The Inside Scoop on Gaming

kayfabe n. adj. of or related to inside information about the business, especially by fans. Origin is carny jargon talk for "fake."

I am a Kayfabe mark. Someday, when I'm rich and own my own game company, I'm going to license Kayfabe from Errant Knight and publish a second edition. I'll hire John Wick, an avowed wrestling fan, to write color text. And I'll hire Cynthia Celeste Miller, who's not just a professional wrestling fan but a wrestling historian, to be the editor and line manager. and I'll hire... oh, somebody really good to do that artwork.

But until that day, Kayfabe is fine as it is. Author Matthew Gwinn knows his stuff; this is a game for die-hard wrestling fans, the type who trade tapes of Flair/Steamboat, shell out real money for monthly pay-per-views, mourn the loss of WCW and ECW, and proudly call themselves marks. This game is for folks who regularly surf websites like Wrestling Exposed for inside tips on upcoming storylines, follow injury reports to see how their favorite faces and heels are rehabbing, and to see how developmental talent is, well, developing.

Oh, yeah, you get to play wrestlers, too.

In Kayfabe, you set up your own promotion. The gamemaster, called the booker, books matches. But it's not just about the storylines and personas on the show; you play the people themselves, the off-camera, backstage, reality of the characters as well. You're not just roleplaying wrestling; you're roleplaying the business. In a collective approach, all of the players are responsible for how well the promotion is doing. If the wrestlers get enough Heat, the promotion can rise from a small, local show to a nationally or even international televised phenomena.This metagaming aspect is especially appealing.

The rules are flexible as well, and allow for all styles of wrestling, from technical to hardcore, Japanese shoto to Mexican luche libre. The core mechanic is a simple d6-based die pool. There's an appendix that explains what all of these obscure wreslting fanboy terms mean. The artwork is crap -- we're talking first edition Champions-level line art -- but who cares?

There are only two things I wanted from this book that I didn't get. The first is more sample wrestlers, to be used as jobbers if nothing else while the players develop their own characters. The other is more sample booking sheets, to allow bookers to throw together a card on the fly.

If your gaming group is made up of wrestling fans, and you're looking for a break from your normal campaign, try Kayfabe some night. I don't know if it could sustain a long-term campaign, but it can make for a really intense one-nighter.

Kayfabe: The Inside Wrestling RPG is available as a free 50 page PDF download from Errant Knight's website at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/errantknight/kayfabe/.

Kayfabe
Kayfabe Capsule Review by Berin Kinsman on 09/03/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 3 (Average) Kayfabe is the best professional wrestling game I've seen to date, taking hard-core marks behind the scenes of your own promotion. And it's free! Product: Kayfabe Author: Matthew Gwinn Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Errant Knight Line: Cost: Free Page count: 50 Year published: ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Berin Kinsman on 09/03/02 Genre tags: Other	kayfabe n. adj. of or related to inside information about the business, especially by fans. Origin is carny jargon talk for "fake." I am a Kayfabe mark. Someday, when I'm rich and own my own game company, I'm going to license Kayfabe from Errant Knight and publish a second edition. I'll hire John Wick, an avowed wrestling fan, to write color text. And I'll hire Cynthia Celeste Miller, who's not just a professional wrestling fan but a wrestling historian, to be the editor and line manager. and I'll hire... oh, somebody really good to do that artwork. But until that day, Kayfabe is fine as it is. Author Matthew Gwinn knows his stuff; this is a game for die-hard wrestling fans, the type who trade tapes of Flair/Steamboat, shell out real money for monthly pay-per-views, mourn the loss of WCW and ECW, and proudly call themselves marks. This game is for folks who regularly surf websites like Wrestling Exposed for inside tips on upcoming storylines, follow injury reports to see how their favorite faces and heels are rehabbing, and to see how developmental talent is, well, developing. Oh, yeah, you get to play wrestlers, too. In Kayfabe, you set up your own promotion. The gamemaster, called the booker, books matches. But it's not just about the storylines and personas on the show; you play the people themselves, the off-camera, backstage, reality of the characters as well. You're not just roleplaying wrestling; you're roleplaying the business. In a collective approach, all of the players are responsible for how well the promotion is doing. If the wrestlers get enough Heat, the promotion can rise from a small, local show to a nationally or even international televised phenomena.This metagaming aspect is especially appealing. The rules are flexible as well, and allow for all styles of wrestling, from technical to hardcore, Japanese shoto to Mexican luche libre. The core mechanic is a simple d6-based die pool. There's an appendix that explains what all of these obscure wreslting fanboy terms mean. The artwork is crap -- we're talking first edition Champions-level line art -- but who cares? There are only two things I wanted from this book that I didn't get. The first is more sample wrestlers, to be used as jobbers if nothing else while the players develop their own characters. The other is more sample booking sheets, to allow bookers to throw together a card on the fly. If your gaming group is made up of wrestling fans, and you're looking for a break from your normal campaign, try Kayfabe some night. I don't know if it could sustain a long-term campaign, but it can make for a really intense one-nighter. Kayfabe: The Inside Wrestling RPG is available as a free 50 page PDF download from Errant Knight's website at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/errantknight/kayfabe/.