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Review: Husband: The Role-Playing Game:: The Short Version? Husband: the Role Playing Game is a mostly story-based game of stupid husbands and forgiving families.
Posted: Thu, 07 May 02:18:57
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Husband: The Role-Playing Game is an entry in the 2011 RPG Geek 24 Hour RPGs. It was written by Steve Donohue (aka Steve Donohue} who also did all the artwork and editing.
Presentation
The game is presented in a 21 page PDF document. It is primarily in two column layout and the editing is good. There's plenty of white space and it's pretty easy to read.
Theme
The game is based on typical sit-com dads and their shenanigans. It's meant to feel like Married With Children meets Home Improvement with a dash of I Love Lucy. The characters are dads and they get themselves in trouble by trying to keep secrets from their wives and bosses as they participate in hobbies when they ought to be doing chores or at work.
Characters
Characters are created with 5 attributes remembered by the mnemonic RAISE: Resistance, Athleticism, Intelligence, Seeming, and Eloquence. Resistance, which allows you to avoid temptation, and Intelligence start at 1, while the others start at 3. Players can add 5 total points, but no more than 2 to any attribute. Once they've got those scores, there are some questions about how long you've been married, how many kids you have, and what you do for a living. You also choose a rival, a non-player character who tends to make you look bad whether deliberately or not. Finally, you choose two manly interests and an obsession. All three can distract you from your responsibilities, but you're powerless to resist your obsession.
System
The game has an interesting resolution mechanic. The 32 cards mentioned above are dealt out into a grid. If a character and an NPC have some conflict, then each draws a card. If the card matches the symbol of their family, they may succeed. There are actually four outcomes. If neither the GM nor the player draws a matching symbol, the test is a draw and they try again. If only one of them draws a matching symbol, that one wins. If they both draw a symbol, then they compare numbers and the higher number wins. If there's a question about choosing the first tile, then a token is placed on the table between them, someone yells "BGG" and whichever of them grabs the token gets to draw the first tile.
Playing the Game
Once everyone has a character, each player writes down 1 or 2 obligations their character might face, then all the items are thrown in a hat and one of them is drawn at random. From there, the players set out a story line based on some of their complications. The rules provide an example where one of the characters forgets or ignores a wedding anniversary to join his friends at a sporting event. As is the nature of sit-com dads, he gets caught and winds up having to convince his wife he shouldn't spend the rest of his life on the couch.
As characters move through scenes, they can introduce complications which should make the game more fun for all of them. Complications could be as simple as deciding not to have a beer after promising your wife you won't drink or as complex as trying to convince your rival to keep their mouth shut. Complications are generally resolved with cards. The players start with 10 cards and use them to defeat complications. For a simple check, like jumping a wall, the character draws 2 cards from the deck and adds them to create a target. They then play as many cards from their hand as they like and add their appropriate attribute. In an opposed check, each of the characters involved can play up to three card face down and the higher total wins. Once the check is resolved, all the cards are discarded. Players can get new card by agreeing to a complication or by taking a macho point to put 5 new cards in their hand.
At the end of the game, the characters always get caught and then they try to explain why it wasn't their fault. In this phase, you make an opposed check against a random card draw of two cards. The complication is that for each macho point you've taken, your opponent gets to draw an extra card creating chance of you getting in more trouble.
Extras
There are a number of appendices with tables that might be helpful. Appendix A is 40 manly interests, Appendix B covers potential obligations in three categories (work, kids, spouse), Appendix C provides more than 100 distraction choices in those same three categories, Appendix D is a glossary of terms used in the game and there's a sample character sheet. The document ends with some variants, expert play tips, designer notes, and a list of missing elements or development improvements and finally, a sample play session.
Evaluation
Since this game is the work of a single person in a single day, it would be unreasonable to judge it using the same criteria as a game with a team of developers, artists, playtesters and lengthy development cycles.
This is very much a storytelling game with some minor mechanics to keep it interesting. It's intended to be played without a gm, although it's easy to see where one could be useful. Still, it mostly works without one. The cards mechanic is underwhelming and probably could use more detail; one obvious thing would be to have two different decks, one for players and one for challenge targets.
If you're into the notion of playing a stupid sit-com dad, this isn't a bad choice.
Posted: Thu, 07 May 02:18:57
by sdonohue
Presentation
The game is presented in a 21 page PDF document. It is primarily in two column layout and the editing is good. There's plenty of white space and it's pretty easy to read.
Theme
The game is based on typical sit-com dads and their shenanigans. It's meant to feel like Married With Children meets Home Improvement with a dash of I Love Lucy. The characters are dads and they get themselves in trouble by trying to keep secrets from their wives and bosses as they participate in hobbies when they ought to be doing chores or at work.
Characters
Characters are created with 5 attributes remembered by the mnemonic RAISE: Resistance, Athleticism, Intelligence, Seeming, and Eloquence. Resistance, which allows you to avoid temptation, and Intelligence start at 1, while the others start at 3. Players can add 5 total points, but no more than 2 to any attribute. Once they've got those scores, there are some questions about how long you've been married, how many kids you have, and what you do for a living. You also choose a rival, a non-player character who tends to make you look bad whether deliberately or not. Finally, you choose two manly interests and an obsession. All three can distract you from your responsibilities, but you're powerless to resist your obsession.
System
The game has an interesting resolution mechanic. The 32 cards mentioned above are dealt out into a grid. If a character and an NPC have some conflict, then each draws a card. If the card matches the symbol of their family, they may succeed. There are actually four outcomes. If neither the GM nor the player draws a matching symbol, the test is a draw and they try again. If only one of them draws a matching symbol, that one wins. If they both draw a symbol, then they compare numbers and the higher number wins. If there's a question about choosing the first tile, then a token is placed on the table between them, someone yells "BGG" and whichever of them grabs the token gets to draw the first tile.
Playing the Game
Once everyone has a character, each player writes down 1 or 2 obligations their character might face, then all the items are thrown in a hat and one of them is drawn at random. From there, the players set out a story line based on some of their complications. The rules provide an example where one of the characters forgets or ignores a wedding anniversary to join his friends at a sporting event. As is the nature of sit-com dads, he gets caught and winds up having to convince his wife he shouldn't spend the rest of his life on the couch.
As characters move through scenes, they can introduce complications which should make the game more fun for all of them. Complications could be as simple as deciding not to have a beer after promising your wife you won't drink or as complex as trying to convince your rival to keep their mouth shut. Complications are generally resolved with cards. The players start with 10 cards and use them to defeat complications. For a simple check, like jumping a wall, the character draws 2 cards from the deck and adds them to create a target. They then play as many cards from their hand as they like and add their appropriate attribute. In an opposed check, each of the characters involved can play up to three card face down and the higher total wins. Once the check is resolved, all the cards are discarded. Players can get new card by agreeing to a complication or by taking a macho point to put 5 new cards in their hand.
At the end of the game, the characters always get caught and then they try to explain why it wasn't their fault. In this phase, you make an opposed check against a random card draw of two cards. The complication is that for each macho point you've taken, your opponent gets to draw an extra card creating chance of you getting in more trouble.
Extras
There are a number of appendices with tables that might be helpful. Appendix A is 40 manly interests, Appendix B covers potential obligations in three categories (work, kids, spouse), Appendix C provides more than 100 distraction choices in those same three categories, Appendix D is a glossary of terms used in the game and there's a sample character sheet. The document ends with some variants, expert play tips, designer notes, and a list of missing elements or development improvements and finally, a sample play session.
Evaluation
Since this game is the work of a single person in a single day, it would be unreasonable to judge it using the same criteria as a game with a team of developers, artists, playtesters and lengthy development cycles.
This is very much a storytelling game with some minor mechanics to keep it interesting. It's intended to be played without a gm, although it's easy to see where one could be useful. Still, it mostly works without one. The cards mechanic is underwhelming and probably could use more detail; one obvious thing would be to have two different decks, one for players and one for challenge targets.
If you're into the notion of playing a stupid sit-com dad, this isn't a bad choice.
Waffle Wednesdays- Working on graphics and boxes and rules...
Posted: Thu, 07 May 01:37:48
Posted: Thu, 07 May 01:37:48
Elements' condensed rules sheet still needs some more revision. I found some errors today that need fixing before I share the file in the WIP for feedback. The boxes (both a real tuck box and a print & fold tuck box) are coming along.
I'm also revisiting the current print & fold tuck boxes for Lincoln's Cat, Eight Elephants, and Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice as I work on official hook boxes for both Eight Elephants and Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice. These will be sold separately as add-ons. That way, if folks want the box, they can get it, without changing either actual game or the price of either games. Live and learn.
Moving forwards, I'm probably going to start putting games in boxes from the get-go and reserving the print & fold tuck boxes for print & plays.
Also, I've made the decision to re-visit Surfboard Stealin' Sea Otters with an eye to getting this little game on The Game Crafter too. The age rec has to go up. I'm adding a solo scoring chart. The Wild Surfboard doesn't look like a bandaid anymore 😜. I redid the fonts. The black/yellow surfboard has been redone as well (bright flowers on a black board). The new logo is just about done too. Overall, I like where the game is headed.
The cards for 10 Minutes to Midnight are almost redone, but the board is giving me trouble.
Still, progress is progress and I'll take it.
Happy Wednesday and happy playing!
-Rachel
Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe.
I'm also revisiting the current print & fold tuck boxes for Lincoln's Cat, Eight Elephants, and Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice as I work on official hook boxes for both Eight Elephants and Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice. These will be sold separately as add-ons. That way, if folks want the box, they can get it, without changing either actual game or the price of either games. Live and learn.
Moving forwards, I'm probably going to start putting games in boxes from the get-go and reserving the print & fold tuck boxes for print & plays.
Also, I've made the decision to re-visit Surfboard Stealin' Sea Otters with an eye to getting this little game on The Game Crafter too. The age rec has to go up. I'm adding a solo scoring chart. The Wild Surfboard doesn't look like a bandaid anymore 😜. I redid the fonts. The black/yellow surfboard has been redone as well (bright flowers on a black board). The new logo is just about done too. Overall, I like where the game is headed.
The cards for 10 Minutes to Midnight are almost redone, but the board is giving me trouble.
Still, progress is progress and I'll take it.
Happy Wednesday and happy playing!
-Rachel
Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe.
MD 415 The Pomander Configuration w/ Stu Horvath
Posted: Wed, 06 May 23:09:09
Posted: Wed, 06 May 23:09:09
A new episode has been added to the database:
MD 415 The Pomander Configuration w/ Stu Horvath
#156 – 6 Seconds of Torment, Ding of Doom, and Mysterious Ways
Posted: Wed, 06 May 23:07:50
Posted: Wed, 06 May 23:07:50
A new episode has been added to the database:
#156 – 6 Seconds of Torment, Ding of Doom, and Mysterious Ways
