The Reunion: A story/freeform game for 4-6 players.

The Reunion is a game about families, secrets, and people dealing with the past. Players use commonplace objects to ground their stories and to reveal secrets about their relationships.

Setup

First, players should agree on tone -- The Reunion could end up in uncomfortable territory for players with histories of familial strife. If this tone is desired, it should be discussed and negotiated ahead of time.

Next, players should collectively visit a thrift store, charity shop, flea market, yard sale, or some other spot where one might be able to acquire used household items, ranging from the unusual to the mundane. Together, the group must find one each of the following items:

 1.	A piece of clothing (that could be reasonably worn by multiple players). Examples: A sports jersey, a wedding dress, a threadbare sweater, a trucker hat, etc.
 2.	A book (commonly-known by multiple players). Examples: A dogeared Bible, a paperback copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a volume in the Time/Life Mysteries of the Unknown book series, etc.
 3.	An LP, cassette, or CD (that can be played). Examples: A random mix tape, a CD of Blink 182’s Enema of the State, any Harry Nilsson LP, etc.

Atop these three items, players should find several of the following:

 1.	A board game, anything from Clue to The Ungame to a broken Connect Four set
 2.	A mug, plate, or piece of cutlery; usable isn’t necessary, just something memorable, worn, or broken
 3.	A framed picture, of a family, art, or an inspirational print
 4.	A doll, perhaps cute, perhaps haunting
 5.	A tourist memento, such as a commemorative spoon or a snow-globe or just a pen
 6.	An old piece of electronic equipment, such as a Discman, an SNES controller, or the power plus for an old cell phone.

Including the clothing, book, and music, the play group should acquire one more object than the number of players (so, for four players, five objects; e.g., clothing, a book, music, doll, and a picture). Once objects have been acquired, players reconvene somewhere private to play (along with a stack of index cards and some Sharpies).

Tokens

Each player has 10 tokens. Each token represents an element of influence and authority they can use during the game. Each player's tokens should be distinct from the others. 

Facts 

When ready to play, players should sit at a table, with the objects at the center. In succession, each player picks up an object and places it between them and the player to their left. This continues clockwise, until there is an object between each of the players, and one left in the center. Each of the objects (the clothing, the book, the music, and the rest) are what we’ll call Touchstones, while the object left in the center of the table is the Centerpiece. These will serve as narrative seeds for the rest of the game, and will bind each of the players at the table.

Next, players need to pin down some specifics for the setting. There are three questions that need to be answered by the group before the game:

 ●	Where and when is this family reconvening?
 ●	Why were they driven apart?
 ●	Why have they come back together?

Together, players write answers to each of these on an index card and put them at the center of the table. The first question may be dictated by the choice of Touchstone and Centerpiece object — while jarring anachronisms are fine, keep in mind you’ll have to come up with some explanation during the game.

The setting should give an initial grounding for the story, and should be discovered by the group in whatever order the players please. One player could suggest “We’re in 1988, American suburbia,” followed by “Yeah, and we’re coming back together after Grandpa died,” with a third player adding “We were driven apart after what Grandpa did to Lisa.” Vagaries are good at this stage — the suburbia could be in a Southern California sprawl, or in rural Ohio; what “Grandpa did to Lisa” could range from horrifying (abuse) to funny (Grandpa crashed Lisa’s prom). This is up to the players, and, again, tone should be discussed with the players to make sure no one is caught unaware by potentially upsetting developments in the game.

These cards are the Facts, things that are true about the situation.  

Characters

Next, each player needs to come up with a concrete character in the family. Each player should discuss their Touchstone object with the person to their right (so, the person who placed it there). What might the object evoke for each player, and how does it imply something about each role they have in the family?

Familial roles can be traditional or not, based on the interests of the players, but can include: Mother, father, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, foster child, grandparent, step-parent, cousin, black sheep, etc. Players should successively go around the table, picking up the object and negotiating with other players what each role might mean for the family, given its setting, what broke the family apart, and what event has brought them back together. 

For example, players Adam and Belinda have a scratched CD single of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” sitting between them, placed there by Belinda. Adam might start with: “Well, if it’s 1988, this song is pretty current, so I’m guessing we’re probably teenagers…?” With Belinda following up by deciding that they should be cousins, one of whom turned the other on to “alternative music.” Adam decides his character should be “Lisa,” while Betty decides her character should be “Andrea.” Both write their character names and roles (cousins) on a folded index card in front of them, and the character creation moves counter-clockwise, with Betty now negotiating with Carlos about the worn pair of sneakers between them.

Secrets

Each player has a secret regarding each of their Touchstone objects, and a secret regarding the Centerpiece object. Each player writes this on a single index card, placed face down next to the object. At the end of the game, some of these will be revealed, while many will not -- these will drive final revelations that help to wrap up the game.

Gameplay
The player with the most inquisitive character goes first. Play proceeds counter clockwise around the table. 
On their turn, the player frames a scene about how they discover the secret then looks at the secret if they end up controlling it. 
On your turn, you must attempt to control a secret. 
To do this, place a token on a secret. If you have the most tokens on the secret, you now control the secret. If you control the secret, you may read the secret. If you lose control you still know the secret but you may not look at the secret.
When placing tokens, you may place any amount of tokens up to the number you have left. 
You may chose to place an additional token on a secret you already control instead of placing tokens on new secrets.  
Instead of placing a token on a secret you may claim an unclaimed secret with no tokens on it. Claiming costs no tokens, but is easily overturned. Claiming a secret with tokens on it has no effect unless the controlling player gives you control. 
Controlling or claiming a secret represents having some sort of proof such as blackmail photos, a collection of letters, or incriminating tax records. 
On your turn, set the scene describing in character how you are discovering secrets or how you are finding the information. 
Knowing Secrets
When you write a secret at the start of the game, you are considered to know the secret. At that point, no one else knows the secret. 
When you gain control or claim of a secret, you may read the text of the secret. If so, you now know the secret. You may share this knowledge with whomever you wish. Anyone you show the text of the card to knows the secret. 
Only the controlling player may pick up and look at the text of a secret. 
Revealing Secrets
On your turn, you may choose to reveal a secret you control. This turns the secret face up, making it a fact. Any characters mentioned in the secret lose half their tokens (rounding down). Any tokens place on the secret are discarded. You no longer have control over the secret and it does not count towards your number of controlled secrets. 
You count as being mentioned in the secret if you are named or if you are described or clearly referred to. If a secret refers to “the Count's murderer” and you earlier were revealed to be the murderer, then you are referred to. 
When revealing a secret, you first announce that you are intending to reveal a secret and which secret you intend to reveal. Other players may attempt to bribe, blackmail, or persuade you to not reveal it. Once you reveal your secret to the group, any other player may also follow up by revealing secrets mentioning you as punishment.
Revealing Your Own Secrets
As a response to someone announcing they intend to reveal a secret, you may reveal a secret that refers to you. To do this, you must know the secret (either have written it at the start of the game or seen the text of the card). 
If the other player proceeds to reveal their secret, you may reveal this secret. Instead of losing half your tokens for being referred to, you lose one token. All other people referred to by the secret lose half their tokens.  
If another player controlled this secret, they no longer do and it has become a fact as if it was revealed normally. They do not get any of their tokens back.
If you attempt to do this for a secret that does not actually refer to you, you fail and must sacrifice half your tokens. The secret is now public and the other players do not lose any tokens from you revealing it. The controller of the secret gains back any tokens spent on the secret.  
Mysteries
Mysteries are new secrets created as the game progresses. When a revealed secret contradicts existing facts, a Mystery is created. On a note card, write the reason the mystery exists. Place the card blank side down next to the appropriate Centerpiece or Touchstone. 
From this point on these count as secrets. The first player to take control of the mystery may write the solution to the mystery, solving the conflicting facts. This can include saying that an existing fact is a lie. The player should write the solution to the mystery on the blank side of the card and return it face down to the table.  
Game Conclusion
The game ends when all players are out of tokens and all secrets are controlled or claimed. 
Before the revelation of the final winner, any player that controls a secret tied to a touchstone may reveal that secret to force that player to reveal one of their secrets. Neither of these secrets count toward the total controlled secrets. 
If a player manages to earn tokens during the endgame, they may spend this to snatch control of a secret if they can place more tokens on the secret than the current controller has placed. 
If all secrets have been revealed and no secrets are under control, the entire table has come to a heart-wrenching but hopeful conclusion. Each player may narrate their challenging but optimistic ending. 
Otherwise, the player controlling the most secrets tied to the Centerpiece is the winner. This player chooses which characters are ruined and which are not. The winner narrates their victorious ending and how they used their victory to ruin the people they ruined. Any ruined players narrate their characters ultimate dismal fates. Any remaining characters narrate their continued menial existence in the shadow of the winner.  
If there is no winner, than the entire family is in ruins. Every character's story ends in tears. Each player narrates how their characters' life proceeds in misery, torment, and perhaps even death.  
Narrative Play
Each turn should be played as a narrative scene set up by the player describing them exploring looking for clues, breaking into a relatives belongings to find evidence, or gathering the family to make a grand accusation. 
Still needed: 
Make the objects more important to the game. The centerpiece is somehow the most important object in the game and at the center of the conflict. 
Is 10 tokens enough?