Game Tips for Fiasco

3

Jan 11th, 2012| Tip

45 of 47 gamers found this helpful

“Whiteboards”

If you have a big whiteboard that you can put on the table (and they can be easily purchased at home improvement stores), consider using that instead of index cards. The elements you use will probably be slightly in flux anyway, with new details being added and changed. Now you have much more space, so feel free to illustrate things in the game, too!

5

Jason Morningstar {Avid Gamer}

Oct 19th, 2011| Tip

44 of 46 gamers found this helpful

“Setting the Tone in Fiasco”

In my experience, wide-open GMless play tends to run silly the first time out – this is even discussed in Universalis, which was written before the Civil War. Once you’ve seen how it works and what authority you have, repeated play tends to get more subtle and refined if your tastes run that way.

So if you’ve only played once, or are new to the format, that silliness may be an artifact of its newness – silly is easy and safe, and when you’ve got a lot of new stuff to think about, easy and safe are welcome.

Don’t be afraid to be intentional – a few words at the top tends to stop this, if what the whole table is after is something particular. Poll the table, see what the mood is, and then ask people to choose elements that will reinforce that. If you want violent and ugly, choose things that point in that direction. If you want melancholy, same. It isn’t a guarantee but it can help set the tone a lot.

5

Jason Morningstar {Avid Gamer}

Oct 19th, 2011| Rule

44 of 47 gamers found this helpful

“Fiasco: Crosstown Rivals”

Here’s a simple thing you can do to spice up a big group. Divide into two play groups and make the two simultaneous games reference each other.

Choose a shared Playset before breaking into groups. Then, as you build out the Setup, periodically check in with each other and grab Elements from the other table’s developing situation to inform the background of your own. Don’t get too concrete, but let little details cross over—have two characters at different tables be from the same family, note the important Locations and make sure you visit them, let rumors of the neighboring Fiasco percolate through your own.

If your table has a police chase through town, call over and let the other table know. This might be the creative contribution they need to have the jail unattended, or a store clerk distracted as the chase rolls by. Maybe they’ll return the favor by having your suburban housewife awakened by gunshots at 3 AM…

It takes a deft hand, but when it works it’s very satisfying.

5

Jason Morningstar {Avid Gamer}

Oct 28th, 2011| Tip

44 of 47 gamers found this helpful

“Make Your Own Fiaskit”

I travel with a Fiasco kit, so I’m ready to throw down a game at a moment’s notice. You can, too! Here’s what you need:

* A one inch binder, preferably with pockets and a clear cover you can slip a letter-sized page into (maybe one that says FIASCO on it?)

* A pencil bag with zippered pocket, containing ten white dice and ten black dice, some index cards (about 20/session), and sharpies.

* Playsets! Print out your favorites, 3-hole punch them, and put them in the notebook.

* A play mat, preferably laminated. I find this really useful as a visual aid when explaining the game, and throughout for corralling dice.

* Finally, a copy of Fiasco tucked into an inside pocket.

Once you have a kit like this, you are ready to play anywhere, at any time. Ask your friends to select a playset, pull it out of the binder, and you are good to go.

1

Steve Segedy {Avid Gamer}

Oct 19th, 2011| Strategy

44 of 48 gamers found this helpful

“"Competition and Cooperation"”

Fiasco is inherently a cooperative game. The players should all be focused on the overall story and be making choices that best propel it towards its fiery end. Your characters are hapless tools, just pieces of the overall story, and while they might be climbing over each other to get to the big brass ring, you are not in competition with the other players.

At the same time, because the game is built on trust among the players, you should feel free to push each other as hard as you can. Your friends are counting on you to challenge them with the most bastardly situations you can dream up. The more you push, the better the story will be.

5

Jason Morningstar {Avid Gamer}

Nov 10th, 2011| Rule

44 of 48 gamers found this helpful

“Quick and Dirty Setup”

Although the rules don’t require this, I started facilitating the Setup this way and it is now standard practice at my table:

During the Setup, we define Relationships first, and *then* Needs, Locations and Objects.

I find this speeds Setup and gives a relationship-based focus on those other elements that is very helpful to making a coherent situation poised for interesting disaster.

4

Serenity {Casual Gamer}

Aug 22nd, 2012| Strategy

43 of 47 gamers found this helpful

“Extra People”

Don;t be afraid to use random people in sceans. Not every sceane must be between two main characters. Try talking to bartenders, detectives, lawyers etc. Makes the events more intresting and leads to mor edeveloped characters.

4

Serenity {Casual Gamer}

Aug 22nd, 2012| Rule

44 of 61 gamers found this helpful

“Accents help”

When playing the a London or New York game we always use the local accents! It helps people get into character.

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