Threeforged Design Challenge
Entry #15133
If At First You Don’t Succeed
 
08:00 Introduction
 
This game explores how a series of choices and actions build a story – and how that story might change if we could go back in time and act differently. How many times would you have to try again before you got it right? What needs to be redone, and what will just make it worse? 

07:00 Inspirations
 
The game takes inspiration from the films Run Lola Run, Groundhog Day, The Edge of Tomorrow, and Back to the Future. In case you’ve never watched any of those, they are all about time travel, as is this game.

06:00 What You Need
 
·  3-5 players
·  Scenario printouts
·  Deck of 54 poker cards, including two jokers
·  Notecards
·  Pens/pencils

05:00 Setup
 
Select a scenario from section 00:00. The scenario will have a huge impact on what type of story you can tell, and what sorts of actions will be permitted by the characters, so make sure that everyone is on board with the chosen scenario. If someone at the table is not interested in the story, it will be less fun for everyone, since engaged players will help make the story itself more engaging. If players are having trouble agreeing, try asking them what they are most interested in about the scenario they want, and see if those elements can be brought into a different story.

Each scenario has a series of questions. One player should volunteer to read the questions aloud, and another person to record people’s answers. Brainstorm answers to the questions, and come up with as many ideas as possible! Once the group is excited about an idea, write it down, and keep the notecard it’s written on accessible during the game, so that players can reference it for inspiration or a reminder of the themes.

Before you begin the story, decide whether or not you want your characters to be aware of their ability to redo actions. Do they know what’s going on, or are you and the rest of the players acting as omniscient gods, ruling above all and making executive decisions? Both of these options can have interesting repercussions for play, and there is no right or wrong answer here. It is important, however, that everyone be on the same page, since half the characters knowing what is going on and half the characters experiencing something for the first time could be a source of potential conflict between players. Talk it over before the game starts, and see which one people are most interested in playing. Are you more interested in seeing how our choices affect our outcomes, or do you want the added confusion of players knowing they’ve already done this before?

Once you’ve made your decision, it’s time to make characters! 

04:00 Character Creation

One player deals a hand of seven cards to each player. Deal each player one card at a time, continuing around the table until everyone holds a full hand. Set aside the remaining cards - they are not required for the game.

The hand that has been dealt is the basis of your character- use the lists of Attributes and Roles for the different scenarios to flesh out your character. You only need to use 5 of the seven cards, although you may use all seven if you wish. You may use as many Attributes and as many Roles as you like- there is no minimum number of either that you must choose. Suit does not matter for the purposes of this game- only the number of the card will be used.  Write down what you choose for your character on a note card, and keep it in front of you during the game. This will help you remember who you are, and will also serve as a reference for the rest of the table, if they need help remembering, or what to know what kind of scene would be best to play in with your character.

After everyone has chosen their character attributes and roles, take the time to introduce your character to the other players. Everyone should tell the rest of the players the name of their character, as well as some basic information- gender, pronouns, what they look like, etc. Take this opportunity to tell the rest of the players about the neat character you’ve come up with based on the cards you’ve drawn- here is the place to tell everyone about the gaps the cards left in your head, and what details you decided to fill them in with to flesh out your character.  

Once everyone knows a little bit about who everyone else is, players can begin forming relationships with the other characters. 
 
Before play begins, it’s important to have a relationship web between the characters. Each character should have at least one connection to every other player. Each player will pick two questions to ask other people at the table. The person who is asked the question will answer, establishing the relationship between the two characters. 

Here are a list of questions to guide players, although you may come up with your own as well if you desire. These questions are not simple yes or no questions, and they should lead to some revealing answers from the other players. If you do choose to ask your own question, try to think of something that will highlight an interesting part of your past relationship.
 
        	~What did you do for me when I was sad?
        	~What happened to make me no longer trust you?
        	~When did you first know that I was in love with you?
        	~How much money do I owe you, and do you think I can ever pay it back?
        	~Why did we stop being friends?
	~Why can’t you forgive me?
	~Why won’t you leave me alone?
	~What were you thinking when you left me alone that night?
	~Do you think we’ll ever be able to be friends again?
 
Let the setting you’ve selected direct your choice of the details surrounding these questions, but don’t be afraid if your answer isn’t specific to the setting- having more interesting personal relationships will help you out in any setting. 

03:00 Starting Your Story
 
Read the scenario goal aloud to the players again, just to remind them of what the goal of this story is. Your story is about striving towards this goal with the rest of the people at the table. No matter what the . At the end of the initial telling of the story, and all but the final retelling, you will not achieve the goal. Success only comes once many possibilities have been explored, and the group decides that they are ready to succeed in their endeavor.
 
Whoever volunteers to go first will start by setting a scene, describing where it takes place and which characters are involved. The players play their characters, with whoever is not in the scene playing any non-player characters who are involved as the scene unfolds.
 
End the scene when it feels finished. Anyone can call the scene when they feel it has advanced far enough. If people disagree about when to end the scene, try and play a little longer to see if you can get everyone on board with ending the scene. Once the scene is ended, write on a notecard what was important about the scene that just happened. Include details about what the players did, and perhaps where they did it. If they scene had a specific outcome, be sure to include it! Be sure to leave blank space for notes in future scenes, since each individual element of the timeline may change.
 
Continuing clockwise, each player establishes a new scene, making sure that each scene is somehow driving towards the goal, and that each scene is done in chronological order, with the group roleplaying the scene to resolution. Place each notecard one after another on the table to form the timeline of your story, so that the players can see the path the story is taking.
 
It’s ok if the scenes aren’t accomplishing much, or if they end in disaster for your characters- in fact, the worse the scenes go, the more room there is to change what happens and fix things on a subsequent go round!
 
Each player establishes one scene per telling of the story. When everyone has set a scene, work together to come up with a scene that you will all participate in, documenting how you fail to meet the goal of the scenario. When this scene ends, this version of the story is complete. You now have a story timeline, represented by the row of cards on the table. The next step is to figure out “what went wrong?” and try to fix it up!

02:00 Retelling Your Story
 
Start with another volunteer to go first.  This time, whoever goes first will be in charge of changing a scene. They will choose one of the scenes already on the table, and decide what happens this time. For example, you might decide to redo the car chase scene. If that’s the case, setting a scene might look something like this: “Ok, I want to redo the car chase scene, but this time, instead of falling off the cliff at the end and landing on the backs of porpoises to escape, we’re going to be rescued by a group of farmers in tractors.” Start the scene right before the divergence- there is no use in playing the exact same scene all the way through twice, as this will just bore everyone at the table! 

Once the scene is done, add the new information about that scene to the note card that hold that scene’s information. Talk about whether or not you think the changes to the scene have affected any other details on the cards- if they have, write them down, and incorporate them into any new scenes that are chosen.
 
Continue as before, roleplaying the new scene to resolution. Moving clockwise, each player establishes a new scene. Players can choose to redo any scene- even one that another player has already redone! When players are choosing scenes, they must incorporate both the change that the person setting the scene requested AND any details that the players have added over the course of changing other scenes. For example, if at the end of the previously mentioned car chase scene, players decide that the tractors that come to save them were important in a different scene later on, those tractors would need to be present in that scene if it is chosen to be redone.

This may get complicated! Don’t worry, and don’t let your own canon screw you up. It’s ok if certain repercussions are missed, or not noticed until later- this is time travel, and time travel is messy and complicated!
 
Explore how this version of the timeline is different as a result of the new actions played. Reuse elements of the story in different ways, adding color and building on previously established facts. In the last scene the protagonist still fails to meet the scenario goal.

01:00 Final Retelling
 
Play the final retelling as before, with the group coming up with a scene together, with one important difference – this time, you succeed! Resolve your story. Take your time and make this one rewarding, pulling from the best of what’s happened before and exceeding it. Pull out all the stops, go big, and be epic!

00:00 Epilogue

At this point, give everyone a chance to give a brief description of what their character is doing in the wake of their success. Has it changed their life? Are they still the same person they were going into the situation?

-01:00 Scenarios
 
Zombie Apocalypse – Do You Know the Drill?
 
Setting Questions
• Does your story have any additional genres? Is it the zombie apocalypse in Steampunk England? Zombie apocalypse in space? Zombie apocalypse during the industrial revolution? Zombie apocalypse during the rise of the Aztec Empire?
• Was the zombie apocalypse the result of government negligence, a toxic waste spill, or an animal flu mutation? 
• Where are you? Are you somewhere rural? Somewhere urban?   
• Why did you survive the initial outbreak?

Goal: Make it to Seattle, WA. The goal is always make it to Seattle, regardless of where the players start out. If Seattle does not exist in your timeline for your particular zombie apocalypse, then you may generalize to the Pacific Northwest of the United States (or where that would be, if the US also doesn’t exist in your timeline.) Why? Figure it out! 

Roles	Attributes	
Ace: libertarian redneck
King: small town politician
Queen: kindergarten teacher
Jack: local food-eating celebrity
10: police officer
9: unicycling legen
8: ex-soldier turned dog breeder
7: strung out addict
6: famous rapper
5: detective
4: gynecologist
3: religious scientist
2: atheist priest
Joker: rival	Ace: deadly
King: defender
Queen: quick
Jack: sacrificial
10: brave
9: planner
8: talker
7: selfish
6: generous
5: escape artist
4: coward
3: glutton
2: explorer
Joker: liar	

The Retirement Job – A Heist
 
Setting Description:
• What museum do you hope to take these diamonds from?
• What, exactly, is the target of the Heist? Are they heirlooms, crown jewels, ancient artifacts? How are these diamonds protected?  Who does it belong to?
• Who will you hurt by stealing these diamonds?
• What resources do you have, and how will they help you steal the diamonds?

Goal: Carry off the perfect heist and remove a set of five beautiful diamonds from the museum of your choice! The diamonds are currently on display in a traveling exhibit that is touring the globe, so you must act quickly in order to take them!

Roles	Attributes	
Ace: recent college graduate
King: inspector of diamonds
Queen: heir/ess to corn throne
Jack: acrobatics instructor
10: pickpocket/banker
9: actor
8: demolitions expert
7: curator
6: customs official
5: barista
4: con artist
3: actual artist
2: hacker
Joker: rival diamond inspector	Ace: knock-out
King: distracted
Queen: flashy
Jack: trickster
10: bored
9: risk taker
8: romantic
7: tired
6: comical
5: hair-obsessed
4: charmer
3: seductive
2: cocky
Joker: presumptuous	

 
 
Around the world in eighty days (but hopefully less)
 
Setting Description:
• What are the rules of this race around the world? What kind of transport is prohibited?
• What makes this race a big deal?  Is it legal, or sanctioned by more unsavory sorts?  What makes it life and death?
• What does your team call itself?
• Who is the biggest threat to your team during this race?

Goal: Your team must be the first to get across the finish line of this huge, spectacular race around the world! If you don’t, it’s very possible that you will die. Why? Figure it out!

Roles	Attributes	
Ace: hot-shot driver
King: hot air balloon mechanic
Queen: car mechanic
Jack: journalist
10: secret saboteur
9: world class biker
8: NASCAR driver
7: lucky idiot
6: professional sports player
5: mobster
4: high school physics teacher
3: Olympic gymnast
2: Professional hockey player
Joker: star of “Stars on Ice”	Ace: bouncy
King: distracted
Queen: mover and shaker
Jack: trickster
10: irritable
9: calculating
8: quiet
7: courageous
6: sassy
5: fast
4: charming
3: intelligent
2: petty
Joker: excellent liar	

 
 
Kaiju Attack – Fight a Giant Monster
 
Setting Description:
• What are the ways in which you are going to attempt to bring peace to a monster-torn land? Diplomacy? Awesome robots? Nukes? All of the above?
• What are the monsters like? How did they get here? How many are there?
• Where are you? Do you care about the city you’re protecting?  
• What is common knowledge about the monsters? What is a secret from the public?

Goal: Defend the city from the giant horrifying monsters! How you do this is completely up to you. A peace treaty, a truce with the monsters, or just kicking the shit out of the monsters are all acceptable ways to achieve this, as long as in the end, you’re the heroes, and the monsters are no longer rampaging!

Roles	Attributes	
Ace: kaiju expert
King: general of an army
Queen: car mechanic
Jack: high school drop out
10: jack of all trades
9: biologist
8: cryptozoologist
7: organic farmer
6: engineer
5: pop star
4: ace pilot
3: researcher
2: politician
Joker: trophy spouse	Ace: braggart
King: defender of the peace
Queen: hoarder
Jack: trickster
10: strategic
9: powerful
8: delicate
7: ornery
6: hilarious
5: escapee
4: beautiful
3: whiny
2: questioning
Joker: team player	

 
 
Cyberpunk Conspiracy – Free Data, Free Minds
 
Setting Description:
• What is the information you are trying to expose? Is it a scandal? Evidence of wrong doing? Life saving cures?
• What is augmented reality like? Who gets cyberware and why?
• Where are you?  
• What sort of cyberware do you have? How does it compare to what the government has?

Goal: Make the truth go global! Your government is hiding something- something big, something mind blowing, and something that you just KNOW everyone on earth deserves to know! Uncover the truth and spread it to the masses, through any means necessary.

Roles	Attributes	
Ace: technophobe cultist
King: CEO
Queen: street doctor
Jack: reporter
10: mercenary
9: AI
8: talk show host
7: junk seller
6: engineer
5: cyber seller
4: drone pilot
3: street hacker
2: public sanitation employee
Joker: e-sports star	Ace: slimy
King: trustworthy
Queen: scared
Jack: commanding
10: domineering
9: thinker
8: gabby
7: sullen
6: smarmy
5: kind
4: entrepreneurial
3: enterprising
2: bionic
Joker: upgraded	

 
 
-00:02 Extra Items to Consider
 
Images
 
Think about integrating images into your game! If you have time between choosing your scenario and telling the first version of the story, build up a ‘morgue file’ of character images you think would enrich the experience. Even a couple of evocative location images can bring inspiration to everyone at the table. Images sometimes allow for surprising associations to be built where verbal description alone wouldn’t.
 
Here are some fun sources for images;
~The Internet
~Fashion Magazines
~Old Comic Books
~Yearbooks
~Video Game Art/Sourcebooks

Confusion
 
Forgive mistakes! Not just the mistakes your fellow players make, but also your own. The retellings will build up and confusion will come easy. Slow down, take notes, and recap with the support of the other players.