There is a huge misconception I'd like to start with. There are TONS of micro games today: some of them are little more than intellectual excercises, others are a bit more involved, but still... Most of the time, I find them REALLY interesting to try out and analyze for my (hopefully rewarding) upcoming designer career.
I love game design, I love experimenting with one page rules, three line rules or with 684 full fledged crunchy ones.
Sometimes, though, I find some fascinating pieces of art which are difficult to describe: some of 'em are usually considered "games for children", other "too simplistic", but that couldn't be farthest from the truth.
Tricuhe Tales is a genuine masterpiece of design, package and editing. The game offers a 1-3d6 narrative driven system, with a strong touch of "classicism" in it. You need to roll, you take some risk, you MUST narrate and cooperate to generate the best, possible outcome. It's old school in nature, modern school in its core functions, but it never falls in the dreaded "middle school", where you don't see nor the actual effort of making it a playable game nor the narrative tweak (without falling in the PbtA-like trap).
Tricube Tales offers a brilliant "three traits" character creatiuon processs adding two metacurrencies, which I love (a lot biased here, but still): the game is written with passion and elegance. Richard (allow me to call you by name) is a wonderful writer, cunning designer and passionate player (I guess, but I'd bet my own life on it). The more you read, the more you see the endless opportunities for those lazy OR uber passioante GMS wanting to involve many different players in engaging stories. It's not about "not caring the system", cause i LOVE systems: it's about having an EXTRAORDINARY resolution system (I won't spoil it, just buy this, come on!), lots of examples, inputs, variants and setting-ideas.
Last but not least, the game is perfectly edited in BOTH TABLET AND PHONE PDF, which is a great addition. I mean... Sit down with your family (or friends, as soon as it will be able), pull out the phone (oh, you already have it on your hands!), click "Tricuge Tales PDF", open the dice roller and write down your characters on the NOTES app. Perfect for online play as well as for "pub play" (stay safe out there!), this game seems the perfect fit for many gaming nights.
There is a lot to write for such a small game... Because this is "not" minimalist in the intellectual sense: it is a "compact" game with an ENORMOUS potential. 5 stars, no matter the small drawbacks it MIGHT have.
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