The Inside Scoop on Gaming

In response to my reviews of two IT CAME FROM THE LATE LATE LATE show products, Mike Demetro notified me in the phorums of a similar game to be released this Autumn. This review is of the online demo of the core rules for B-MOVIE.

B-MOVIE is a game of cheesy, low-budget science fiction and horror movies (you know the type.) Instead of PCs, you have VCs, or Victims of Circumstance, the GM is the Evil Mastermind, and scenarios are Misadventures. This "negative" slant on things carries over to the rules- instead of Attributes like Strength, Intelligence, etc., VCs have ratings in flaws like Weakness, Ignorance, Clumsiness, Cowardice, Paranoia and Superstition. The first four are generated by adding 4 to a d6 roll for each, while Paranoia and Superstition start at 2 (but are distressingly easy to increase). Stereotypes (loose templates) can alter your flaws and give you certain abilities (the Sheriff may legally speed and committ other misdemeanors, the Mafia goon gets a bonus to driving black American-made sedans). In order to do anything you have to overcome your relevant flaw by rolling over it on 2d6. Instead of losing hit points in combat you gain Lumps, and if you get 12 you're in trouble (just as you are if you get a 12 in Paranoia or Superstition.)

The most interesting feature of the game is Misfortune. This is also a flaw of sorts, but is not rolled against as with the others. Instead, a VC can Push His Luck by asking for the chances of a certain lucky thing happening. If they exist, the VC gets 1 or 2 Misfortune points and must overcome his total Misfortune score in order for the event to occur. Baddies (monsters, villains, etc.) can exploit the Misfortune of others- the EM has him succeed at something disadvantageous to the VC, who loses some Misfortune. You also gain Misfortune by not helping innocents or generally being mean. If you get 12 Misfortune, you become the victim of a nasty accident, capish?

What's interesting about this is that there are actually a number of situations in which the EM can exploit Misfortune, including having VCs stumble or having them take a long time to search a place (letting the Baddie catch up). Misfortune is essentially a resource for both players and the EM, and adds strategy to the game as both sides ponder the effects of their decisions. Rules are also included for such actions as Hiding in Plain Sight, engaging in Mushy Stuff, and breaking things.

The rules system seems basically solid, though the bare core rules presented in this demo don't give such aids as examples of play or sample characters. My only beef is that the "negative" slant can be just a bit limiting- you couldn't play Ash from ARMY OF DARKNESS under these rules (though Ash from EVIL DEAD 1 or 2 might work.) I'm also not too clear on the rules for creating Baddies and their stats, but I suspect I can figure it out on a second look.

Style-wise, it's hard to rate this game. The rules do cover many famous cliches of B-movies, but as the demo has no source material (sample Misadventures or Baddies) it's still up in the air just how well Guildhall Press gets the style of these films. The goofy terminology could be viewed as a bit of a liability- as I said in my ICFTLLLS review, the "mock solemnity" of the average exploitation film is important. But who knows? As to the style of the demo itself- well, there were problems. I couldn't find just how much Misfortune you're supposed to start with, and the frequent chapter breaks- nearly every separate rule has its own page- can be disconcerting at first (though they make reference a bit easier.)

B-MOVIE looks promising, and I definitely will be interested in how the full game turns out. There's great potential here. Last year Eden Studios' ALL FLESH MUST BE EATEN managed to do justice to the zombie genre- would it be too much to hope that this time around it's b-movies as a whole that get the same respect?

P.S.- That URL, once again, is www.playbmovie.com. Check it out for yourself- like I said, it's free.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

B-Movie: Attack of the Demo
Author: Mike Demetro Category: game Company/Publisher: Guildhall Press Line: B-Movie Cost: Free Page count: n/a Capsule Review by Evan Waters on 07/26/00. Genre tags: Science fiction Modern day Horror Comedy	In response to my reviews of two IT CAME FROM THE LATE LATE LATE show products, Mike Demetro notified me in the phorums of a similar game to be released this Autumn. This review is of the online demo of the core rules for B-MOVIE. B-MOVIE is a game of cheesy, low-budget science fiction and horror movies (you know the type.) Instead of PCs, you have VCs, or Victims of Circumstance, the GM is the Evil Mastermind, and scenarios are Misadventures. This "negative" slant on things carries over to the rules- instead of Attributes like Strength, Intelligence, etc., VCs have ratings in flaws like Weakness, Ignorance, Clumsiness, Cowardice, Paranoia and Superstition. The first four are generated by adding 4 to a d6 roll for each, while Paranoia and Superstition start at 2 (but are distressingly easy to increase). Stereotypes (loose templates) can alter your flaws and give you certain abilities (the Sheriff may legally speed and committ other misdemeanors, the Mafia goon gets a bonus to driving black American-made sedans). In order to do anything you have to overcome your relevant flaw by rolling over it on 2d6. Instead of losing hit points in combat you gain Lumps, and if you get 12 you're in trouble (just as you are if you get a 12 in Paranoia or Superstition.) The most interesting feature of the game is Misfortune. This is also a flaw of sorts, but is not rolled against as with the others. Instead, a VC can Push His Luck by asking for the chances of a certain lucky thing happening. If they exist, the VC gets 1 or 2 Misfortune points and must overcome his total Misfortune score in order for the event to occur. Baddies (monsters, villains, etc.) can exploit the Misfortune of others- the EM has him succeed at something disadvantageous to the VC, who loses some Misfortune. You also gain Misfortune by not helping innocents or generally being mean. If you get 12 Misfortune, you become the victim of a nasty accident, capish? What's interesting about this is that there are actually a number of situations in which the EM can exploit Misfortune, including having VCs stumble or having them take a long time to search a place (letting the Baddie catch up). Misfortune is essentially a resource for both players and the EM, and adds strategy to the game as both sides ponder the effects of their decisions. Rules are also included for such actions as Hiding in Plain Sight, engaging in Mushy Stuff, and breaking things. The rules system seems basically solid, though the bare core rules presented in this demo don't give such aids as examples of play or sample characters. My only beef is that the "negative" slant can be just a bit limiting- you couldn't play Ash from ARMY OF DARKNESS under these rules (though Ash from EVIL DEAD 1 or 2 might work.) I'm also not too clear on the rules for creating Baddies and their stats, but I suspect I can figure it out on a second look. Style-wise, it's hard to rate this game. The rules do cover many famous cliches of B-movies, but as the demo has no source material (sample Misadventures or Baddies) it's still up in the air just how well Guildhall Press gets the style of these films. The goofy terminology could be viewed as a bit of a liability- as I said in my ICFTLLLS review, the "mock solemnity" of the average exploitation film is important. But who knows? As to the style of the demo itself- well, there were problems. I couldn't find just how much Misfortune you're supposed to start with, and the frequent chapter breaks- nearly every separate rule has its own page- can be disconcerting at first (though they make reference a bit easier.) B-MOVIE looks promising, and I definitely will be interested in how the full game turns out. There's great potential here. Last year Eden Studios' ALL FLESH MUST BE EATEN managed to do justice to the zombie genre- would it be too much to hope that this time around it's b-movies as a whole that get the same respect? P.S.- That URL, once again, is www.playbmovie.com. Check it out for yourself- like I said, it's free. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

B-Movie: Attack of the Demo