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<blockquote data-quote="Hypersmurf" data-source="post: 4437253" data-attributes="member: 1656">You might notice that most of the Rah Rah Rah in this thread comes from people who have played Dread.The Jenga tower might appear at first glance to be gimmicky.&nbsp; And maybe it is... but it's not a gimmick with no purpose other than to draw attention.Most resolution systems rely on independent events.&nbsp; The dice have no memory.&nbsp; A DC 20 saving throw is as easy or difficult to make at the start of the game or the end of the game.The Jenga tower, on the other hand, is influenced by every pull that has come before it.&nbsp; At the start of the game, pulls are easy.&nbsp; By the end of the game, the tower is unstable, and pulls are much harder.&nbsp; During the end-game, the tension at a Dread table is visceral and palpable, and that's why the system works for the horror genre.&nbsp; The mechanic reinforces the genre.It's easy to read the book and dismiss the tower as gimmicky.&nbsp; Play a game with a decent table, and that dismissal becomes a whole lot harder.Can someone game the system, and refuse to make pulls?&nbsp; Sure - I've seen it done.&nbsp; And it was done by someone who doesn't get it.&nbsp; And I wouldn't invite him back to play at my table again.&nbsp; But weighed against that one guy, I've played with twenty people who did get it, and the experiences were fantastic.Feel free to scoff without understanding why the 'gimmick' works.&nbsp; Feel free to be the guy who doesn't get it.&nbsp; I'll continue to play with the people who do, and I'll continue to have those stellar gaming experiences.-Hyp.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hypersmurf, post: 4437253, member: 1656"] You might notice that most of the Rah Rah Rah in this thread comes from people who have [i]played[/i] Dread. The Jenga tower might appear at first glance to be gimmicky. And maybe it is... but it's not a gimmick with no purpose other than to draw attention. Most resolution systems rely on independent events. The dice have no memory. A DC 20 saving throw is as easy or difficult to make at the start of the game or the end of the game. The Jenga tower, on the other hand, is influenced by every pull that has come before it. At the start of the game, pulls are easy. By the end of the game, the tower is unstable, and pulls are much harder. During the end-game, the tension at a Dread table is visceral and palpable, and that's why the system [i]works[/i] for the horror genre. The mechanic reinforces the genre. It's easy to read the book and dismiss the tower as gimmicky. Play a game with a decent table, and that dismissal becomes a whole lot harder. Can someone game the system, and refuse to make pulls? Sure - I've seen it done. And it was done by someone who [i]doesn't get it[/i]. And I wouldn't invite him back to play at my table again. But weighed against that one guy, I've played with twenty people who [i]did[/i] get it, and the experiences were fantastic. Feel free to scoff without understanding why the 'gimmick' works. Feel free to be the guy who doesn't get it. I'll continue to play with the people who do, and I'll continue to have those stellar gaming experiences. -Hyp. [/QUOTE]

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