Microscope

Microscope describes itself as "a fractal role-playing game of epic histories." This is a big claim, perhaps insanely ambitious, but Microscope might just be able to pull it off. I haven't had a chance to play Microscope, so this based just on reading the text, but that said:

I've theorized roleplaying games as about Structured Negotiation. In that regard, Microscope gives you a very powerful and elegant way to narratively generate histories. The nested structure of Period-Event-Scene intuitively let players control the scale of the game. Scenes, the core roleplaying bits, are cleverly framed by use of a Question which must be decided. The rules themselves give a lot of power to each player in turn, demanding contributions from everybody show more in the hotseat, and discouraging collaboration and play by consensus. Your epic history is supposed to be a spiky mess.

Where I am less sure about Microscope is it's ability to resolve impasses, when players disagree or have no good idea. The game is a little shaky on how long (in real time) everything is supposed to take. Like most story games, tMicroscope needs a high trust, imaginative groups.

Regardless, I'm very excited to get a chance to play Microscope and see how it works. show less