[Spione] A successful, thought-provoking first go
Ron Edwards:
Hiya,
I really like the choices about the Guy and Spy sheets. "Spying on one's own" is a huge issue, and Malcolm, I think it's actually better not to get very focused on characters' motivations. "Urges" is probably a better concept, as intuited and non-reflectively created during play itself.
I'm basing that point on the source literature, which includes both fiction and non-fiction (often hard to tell apart). Quite a few CIA guys offer the most trenchant, penetrating criticisms of their own agency, but when asked "why did you do it, then?" can only say, "Ummm ... because I did." And those are the officers, the trained ideologues/patriots. Ask it of a spy, i.e. someone they recruited, and you'll get desperate answers because the person made multiple desperate decisions. A lot of the references in the Spione Wiki that are categorized as Insiders and Biography criss-cross and struggle with these issues, as do a number of the Spy vs. Guy novels that are also Insiders.
What I'm saying is that I really like your summary of Baum's motivations that stops at the point, "I'm not sure if Baum ever really knew why he was doing this." That seems to be accurate both in terms of fiction/drama, and in terms of history.
Best, Ron
Ron Edwards:
Oh yeah!
In the brilliant German novel and film Mephisto, the lead character says at one point, "What do they want with me? I'm just an actor!"
I really recommend seeing it, if you haven't - it holds multiple corresponding bits and themes to your story, I think.
Best, Ron
hix:
Here are some of my initial thoughts about the game:
I decided to choose my Spy and Guy Sheets based purely on enthusiasm. I found the idea of the CIA spying on the British NATO offices (Operation Beartrap) fascinating. I simply could not grab my head around it - and although we spent a bit of time before the game started trying to figure out motivations, eventually I made the call that we would just sort it out through play.
Next, I chose Fiona Summers as my Guy. Again, the idea of an older woman placed in the position of stealing documents from NATO fascinated me.
There were some reversals of attitude going on throughout all this. Initially, we as a group were disappointed to get the 1980s as our decade, preferring (perhaps) a more distant historical period. But after reading through the situation sheet and realising there were drug-dealing CIA agents, KGB gangsters, and Thatcher as Prime Minister, I really got into the idea of playing an historical period that was just on the periphery of my awareness as I was growing up. Polar Star and Gorky Park are two significant novels for me, and we were throwing around joking references to Firefox and other 1980s movies for a little while trying to get a feel for the time period.
My choosing of Operation Beartrap was also a little bit of a challenge to myself. I had gone into the game expecting to play West versus East. The idea of West versus West had never occurred to me, and I thought that might spice things up.
So we began to play and right from the start, Baum's story was hitting strong dramatic beats based off his personal relationships. Fiona's story, however, was always more distant - I realised early on that I wanted to focus around administration and bureaucracy (sort of like The Wire). That meant that, initially, I was a little concerned that the events around my principal were a little less gripping.
However, around the time I disclosed my Trespass it became clear that this was a story about the CIA's operation being blown. Our manoeuvers started focusing around MI6's surveillance of Fiona, and the way they gradually started moving up through my network towards the Americans in charge. As a group we all worked together to achieve this, and it felt fantastically like spy fiction - the small person surrounded by, and trying to outthink, the enormous counter-intelligence apparatus that's surrounding her.
Ron, I agree with your observation about stretching out story. In our first round of manoeuvers, it took a long time to enter into or commit to flashpoints. However, that first round really fleshed out a lot about Baum's character and situation. Being able to take that time consistently, over a few sessions, would strengthen the game.
MikeSands:
Hey Steve,
I didn't find that Fiona's story was less gripping in any way. It was certainly less emotional, at first, with her dealing with workmates and informants but the story still built tension pretty fast (especially as her operation began to collapse and her brother started his well-intentioned meddling - that is what put MI6 onto her).
hix:
A couple of other things I remembered:
By the time we stopped playing, the lives of everyone around Fiona had been damaged and in many cases destroyed, and almost all of my supporting cast had been eliminated. I had a card number of 5, and because I had pushed for disclosure (of my Trespass) about halfway through the game I was eliminating at least one supporting cast member per flashpoint.
Afterwards, I said how much I liked that Fiona was so toxic to everyone around her. It was only later I realised this is probably an intentional feature of the design. I don't have the rules in front of me but if I'm remembering right it's the removal of all the supporting cast that determines when a spy's story ends.
Also, I'm usually a little bit cautious about providing adversity for myself in a scene but it works brilliantly in Spione. I was able to choose and describe seeds of potential conflict, and rely on my collaborators to draw its awfulness out into the game. For instance, I described Fiona stealing from her brother's chequebook and forging his signature, which immediately led to her brother (a Senior Private Secretary to a Cabinet Minister) calling in MI6 out of concern.
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