Dread
5 out of 5 rating for Dread
With the caveat that this is most definitely a one-shot convention game, and not designed for long-term or campaign play, this game is near perfect. Given its intended usage, the rules are picked up in a second (it's a Jenga tower!) and incorporate the suspense required for a horror game simply by virtue of the innate suspense generated by the use of a Jenga tower. It's incredibly rules-light (almost to the point of having no rules) and suits a narrative storytelling GM perfectly. Fantastic game for a one-shot - indeed, almost the perfect game for a one-shot.
With the caveat that this is most definitely a one-shot convention game, and not designed for long-term or campaign play, this game is near perfect. Given its intended usage, the rules are picked up in a second (it's a Jenga tower!) and incorporate the suspense required for a horror game simply by virtue of the innate suspense generated by the use of a Jenga tower. It's incredibly rules-light (almost to the point of having no rules) and suits a narrative storytelling GM perfectly. Fantastic game for a one-shot - indeed, almost the perfect game for a one-shot.
ShadowDenizen
Explorer
5 out of 5 rating for Dread
I'll agree 100% with what Morrus said.This is an exceptionally well-crafted, deceptively simple system. Though most everyone I've introduced this to was leary at first ("It uses a WHAT for action resolution?"), every single person who tried it has been a convert. But the Jenga-tower mechanic, while unexpected, is a sure stroke of genius, and serves to ratchet up the tension admirably. And the 3 scnearios found within the book are quite solid, and can easily be reskinned. The one minor drawback? There's very little additional scenario support for this wonderful game to be found!
I'll agree 100% with what Morrus said.This is an exceptionally well-crafted, deceptively simple system. Though most everyone I've introduced this to was leary at first ("It uses a WHAT for action resolution?"), every single person who tried it has been a convert. But the Jenga-tower mechanic, while unexpected, is a sure stroke of genius, and serves to ratchet up the tension admirably. And the 3 scnearios found within the book are quite solid, and can easily be reskinned. The one minor drawback? There's very little additional scenario support for this wonderful game to be found!
Neonchameleon
Legend
5 out of 5 rating for Dread
And if one shot survival horror isn't what you want you can always grab something else. If it is what you want, it's awesome.
And if one shot survival horror isn't what you want you can always grab something else. If it is what you want, it's awesome.
howandwhy99
Adventurer
3 out of 5 rating for Dread
I had this book given to me by an ENnies reviewer back in the year it came out. I've hence gifted the book on as the rules can be boiled down to a half a dozen in number or less. It is very much a storytelling game where a primary storyteller leads others into tense situations where to complete certain tasks they must pull one or more blocks from a Jenga tower. If they elect not to, the task fails. Of course, as the game session goes along the tower becomes more precarious as blocks are removed and put atop as in a normal game of Jenga. If the tower falls, the player who collapsed it is ejected from the game as their character dies. This may be intentional allowing for one last heroic act or may not. It depends on a declaration beforehand.
A new tower can be set up by the story leader who then sets a difficulty by pulling out blocks. There are other nuances as well like what partial pulls mean (when you need 2 or more blocks pulled), but overall the mechanics are very, very simple. The majority of the book is a text on how to create good narratives from the author's point of view. There are a few Act-Scene structured script-like session plans too provided for new lead storytellers.
My suggestion is to pass the book along once you have the rules determined and are confident on how to run story telling games. I have altered the mechanic a few times in the past Dread games I've run. Sometimes to popular success. Once you've derived all the rules for yourself I suggest getting creative to keep players interested.
I had this book given to me by an ENnies reviewer back in the year it came out. I've hence gifted the book on as the rules can be boiled down to a half a dozen in number or less. It is very much a storytelling game where a primary storyteller leads others into tense situations where to complete certain tasks they must pull one or more blocks from a Jenga tower. If they elect not to, the task fails. Of course, as the game session goes along the tower becomes more precarious as blocks are removed and put atop as in a normal game of Jenga. If the tower falls, the player who collapsed it is ejected from the game as their character dies. This may be intentional allowing for one last heroic act or may not. It depends on a declaration beforehand.
A new tower can be set up by the story leader who then sets a difficulty by pulling out blocks. There are other nuances as well like what partial pulls mean (when you need 2 or more blocks pulled), but overall the mechanics are very, very simple. The majority of the book is a text on how to create good narratives from the author's point of view. There are a few Act-Scene structured script-like session plans too provided for new lead storytellers.
My suggestion is to pass the book along once you have the rules determined and are confident on how to run story telling games. I have altered the mechanic a few times in the past Dread games I've run. Sometimes to popular success. Once you've derived all the rules for yourself I suggest getting creative to keep players interested.
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