more fun to play.