REVIEW: Crime & Punishment
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:14 pm
I couldn't spot a thread for this game - hopefully I'm not doubling up!
Crime & Punishment, by Moyra Turkington
CREATIVE AND EFFECTIVE INCORPORATION OF RULES:
9
FEEDBACK
Law, Team and Actor were all used well (Steele was in there as a character name too, in quite an appropriate way). The time limit of 1 session, 2 hours was effectively used with 2 parts to the session – the writing and the enactment of the episode. I particularly liked the way the game captures the genre, and it feels totally smooth and obvious that those elements should combine to make this game.
CLARITY
10
Feedback: The writing is clear and organised, and both easy and enjoyable to read. There were only a handful of typos, which is impressive in a game written in such a short space of time.
COMPLETENESS
9
Feedback: This is a very complete game that is playable immediately. Everything you’d need is right there, including handy summary sheets. It is not part of the competition, but this game is also DAMN PRETTY in its presentation. It really is a complete package in every sense.
ESTIMATED EFFECTIVENESS IN PLAY
8
Feedback: This game looks great. The tightly structured first half, where writers contribute ideas in 4 minute blocks, would keep all players focussed and interested. The guidance about what to include in each Procedure should keep the story well in-genre, and allow first time players to be confident that they’re on track.
The only element I wasn’t sure about was contesting the spotlight. I can see why a motivated player would want their investigator to get the most screen-time, but it wasn’t clear whether the system of contesting control was meant to be in the foreground, or merely there to break deadlocks. Given that in the first half of the game the writers ‘collect their pay’ for good ideas in the form of shields, I wondered whether there would be some sort of scoring at the end – most shields wins or similar. The system of contesting spotlight uses the shields that you earn in the writing segment, so there’s a clear incentive to contribute good ideas in the first half.
Having looked back at the game, I note that Steele (the boss) plays shields against the investigators. I guess that much of the use of the shield bidding system might come from this. The example of play, however, gives an investigator versus investigator example. Perhaps a second example of Steele vs Investigators would clarify this for the dim-witted reader such as myself.
SWING VOTE
10
Feedback: This is my clear favourite of the games I’ve read so far. It captures the genre brilliantly, has great support for creating stories, and is tonally excellent. When I saw that it was a 5mb pdf I wondered what it would contain. The answer? 20something pages of beautiful RPG, in every sense.
TOTAL
46
Crime & Punishment, by Moyra Turkington
CREATIVE AND EFFECTIVE INCORPORATION OF RULES:
9
FEEDBACK
Law, Team and Actor were all used well (Steele was in there as a character name too, in quite an appropriate way). The time limit of 1 session, 2 hours was effectively used with 2 parts to the session – the writing and the enactment of the episode. I particularly liked the way the game captures the genre, and it feels totally smooth and obvious that those elements should combine to make this game.
CLARITY
10
Feedback: The writing is clear and organised, and both easy and enjoyable to read. There were only a handful of typos, which is impressive in a game written in such a short space of time.
COMPLETENESS
9
Feedback: This is a very complete game that is playable immediately. Everything you’d need is right there, including handy summary sheets. It is not part of the competition, but this game is also DAMN PRETTY in its presentation. It really is a complete package in every sense.
ESTIMATED EFFECTIVENESS IN PLAY
8
Feedback: This game looks great. The tightly structured first half, where writers contribute ideas in 4 minute blocks, would keep all players focussed and interested. The guidance about what to include in each Procedure should keep the story well in-genre, and allow first time players to be confident that they’re on track.
The only element I wasn’t sure about was contesting the spotlight. I can see why a motivated player would want their investigator to get the most screen-time, but it wasn’t clear whether the system of contesting control was meant to be in the foreground, or merely there to break deadlocks. Given that in the first half of the game the writers ‘collect their pay’ for good ideas in the form of shields, I wondered whether there would be some sort of scoring at the end – most shields wins or similar. The system of contesting spotlight uses the shields that you earn in the writing segment, so there’s a clear incentive to contribute good ideas in the first half.
Having looked back at the game, I note that Steele (the boss) plays shields against the investigators. I guess that much of the use of the shield bidding system might come from this. The example of play, however, gives an investigator versus investigator example. Perhaps a second example of Steele vs Investigators would clarify this for the dim-witted reader such as myself.
SWING VOTE
10
Feedback: This is my clear favourite of the games I’ve read so far. It captures the genre brilliantly, has great support for creating stories, and is tonally excellent. When I saw that it was a 5mb pdf I wondered what it would contain. The answer? 20something pages of beautiful RPG, in every sense.
TOTAL
46