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Sick in bed today, so I’m gonna read Flying Circus as I can’t do any creating. https://opensketch.itch.io/flying-circus
The first few sections are pretty typical of PtbA games. Stand out: the setting pages and content and safety pages are exceptional, specific and thorough, and make me realise that I need to consider the thematic resonances of My Hero, Our War more deeply.
Dice are different! 2d10 *or* xd20 plus stat. I’m excited to find out why these choices were made, given it looks like the success to fail ratio is maintained. The alternative d20 is a fun way to incorporate swinginess, but I would have to go to anydice for more info.
It also uses advantage/disadvantage. I feel like these are clumsier in 2d games, but given the assumption implicit that playersare experienced role players, I can’t see it would be a barrier. Faults (1s & 10s) impacting the one providing aid is neat.
Experience comes from dealing with the stress of combat! Neat, and very thematic. Cool!
“In Flying Circus, you can only die if you choose to.” This is a rule I want in My Hero Our War. I like this approach to injury too: You get penalised, but never die. You’re signing up for either a death by choice or a narrative complication, by fighting on.
Player Characters either trust or don’t trust each other. Binary and extreme. I suspect this simple rule will be complicated further in. I like it, but it implies the drama in this game is intended to be in the air, not on the ground. Let’s see if I’m right.
“it’s also a game about running a business” unexpected twist! But it don’t go into any more detail here. I’m curious, but resource management bores me. Usually the point is to provide the characters with a drive, but the drive is stated here already: Risk taking, found family.
This is short, I’ll report back when the company is further detailed.
Character creation is a subsection of zero: Great! The only thing you do individually is create your character, so, the implication is it’s quick and easy. Backgrounds, not playbooks: You’re al pilots! Wait no, playbooks are mentioned.
I’m reading on my phone, so I can’t easily skip to a playbook to see, so I’ll have to wait. Sorry Erika if I’m getting confused!
Mastery is the way you fly, and seems to be a skill tree, but is only referred to here. If this was a dead tree copy, I wouldn’t be able to resist flipping forward, there’s so much delayed gratification going on here!
Ok so bookkeeping: you just keep a list of employees and planes, and it gives you a number of þ you need to earn per session. I suspect this might be an elegant CR equivalent? Bigger, better equipped companies need bigger, harder jobs? If so, very clever and neat.
Collaborative world building section. A nice touch: “As a general rule, places and nations in Flying Circus are named for real world aircraft companies, especially German and Austro-Hungarian companies of the First World War.” Helps impart the world with a tone.
Next up: The Core Loop
This is neat! Broadly, Business & Pleasure and The Mission. When you run out of fuel, the Mission ends, when you run out of money, you have to go on another mission. Self terminating phases, very cool!
Just to note, I’m about 20% of the way through the game, and can’t yet conceptualise how to play. Flying Circus is leaning very crunchy, in a Blades in the Dark way. I’d love to see actual plays, because I personally have trouble hanging complex interlocking systems...
together without lots of failed play or watched play.
Ok, so note detail our first moves: Press your luck, break trust, restore trust, and help/hinder. These are GREAT MOVES. “When you take a risk, you do it, and consequences unfold.” Is a great Rule 1. Trust moves make me realise that Erika has baked a BoB token economy...
Into a PtbA game, to bring flow and weight into player character relationships. Help/Hinder lets you use those relationships to put yourself at risk. In any or all scenes. Great stuff!!!!
An entire page is stormy on the nuances of intimacy in the game, showing thoughtfulness despite the move being a sentence. Interlocking rules are providing for a range of unique experience, it’s really lovely. I think I might have a lot to learn from this game.
*spent, not a stormy ugh autocorrect
Now into flying... wow there is a lot here. The Instrument Panel is complex, plus there are separate cards for engines, weapons and radiators. But there isn’t more here than in, say, a DnD or PF character sheet. It’s just very foreign appearing ?
Now for the combat rules: Speed and altitude are currency you spend on moves, and you strive to keep sure your g-forces and above stalk speed. Neat, and I can see how it would result in interesting choices.
Woah. A lot of moves. A lot of education about Flight physics! I can see myself struggling to keep track of them all tbh, especially if all the players aren’t good at describing air manoeuvres. I hope There’s a way to keep them straight further in...
11 manoeuvres, 5 combat moves, 3 shooting moves, and 4 support moves. A lot to track. The moves vary from very complex and engaging deeply with the mechanics “Dogfight!” to really simple and evocative “Stay On target!”.
They’re good, flavourful, and engage deeply and tactically. I didn’t buy this thinking it’d be an alternative to, say, Lancer, but it really is.
An aside: There is a lot of designers commentary in the text of this game. It is excellent.
Ground moves like Parley with the strange and Confront your fears are really neat ways of putting power in the players hands. I like them a lot. I like explore the Wild too, but a Trek isn’t clearly defined?
