Molten Sulfur Press
This collection of games offers players the ability to “make history” by hunting walrus ivory on Greenland with Vikings, investigating a murder in the Native American city of Cahokia, and by battling a djinni on a modern navy ship. Each adventure is completely stand-alone and contains the characters and hand outs needed to play. The rules for all three games are similar with just slight adjustments to connect with the unique focus of each game.
The book is not directly aimed at younger readers, but it should be accessible for middle grades and above. Each game begins with general information about the time period and specific information about the conflicts explored in the game. There is also a “further reading” list for each game for those who want to learn more. The book could even be considered (gasp) educational. “Norse Ivory” contains some mid horror elements in the form of suspicion and a stormy climactic battle. “A Killing in Cahokia” is a straight-forward, almost noir-ish, murder mystery. “Darken Ship” is explicitly a horror game with missing sailors, life-threatening situations, and a major supernatural threat. All three adventures are well-written, giving the reader everything they need to run the games.
The game system used is simple enough for to play or run. Players roll d10 and add their character’s stats. Hitting roleplay beats listed on the character sheet allows players to collect bennies which can be spent to further add to a roll. Characters can die in two of the games. The games take a cue from LARPs (live-action role-play) in that the characters usually have different knowledge and competing goals. Some of the topics covered, such as conflicting religious interpretations of events or the political pressures which lead to regime change, may be too subtle for younger players to roleplay with depth. With the right guidance, however, children could be introduced to these ideas through the game. If used this way, a debrief is strongly recommended.
Gameplay requires one player to act as game master, handouts copied from the book, d10 dice, tokens for counting bennies, addition of two-digit numbers, and ability to read character background in English.
Reviewed by Matthew Orr.