Reach is a 5 page, multiplayer game where the players take on the roles of a spirits trying to contact the living, and also the living who are being contacted by spirits.
It's sort of like a sweeter Wraith, played with index cards and blackjack.
Mechanically, you are dealt two cards, then pick another card from another player. If you have 21, your spirit succeeds at making contact with their mortal. If not, you keep trying.
I think I would recommend some changes to this structure, as it's very possible to repeatedly not get 21 for far longer than the game should run. It also didn't feel completely clear to me what the story context for what was happening was.
That said, the overall framework feels really cool, and I think a variant where every contact succeeds---but if you got under 21 the mortal can't tell it was actually a ghost, and if you got over 21 it's scary for the mortal---would work and play a lot quicker.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who's interested in games that treat the dead kindly, and who likes atmospheric, collaborative, storytelling games.
Minor Issues:
-Is getting to 21 enough to make contact, or does it have to be an actual blackjack? The game seems to use these interchangeably.
Thank you, these are awesome points! I will take another look at it with your variant in mind, I bet you're right and it would play much smoother. I admit that I just now learned the difference between a score of 21 and an official Blackjack, and now I feel silly. I'll update these rules soon!
Thought you might want to know there's one grammar/spelling mistake on page 3 paragraph 3- you wrote "...a Passed who is attempting to reach out to am Other" instead of "...a Passed who is attempting to reach out to an Other"
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Reach is a 5 page, multiplayer game where the players take on the roles of a spirits trying to contact the living, and also the living who are being contacted by spirits.
It's sort of like a sweeter Wraith, played with index cards and blackjack.
Mechanically, you are dealt two cards, then pick another card from another player. If you have 21, your spirit succeeds at making contact with their mortal. If not, you keep trying.
I think I would recommend some changes to this structure, as it's very possible to repeatedly not get 21 for far longer than the game should run. It also didn't feel completely clear to me what the story context for what was happening was.
That said, the overall framework feels really cool, and I think a variant where every contact succeeds---but if you got under 21 the mortal can't tell it was actually a ghost, and if you got over 21 it's scary for the mortal---would work and play a lot quicker.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who's interested in games that treat the dead kindly, and who likes atmospheric, collaborative, storytelling games.
Minor Issues:
-Is getting to 21 enough to make contact, or does it have to be an actual blackjack? The game seems to use these interchangeably.
Thank you, these are awesome points! I will take another look at it with your variant in mind, I bet you're right and it would play much smoother.
I admit that I just now learned the difference between a score of 21 and an official Blackjack, and now I feel silly. I'll update these rules soon!
All good! It's a really cool game, and I think the intent for the blackjack rule meaning 21 comes through.
Thought you might want to know there's one grammar/spelling mistake on page 3 paragraph 3- you wrote "...a Passed who is attempting to reach out to am Other" instead of "...a Passed who is attempting to reach out to an Other"
Ahhhhhh thank you so much!