Players: Jamie, Shuo and Pat
February 24

Jamie treated us to a playtest of his card-based story game called That's Drama. The game felt like Fiasco with cards, minus the inevitably catastrophic ending. I definitely see how it'd be a good intro game to novice story gamers because the cards provide plenty of inspiration if you're ever stuck coming up with ideas for a scene.

The setting we picked was prohibition-era New York. We started off choosing characters, motivations, and a few relationships and character details. Jamie was David Mascaroni, a low-level thug working for the notorious crime boss Fredo Lasagno. Shuo was Gnocci, Lasagno's precious and temperamental pet cat. I played Detective Frank Darabont, a hard-nosed cop who'd been after Lasagno for years.

Our first scenes were used to establish the motivations we'd drawn for our characters. David snatches Frank's son Jimmy to scare the detective into dropping his case on Lasagno. In his rampage to find Jimmy, Frank comes across Gnocci, who had run off from Lasagno's estate. Frank seems indifferent to Gnocci's presence, but the cat appears drawn to the detective and begins to follow him around. Meanwhile, David is tasked with recovering Gnocci for an irate Lasagno.

What followed was a frantic farce filled with fierce fatherly affection, feline fickleness, fiendish felons and fraudulent friends!

There were plenty of laughs and a nice, happy ending, which is is a story game first for me. Thanks again for facilitating, Jamie.

I appreciated the quick set-up, the character variety, and the flexible game mechanic. Using the cards to trump a detail in someone's scene was interesting. I'm feeling a little mixed on it. On one hand, it acted as a good prompt if you wanted to stir up some trouble (or resolve it) if you had the right cards. On the other, if your cards are not appropriate modifiers or can contribute some interest in the scene, they become a little burdensome.

As for the story, everything felt very complete and satisfying. Playing a cat was a fun challenge and I liked how the piece turned into a hard-boiled Turner and Hooch spin-off. Also, I really enjoyed how many different people and locations we visited in the city: Frank's cozy third story apartment, the sneaky barber in Little Italy, the disgruntled security guard patrolling an empty warehouse, the pier, Madam Mim and Jimmy Two-Hats in lusty Chinatown, the diner, Frank's estranged wife, and of course, Lasagno's Ristorante. All of it added an extra richness and made it a very compelling story.

Overall, That's Drama was a joy to play and I readily want to have another go at it. Thanks again for sharing your game, Jamie!

Thanks so much, guys! I was really happy with how it turned out.

I liked how Shuo played the cat in an understated way - Gnocci wasn't a cartoon, couldn't talk, and aside from accidentally helping to incriminate Joey and find David, was quite believable.