In this game the players are dead heroes of the Elysian Fields with nagging issues related to their former lives. In order to deal with these issues, they volunteer to aid Persephone and the other gods in preparing for a wedding in the underworld and perform a play as part of the entertainment during the wedding itself. By gaining the gods’ favor, they may put their issues to rest.
REVIEWER NAME: Eric J. Boyd
1) CREATIVE AND EFFECTIVE INCORPORATION OF RULES (1-10): 4
Feedback: The time constraint is loosely used at best; there are two sessions but no way of ensuring they take around 6 hours each and no structural purpose for the duration either. Law and actor are used solidly, but team is tacked on as a term for the group of characters.
2) CLARITY (1-10): 6
Feedback: The writing is clear and the few mechanics are well-explained. The example provided does its job.
3) COMPLETENESS (1-10): 5
Feedback: The game is basically a skeleton with no meat. We’re given standards and some themes to feature in scenes, along with a single die mechanic to accrue points. But there is no guidance on how to structure play and no real sense of how play will progress throughout a session.
4) ESTIMATED EFFECTIVENESS IN PLAY (1-10): 4
Feedback: This is a role-playing game, but with almost no guidance on how play should progress. The players are left to their own devices in how to proceed. Furthermore, there is no real chance for meaningful player choices in the die mechanic — it’s a simple matter of playing the odds to maximize score with no room for influencing it by what’s happening in play.
5) SWING VOTE (1-10): 6
Final Feedback: I like the concept of the quest portion of the game quite a bit, and I could see playing a game based on gaining the favor of the gods by doing underworld quests using their gifts. But the second section on performing the play seems at odds with the first section, and it’s not something I’m as interested in. Maybe this should be two games rather than one.
TOTAL SCORE (add items 1 through 5, above): 4 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 6 = 25
Mendel, I'd be happy to discuss the game further with you if you have any questions or comments.