I've just been reading The Committee for the Exploration of Mysteries. It's very well done: the setting of 1930s gentleman's exploration is fantastic and it's one of the best uses of "Committee" I've seen. There's about five games in this contest which I'm keen to play and this is definitely, definitely one of them.
To give you some idea of how keen I was to give feedback on this game: I read it in the bath and my pen ran out. I was reduced to using coffee to mark the things I wanted to mention.
(Thought you'd like to know).
That said, there's lots of things I'd like to tweak about this game. Three main areas, in fact. So, Eric, I hope you don't mind if I sit here and tell you how I'd change the game, and then feel free to ignore me if you don't like the suggestions.
(This is going to be very direct feedback, so bear in mind I really like the game).
First, in the opening section of the game, you seem to be setting us up for the players actually acting their characters, telling stories and drinking their festive beverages. Fantastic. But then, in the text examples, you alternate between the players describing their characters in first and third person and the suggestion that the players are acting their characters comes and goes.
I'd like it to be absolutely clear that the players are playing their character throughout. I'd like the characters to be drawn up in character (perhaps they're writing their biographies or something) and the same with the list of Hazards. I'd like every interjection and veto to be made in character. That last one needs the use of key phrases.
And Key Phrases are the second thing I'm worried about with this game. Sometimes you seem to use key phrases effectively, sometimes not, and sometimes I'd like you to use a key phrase but you don't.
I can think of two reasons to use a key phrase. One: to create a sense of ritual (e.g. "A toast to learning, travel and adventure!"). Two: to enable players to remain in character while making it clear that they're using the game mechanics (e.g. "Little did we know that an unforeseen circumstance was about to occur").
So here's my wishes about your use of Key Phrases:
1. Sometimes, you use a key phrase where it seems that none is needed. For example, "And so, on the appointed day, [Name] arrived in the halls of the Committee". I don't understand the function of this phrase. It'll be clear, when the next player started speaking, that he's introducing his character. Couldn't he just introduce his character however he wants?
2. Sometimes, I'd like you to use a key phrase to enable the characters to perform a game mechanic while remaining in character. For example, when a player vetoes the use of an attribute in overcoming a hazard, I'd love there to be a Key Phrase along the lines of "I hardly think so!".
3. And sometimes, I'd like you to use a key phrase to create a sense of ritual. You do this quite a lot, actually, but there's definitely room for "A toast! To learning, travel and adventure!" to be a set phrase.
And my third general wish - a very minor one - is that I'd like you to use the conventions of etiquette of a gentleman's club more. For example, in a gentleman's club, the port passes to the left. You could pass the festive beverage to the left, so that whoever has the beverage takes the current turn.
As well as all that, I've got some specific points on the text.
1. "Age appropriate"?
2. Since when is beer a festive beverage? How about mulled wine? Brandy? Egg nog?
3. Why is it the oldest player who takes the first turn? I'm just interested in the thinking behind it. It means that, if I play this game more than once, it'll almost always be the same guy who starts.
4. Again, I'm not quite sure about the "With all its members gathered..." key phrase. What purpose does it serve?
5. Which tense should we narrate in? I'd suggest that, to avoid breaking character, everyone should narrate in the past tense.
6. Also, in the Page 9 example, Ed seems to be using narrator-voice: "Zarbon is lounging on the main deck...". So that Ed doesn't have to break character, could he use character-voice: "I remember Mr Zarbon was lounging on the main deck."?
7. I really like cliffhangers.
8. Why do the players put down their glasses immediately when an unknown hazard is called?
8a. When I hear "Little did...", can I down my drink before the phrase is finished? Not that it makes much difference, of course.
9. As a thought: it might make the game more interestingly tactical if you the player who dealt with the unknown hazard was always the player with the fullest (or maybe emptiest) glass. Or, perhaps, for it to be randomised between the fullest and emptiest glass, but never the ones in the middle. There'd be room for lots of tactical drinking, filling of glasses and sudden calling of unknown hazards to catch players out.
10. As a gentleman, Mr Boyd, I would expect you to know that a gentleman never chugs his glass. Seriously, it seems out of keeping with the atmosphere. I'd suggest that one player should (in a gentlemanly way) give way to the other. Or that they should face the obstacle together.
11. In your example on Page 11, Jerry narrates Ashley's character saying "Yes, we do". Is that OK?
12. What happens if the group get separated and it's time for a group hazard?
13. Since the player with the highest Acclaim wins, will this encourage players not to declare unknown hazards towards the end of the game, since they will give other players Acclaim?
14. I think the three minute limit is used very well.
15. On page 13, the phrase "aggressively frames" is nasty gamer language.
16. Couldn't the players narrate how an attribute will be used to overcome a hazard, rather than just stating it?
17. At the moment, you roll the dice, then push each one forward to narrate something. This means I know exactly how many dice I must push forward to overcome the obstacle. It also means that I may know, right at the start, whether I can overcome an obstacle. Wouldn't it be more suspenseful if I rolled each dice as I narrated overcoming each complication?
18. In your example, you say that, when using Charisma to bluff a guard, I can't narrate using a bullwhip simply to get dice. But isn't it possible that the complications push the conflict in a totally different direction - for example, "the guard pulls his gun"?
19. The phrase "But, of course, in the end it was of no consequence" is rather a let down at the end of a story. Perhaps something else? How about if another player cuts the narrating player off with "And, to cut a long story short, he escaped unharmed" or something?
20. When character have assisted each other, must they all say "But, of course, in the end it was of no consequence" in unison?
21. And to clarify: after players have assisted each other, play moves to the player to the left of the last player that assisted. Is that right?
22. To be clear: in Group Hazard Resolution, you get more dice if you change to an attribute with more d6s, but you don't have to take away dice if you change to an attribute with less d6s, do you?
23. On Using Acclaim: when you say "spend one Acclaim", that means it's gone, and you can't get back, does it?
24. Generally, in Using Acclaim, I'm worried that the player who has most Acclaim is given mechanical assistance to get even more Acclaim.
25. There's something about the second use of Acclaim - to add hazard dice - that doesn't seem right. It seems unfair that I can reduce the Acclaim that someone else gets from a hazard so dramatically - especially as this helps the player who has more Acclaim stop other players getting Acclaim.
26. Are you sure you want characters to die? It doesn't seem to fit, somehow.
Thanks, Eric. That was great to read and it's looking like a very strong game. Count me in to playtest. Well, after Easter, anyway (I've given up festive beverages for Lent).
Graham