Earlier this week I put out a post about Miller’s Law and principles in classic PbtA games. The thesis was basically “there’s too goddamn many of these things to remember and someone (me) should say something about it.” I’m pleased to report that after hitting send on that thing at 2:30AM and then immediately falling asleep, I awoke to a day packed with discussion of the thing, and I learned a bunch. Thanks Dice Exploder discord, Gem Room Games discord, and Bluesky! I thought it’d be fun today to go through how my thinking has evolved since.
Escape from Dino Island
Apocalyptic Principles and Miller's Law
7 CommentsI had a riot running Escape From Dino Island at my weekly game this week. It was a welcome return to a classic PbtA game after what must be years away from the form. Dino Island does an excellent job getting a solid group of characters in a tight spot and with plenty of open questions to chew on all in like 15 minutes of setup. It’s also built effectively for very short term play, 1-3 sessions, while still packing action and character in. I could do a whole episode of the podcast on the move Tell A Story if The Hard Move hadn’t done so years ago.
But the experience clarified for me a problem I’ve long had with PbtA games: as a GM, the number of principles and moves I’m expected to remember at any time is completely overwhelming, and it makes running these games intimidating.