In a sentence, you sit around discussing dreams and then roll some dice to determine who the ‘winner’ is. That’s really all there is to Once Upon A Dream, although I have to also note that the layout is built around two pretty paintings.
This is a tiny little game. If you just typed it out, I don’t think it would take up a quarter of a page. But it doesn’t seem incomplete. It doesn’t feel like it has to be any more than that.
Over the last few years, for a wide variety of reasons, I have become very interested in short form games and game poems. I’m not sure if I will ever be in a groups where that is something where they can really get played, particularly game poems. (One-shots resigned for two to four hours, that I can see)
However, they are still interesting concepts. They need to be tightly focused, like Spider Jerusalem’s gun with only one bullet, shooting your expectations in the knee cap.
I had problems with the game/track right before Once Upon A Dream, Howls in the Half-Light, because the idea and the potential were too big for the format. On the other hand, Once Upon A Dream is a tiny game for a tiny idea. It’s just big enough for its size.
It is silly and whimsical and probably takes a half an hour at best. If I did end up with a group who wants to play a game like this, it’s probably get two plays tops. But I think it would be fun that one or two times.
No comments:
Post a Comment