The Red Token

The Red Token is a game about the consequences of what one was willing to do for power, and dealing with the past. Can there be redemption? Should there be? Recommended for 3 to 5 players.

Theme

The players play former participants dealing with life among the remnants of an oppressive, totalitarian regime. The game’s milieu and setting can be realistic (e.g., post-WWII Germany), fantasy (e.g., the last followers of a fallen dark wizard), science fiction (e.g., a post-revolution Mars Colony), or whatever else the players may desire. The common themes for all games should be that (1) many of the players did horrible things and were complicit to some degree in the fallen regime’s actions; (2) it is not clear at the outset what each player knows about each other’s actions or what they may think of them; (3) the political winds have drastically changed, and each of the player characters are under suspicion by the public at large for their roles in the fallen regime.

The game asks two central questions of all players: How does one balance self-interest with the winds of change? How does one address one’s past and the potential for redemption?

Materials

●	5 tokens for each player, four white and one red
●	A standard pack of 52 playing cards with 2 Jokers
●	A stack of index cards and pens
●	A sheet of paper and pencils to serve as a shared map.

Setting

First, all players should agree on a setting. Should it be set in a real world space (e.g., post-Nazi Germany, or post-Khmer Rouge Kampuchea), or some kind of fantastical setting (the Kingdom of Flup, or Ice Station Europa)? Players are encouraged to discuss these choices openly, and with consideration of situations that might make certain players uncomfortable. Players should be open about their concerns, and express their desire for fictional distance if the topic matter and setting of the game strike too close to home to be a comfortable play experience.

During this set-up phase, players will use cards and the sheet of paper to develop initial settings for the story, as well as the history of the world.

●	What is the city (or village, location, moon base, or whatever) where the game is set? Collectively give it a name, write it at the top of the map.
●	Shuffle the deck of cards, and each player pulls two cards from the top of the deck, visible to all players. Each card suit provides the player with a choice -- either for their character’s role, or for a feature on the map.
○	Diamonds — Role: former banker; Location: the hiding place of records.
○	Clubs — Role: A former soldier; Location: the site of a secret prison.
○	Spades — Role: A former member of the secret police; Location: the secret burial site.
○	Hearts — Role: A former journalist; Location: the current center of government.
○	Joker — Wild card; The player’s choice of any other character role or location.
●	Each player should declare which of their cards they choose to fit which role, and which they allocate toward a location on the map. For each of the roles, the player should come up with a character name, write it down on an index card in front of them. For each of the locations, the player should draw it on the map and verbally describe to all players how it’s connected (or not) to the other locations on the map. All locations should be assumed to be secret other than the current seat of government (the new government, which has now superseded the fallen regime). Choose multiple roles, at least three different ones.

After this, shuffle all cards back into the deck. With this basis and the beginnings of a map, players should have the skeleton of a setting and characters, but many questions. Each player should take a spare index card and write down a question they have about the setting or about a character, and place it next to the map — these can range from details (e.g.,”Who is buried at the secret burial site?”) to motivations (e.g., “What does the journalist most want to discover?”) to additional elements of the setting (e.g., “Why did the previous regime fall?”) These questions should drive future scenes, and are kept on the table throughout the game.

Play

The game begins with the first player (determine however the group pleases) again drawing two cards from the deck of cards. Cards will be drawn during the game to frame scenes, as well as present challenges for players, and each will provoke a scene between two players. Each suit reflects the reveal of one of four situations in the characters’ pasts that must be engaged with by the players in the scene. Depending upon the card played, the scene will focus on building characters and relationships (any numbered card between 2-10), will necessitate a change to the world of the game (Aces), or will force a moral challenge to be dealt with by the players (Face Cards). 

Character-Building:
Diamonds (2-10): A secret shared or revealed
Clubs (2-10):	A moment of violence hidden or recalled
Spades (2-10): A dark agreement made or challenged
Hearts (2-10): A chance for redemption sought or hampered

Events:
Aces: Map changes.
Face Cards: Moral challenges.
Jokers: Wild cards.

Based on the card the player chose, they first declare which card they wish to use, with the caveat that no Hearts may be played  during the first round (chances for redemption shouldn’t happen immediately — if a Heart of any kind is drawn in the first round, discard and draw a new card to replace it). Players may choose to set their scenes during the previous regime, during the fall of that regime, or afterwards, but must be clear with other players about which it is before the scene begins. The scene can begin in an established location on the map, or the player may use one of his or her white tokens to declare a new location on the map where the scene will be set, drawing it and describing it briefly to the other players.

Character-Building

For example, Jerry, playing Amélia the Journalist, pulls a A♣ and a 3♦. He chooses to play the 3♦, indicating that he’d like to play a scene wherein a secret is shared or revealed. He picks Lydia, playing Jessica, a member of the secret police, to have the scene with. Jerry wants a new location for this scene, and spends a white token to create the “ruins of the library,” drawing the site on the map, and describing a little bit (“This was the central library in the city, but is now a ruins after the massive shelling that ended the previous regime.”)

During the scene, the player declaring the scene begins by stating what they wish to get out of the scene (in the previous example focusing on a secret, for instance, Jerry might say “I want Amélia to find out what role Jessica had in the disappearance of Amélia’s brother, Edward”). The scene is then played out by both players, bringing in any other characters as necessary, or NPCs brought in as the situation necessitates (played by other players). The scene ends when players agree that an answer has been given for the initial question.

One caveat -- if, at the end of a scene, the scene resolves in a fashion that another player strongly disagrees with, or that they feel their character would strongly fight, oppose, or otherwise challenge, they may spend a white token at the end of the scene to augment and alter its events, meaning, or perspective. For instance, if at the end of Jerry and Lydia’s scene, Amélia discovers that Jessica was responsible for Edward’s murder, another player (Malik, for instance), can spend a white token to change the result of the scene (Malik could insist, then, that Jessica may have committed Edward’s murder, but it was done under the orders of Malik’s character, David). These changes are non-negotiable — if a player goes to the lengths of spending a token, their changes are adopted for the story. That said, players cannot completely negate the previous events by playing a token (so, Malik can’t say “Oh, your brother’s not really dead, I don’t like that”). Rather, players should view the use of a white token as a “Yes, and…” moment where they can affirm the previous choices, but add a new and significant twist.

All spent white tokens are removed from the game.

Events

If a player chooses to play an Ace or a Face Card, special events take place which, in the case of Aces, alter the shared map and, in the case of Face Cards, provide moral challenges for the characters. With each of these events comes a question, posed to the players which should be answered through the subsequent scene (or scenes, if there are repercussions that spread through the game). These are listed below:

Ace of Diamonds: Add something new that will be in the process of construction on the map. How do other characters react to this?

Ace of Clubs: Add a new place that will serve as a seat of power on the map. Whose power, and who will this adversely affect?

Ace of Spades: Add something new that is hidden or secret on the map. Who knows about it, and why?

Ace of Hearts: Add a new important community site to the map. How does this facilitate revealing player secrets?

For the Face Cards, each provides a description of an act that needs to happen within the subsequent scene (or scenes, depending on the scope), each pushing the story into increasingly difficult territory. These include:

	King of Diamonds: An act depriving another of wealth.
	Queen of Diamonds: An act of theft.
	Jack of Diamonds: An act of petty greed.

	King of Clubs: An act of physical violence against another player’s character.
	Queen of Clubs: An act to control someone else’s will.
	Jack of Clubs: An act of intimidation.

	King of Spades: An act of torture, psychological or physical.
	Queen of Spades: An act to subjugate someone’s will and identity.
	Jack of Spades: An act of deliberate, scheming trauma.

	King of Hearts: An act of contrition.
	Queen of Hearts: An act of selflessness.
	Jack of Hearts: An act of compassion.

For each of the Face Card scenes, the player on the spot must clearly resolve the following question: Should one act in one’s self-interest, or for the good of the community? Each act may seem to imply a simple answer to this question, but this is not necessarily the case. For instance, torturing a character (via a King of Spades) would seem to imply working in one’s self-interest, but this may be misleading. Consider the ways in which events that fit these actions may be interpreted as self-interested, or for the good of the community, or some gray area between them — for instance, how has the torture of others historically been seen as a tool to wield in justifying the protection of a community?

Each of the Ace and Face Card events are intended to both drive the story forward, while also giving players the opportunity to reflect upon their characters’ actions, and what they’d be willing to do to save themselves versus atone for past crimes.

If a player chooses to play a Joker, they may choose any Ace or Face Card event they wish to play, or whichever they see as most interesting to move the story forward

The Red Token
Tokens are spent in two situations, dependent upon the color of the token. White tokens can be used, as stated above, to declare a new location for a scene, or to challenge the result of a scene. But Red Tokens serve a special role in the game, which bears a bit more description. Red Tokens are only used to mark other players’ actions in the game, and in a way that indicates finality and judgment.

During every scene, consider:

●	Has another player’s character reached a point in which their present actions have redeemed their prior actions?
●	Has another player’s character reached a point in which they have shown that they are beyond redemption?

If and when this occurs, at the end of the spotlight player’s scene, hold up a red token, declare that you are giving it to the player, place it in front of them, and then briefly describe your rationale. This is your only red token to give to another player, so give it only after great consideration (any red tokens placed in front of you do not become part of your token pool, they just indicate another player’s perception of your character).

Epilogue

The game plays in rounds of one scene per player. Play continues until after all of the white tokens have been played, or all of the red tokens have been played. Once the end of the game triggers, each player has the opportunity to provide a brief epilogue for their character, in the voice of their character. Once the game session is over, devote some time for debriefing and collective discussion of the story that evolved.