Martin Ralya

Most of the major players in the storygames movement have contributed to this volume. When it's on, it's very on: Vincent Baker, Robin Laws, Ken Hite, and Jason Morningstar have some great essays on conversations, shared imaginations, and making it work. The other contributors also have lots of advice on listening, saying "Yes, and...", and getting weird in a game. The weakness in this collection is a lot of repetition-too many intros defining improvisation and its use in RPGS, which could show more have been worked through by a stronger editorial vision (but yeah, then some people might not have contributed...), and some odd gaps in practice. Saying that you should listen is easy, actually listening is hard. And one of the most promising ideas, asking questions of your players to draw out their hooks and story elements, isn't explored in depth. Overall, an inspiring collection but one that might be hard to use. show less

The book starts with an example taken from Firefly and social encounters, at which point I'm already hooked. It then continues with collaborative gaming and tips on the art of storytelling on the fly, all very useful. Some of the essays are pretty basic, some seem to drift away from the general concept of the book, but there are some jewels, like Morningstar’s (the maker of Fiasco) that throw a shower of insight and for those alone the book is worth it. It could be better edited, however, show more I found a few typos. All in all, this little book is one of the best things I’ve read about running roleplaying games. show less

A series of short essays about improvisational techniques for gamers, mostly derived from improv theatre.