game advice for strange group
Callan S.:
I'm not sure the you can have a 'indie games at their best'. It implies there's a 'best' indie game, when they all poke at subjects in many different directions to each other.
And you don't experience 'indie games', that's just a name for how people have been making their games. Unless indie has become some sort of 'scene' or cul de sac.
Eero Tuovinen:
Well, I don't want to second-guess Ron, but what does it even mean to "experience indie games" in general? If it means tapping into modern non-traditional design, then the new D&D is as good as any game. If it means specifically playing a game owned by its creator, how would the teenagers know?
Setting that aside, some indie games that can handle a large number of players and have a relatively short play cycle include
1001 Nights (split the group into smaller crews for the stories!),
3:16 (play the first session with reliable co-GMs, run the pre- and post-mission scenes for the whole group, but split the players into smaller teams for the actual missions),
Dread (the Jenga game, works as is but is tricky to GM to this time frame successfully),
Engle Matrix Games (split the players into groups, the rules are simple enough),
Dark Dungeons or LotFPor Mazes & Minotaurs (OSR games that benefit from the party structure, enabling a large number of players because individuals do not have individual motivations in play),
Maid (not actually an indie game, but I know you're counting it as one anyway),
Primitive,
Time & Temp.
Out of those games I'd probably pick Primitive for this application, considering the pedagogical issues and the social experience. Many of those games rely on a modicum of patience and/or splitting the group into subgroups for parts or all of play, while Primitive can handle 10 players as is with a bit of GM acumen. Teaching the players to play won't be too difficult, and the game can handle a 45 minute session. Dread is a second game that can do this, but running it requires GM virtuosity at the best of times.I suspect that Time & Temp would also shine, but its concept is complex, rules pretty original and it'd need to be shaken and stirred a bit in all sorts of little ways to figure out how to get 10 players through a scenario in 45 minutes - basically possible, but I wouldn't expect this demographic to appreciate the game's subject matter that much.
ronfig:
First, I would like to thank all responders for their time, especially in the face of my vagueness. I suppose what I really meant regarding my desire was to let these kids know that there are lots of awesome games out there that are not D and D, games that are creator-owned and innovative. They would understand both of these things about the games because I would tell them. D and D is typically all they have heard of...that and WOW. I have read through several new games, but I am always not sure which one might work with the aforementioned nature and size of the group. Eero, thanks for the thoughtful advice. Believe me, Zombie Cinema is on my personal wish list.
Callan S.:
'not D and D'
That's a phrase that gets repeated through gamer discussions fairly often. As in the gamer defining what they want by only saying what they don't want. It makes it kind of hard to discuss things when what you want is described by absence. Do you have any play in your gaming past that you thought was good or that you wanted to pursue more of, that you could describe? Just a sentence or two would be cool? :)
ronfig:
Quote from: Callan S. on June 14, 2010, 07:54:44 PM
'not D and D'
That's a phrase that gets repeated through gamer discussions fairly often. As in the gamer defining what they want by only saying what they don't want. It makes it kind of hard to discuss things when what you want is described by absence. Do you have any play in your gaming past that you thought was good or that you wanted to pursue more of, that you could describe? Just a sentence or two would be cool? :)
Sure...I enjoyed badly played but very narratively descriptive D and D as a kid and have recently come back to the hobby. I just finished a session of Beast Hunters with my oldest son tonight. I have enjoyed Ninja Burger No Honor Edition with him before, and I have played a quick session of Soap with the group that I mentioned at the start of the thread. I am dying to play Mouse Guard, Spirit of the Century, Shotgun Diaries, and A Penny for My Thoughts--all recently purchased.
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