Characters in Instant Game are defined primarily by a set of Traits (each rated Basic, Advanced, and Exceptional) and secondarily by one or more Flaws. Traits basically cover any ability, knack, or resource that a player might use to advantage. A few examples are given but defining these Traits and Flaws are left up to the so-called Story Master and the players. This approach leaves the field wide open for all kinds of crazy crap to appear on charsheets, stuff like Basic Smelly Hobo or Advanced Loudmouth Barbecue Grillmeister or Exceptional Shifty-Eyed Tiddly-Winks Hustler. Flaws are similarly undefined; so if you can convince your SM that Left-Handed is sufficiently crippling you're good to go. In addition to their PC's starting allotment of Traits, each player may add up to tree Traits (1 Advanced and 2 Basic) to their PC during play. I heartily approve of this little rule as few players know exactly what they are getting into when embarking upon a new game. And it ought to keep the SM on their toes when players pull stunts like "Oh, didn't you know? My guy has Advanced Astronaut training." But I'm one of those GMs that generally enjoys the chaos caused when the players surprise me with crafty little tricks like that.

The basics of the resolution system are roll 3d6, higher is better. Results of 9 or less fail in some way, while 12 or better succeeds. A 10 or 11 leave you with a push, an unresolved situation, or a partial success/partial failure. I like the fact that Instant Game allows for a task roll to come up "Ask again later", as my Magic 8-Ball likes to put it. Many systems seem to assiduously avoid these gray areas, but both real life and many good stories are chock full of such ambiguities. Opposed actions (PC vs. PC or Import NPC vs. PC only, mooks don't count) are simply two 3d6 tasks rolls compared against one another.

The Story Master is at complete liberty to award bonuses or penalties to the die roll as he or she sees fit. Some players and game technicians will be annoyed that Traits and Flaws provide no direct modifier, they are merely one of the factors the SM should take under advisement when calculating the bonus or penalty to a task. For this kind of loosey-goosey system to work I think you would need either a group with a lot of mutual trust or a Story Master who rules with an iron fist. The only thing supporting credibility in the game is faith in the SM's ability to assess the totality of any given resolution point. To head off waves of constant disputes, the text admonishes players to be 'brief and friendly' when disputing a decision of the SM.

By intentional omission the game lacks hard rules for combat time, initiative, and damage. By SM fiat combat can be broken down to second-by-second intricacies or the entirety of World War II could be resolved by one roll. (Hitler's player: "Hey, I've got Exceptional World Beater as a Trait! That should give me a bonus!" SM: "Up yours, Hitler.") The Story Master is advised to make combat as brief or as lengthy as would best fit the tone of the particular game being played. And initiative iis resolved by actions occurring in whatever order makes sense. This sounds suspiciously to me like code for the SM being in total control here as well. Ditto the damage non-rules. People hurt in combat may or may not be assessed penalties to actions by the SM, just like every other factor that considered when assigning modifiers to rolls. Slightly more substantive rules for initiative and damage are available, but listed as optional.

The last five pages (i.e. the back half) of the game are devoted to explaining the gimmick that gives Instant Game its raison d'être: the Instant Tables. The Tables themselves are two pages of random charts you can use to generate a setting and plot. Some of the items on the chart are explained in a glossary, others are not. Either way if you are throwing together a pick-up game and need some inspiration these charts look like they'd help. Following the suggested method I kludged a background by a roll on the Settings chart, another on the Tone chart, and two rolls on the Things chart. The clattering of polyhedrals yielded Intrigue at an Amusement Park involving Limbo and Mecha. As suggested for generating a plot I rolled once for Opposition, once for Actions, and twice more for Things. Apparently the Mob is trying to Trade something (the Mechas, maybe) with some Immortals of Neutrality in order to gain access to the aforementioned Limbo. Why this deal has to go down at an Amusement Park is anyone's guess, but the location ought to keep things interesting when the PCs get involved. Clearly some gamers (like myself) will be instantly enchanted by this sort of I Ching adventure generation. Folks who like crafting intricate and byzantine plotlines with richly detailed worlds and psychologically resonant NPCs, not so much.

Although the character generation and task resolution system aren't mechanically tied to the setting and plot generator, putting the two parts of the game together looks like a great way to generate a fast and crazy role-playing extravaganza. I wouldn't put Instant Game in the hands of a novice gamemaster, but a more experienced GM ought to be able to jumpstart a rockin' one shot with these rules.

Conclusion

As an incomplete working manuscript I think it is fair to award Instant Game: Barebones Edition v0.3 with ratings of Style: 2 (Needs Work) and Substance: 2 (Sparse). The game could use some work between now and version 1.0. The core mechanic lacks the mechanical oomph of Risus or the narrative zing of The Pool. Either some brief specific examples and/or an extended general example of play need to appear in final version of the text. Sample characters and some kind of character sheet are also absent though needed. I'd very much like to see even more crazy random charts and perhaps some notes on using the Instant Tables during play to add new elements to an adventure already in progress. And I sincerely hope that the AnimalBall guys will reconsider their decision to refer to the game arbiter as the Story Master. There's nothing wrong with the old standby term GM and Story Master just sounds too artsy-fartsy for this kind of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants game.

I look forward to seeing future editions (though this version of Instant Game already looks playable for veteran groups). AnimalBall Games is off to a good start with this project.

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