A toy game from the 2016 game design advent calendar. Admittedly late, but I'm sure we'll all live.

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I've been watching a lot of Poldark lately, and had the pleasure of watching Pride and Prejudice last week. Boy is this some crazy stuff. Intrigue, betrayal, social conflict and all sorts of nastiness. Also all sorts of kindness, and love, and friendships. And the the diction! It's fantastic.

This game attempts to replicate some of the social interaction found in Jane Austen's novels (and generally fiction about rich British people in olde British times). We use a token-passing mechanic similar to that used in Salado, but with a small twist: players pass their own cell phones around to represent their captive social agency.

Requires:

• A facilitator (called the GM, or Lovers, here)
• Some players, maybe 3 or 4

Rules:

One person plays the Lovers, and details the world where necessary. We'll call them the GM because it's easy.

Each of the other players plays a woman, a daughter of the landed gentry. They should decide their last name, and why they are not yet married.

Each player will decide who their Lover is, a young man of some wealth. They need not even know one another yet, this is simply the person they feel the character is destined for. Write the names of these Lovers, and the PCs, on a big sheet of paper and create a relationship map (you just need a line between every character).

Each player should answer the following questions:

• What does your Lover admire most about you? This is your Virtue. You may be skilled with the pianoforte, or quick with a biting wit. Perhaps he most admires your figure, or your money, or your patient kindness.

• Except for your Lover, what do the other characters want from you? Note this next to the lines connecting you on the relationship map.

• What do you hope will happen between you and your Lover? Lay this out as a set of three plot points in your romantic arc.

The table as a whole should answer:

• What is each PC's Fault? What personal flaw or deficiency do they struggle with, that keeps getting them into trouble?

Once you have the relationship map set up, with each PC and each Lover's name written out, a couple "wants" for each pair of characters, and a Virtue and a Fault for each PC, you're ready to go.

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When you address another player, call them by their name and don't forget the honorific...Mr. Darcy, Ms. Elizabeth, Ms. Bennet.

When your display of Virtue would please your Love, narrate what happens; feel free to dictate the actions or reactions of any player character or Lover.

When you give in to your Fault, violating the norms of proper society, say who made you do it. Take their player's phone, even if someone else already holds it. While you hold it, they may not narrate your character's actions.

When you return a player's phone to the table, declare what social convention they or their character are violating in their current pursuit. Society will think little of them for it, and they'll have to find another way to get what they want.

When you take a respite for your health, your phone is returned to the table by whoever holds it. However, they are not left without recourse. The interlude provides ample opportunity for gossip; they choose one:

• In your absence, gossip finds fertile ground and little competition. They may spread some piece of misinformation, and the others will believe it.
• In your ease and leisure, gossip finds an idle mind in need of diversion. They may share some misinformation with you, which rings of truth in your ear.

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Play proceeds in scenes. Go around the table, setting scenes in turn. Your character may be in the scene, or not, it's up to you. Just say who's in the scene. When someone in the scene gets what they want (or some piece of it), the scene is over.

GM:

It's the job of the "GM" to play the Lovers, and anyone else that pops up. They narrate the scene when it is necessary.

As the Lovers, the GM should try to help the players hit their chosen plot points. They have something of a conflicting agenda here: also push hard at the wants layed out on the map. The Lovers won't have any wants attached to their destined, so play on the wants connected to the other players. There is the implied want of each PC for their Lover, and it's your job to make that relationship happen; it's also your job to make them earn it.

Notes:

Though this game attempts to create a group dynamic similar to that found in Jane Austen's novels, it takes a sharp turn toward nasty infighting. When you give in to your Fault, giving up some social capital, you decide arbitrarily who made you do it. You take their phone, hold it hostage, and throw it back in their face when the moment is right. Or not! Maybe someone else steals it from you by giving in to their own Fault. It's all rather vicious.

On a happier note, I really love the idea of this phone mechanic. Originally, I'd thought it would create some interesting emotional bleed for players to put items of personal significance on the table -- wedding rings, their grandpa's handkerchief, an old love letter. Frankly, that's a little much to ask of someone, especially since these treasures will be handled by others and passed around the table. Cell phones, though, they're perfect for this. No personal significance, but you feel a bit weird when someone else holds them. There's a fear that someone will swipe the wrong swipe and peek into your personal life. It really captures the essence of what's happening: you blame someone else for your mistake, hold some piece of their soul hostage, and later use it to bring your grudge to bear.

Note, also, that while the player makes some choices about their character, most everything else is written as giving other people the agency over you. Your Virtue isn't what you like about yourself, it's what your Lover likes about you. You don't decide what you want from other characters, they decide what you want from them. Hell, you don't even choose your own Fault. The only characters relatively free from this are the Lovers.

This is an attempt to capture the social constraints on the women of this time. I think this matches the experience of the women in these novels. They are the protagonists, but have agency only within certain limits. It's up to them to choose what they wish, but their choices are constrained by what others want for them.

Find this game's lineage in the player/character bleed found in Ten Candles, the subject matter and move structure of Bluebeard's Bride, and Vincent Baker's thoughts on the effect of consent and conversation structure on player experience.

--Mr. Karaktakus, Proprieter of Karakterley and Maker of More Than £10,000 a Year

Prompt/cover photo: Wikimedia Commons