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In the Foreward (sic) the text states that the City of Birds lies at the heart of a mighty empire: “the seat of all power, the source of all culture, the hub of all trade.” The text states that the basic idea of the City is made vague so that the players can agree on its form. It says that before a game can be started, the players need to sit down and discuss everything to be agreed on, including such aspects of the City as architecture and technology level. It also says that since a lot of the setting will be determined in play, it would tie your hands to define things too much in the preliminary stage.
In terms of specifics, the group starts with a Focus, which is a character or organization that ties all the main characters together for some reason. No one actually plays the Focus, but the Focus helps determine the tone and subjects of the game. The example Focus given is the Empress of the City, which would tie the various characters together via their personal or professional relationships to the Empress.
Each player makes one character, and players are also expected to collaborate with each other at this stage. Each character has at least two and usually at least three Roles, each of which is described in terms of Elements. For example if one player decides that one of her character's minor roles is that of a singer of the liturgy in temple, an element of that role is that she's jealous of the other singers. Along with the Focus, a character should also have Links to other PCs and NPCs (e.g. the character who is jealous of other temple singers would have links to those singers); as with the FATE games, these traits should not be specifically positive or negative, so that they can be applied either way.
The next section is titled Situations, as in the conflicts or changes that happen to the characters of the group. In City of Birds, it's not just the setting creation that is collaborative, it's also the actual process of running the game. This leads to a problem in reviewing it, at least if one wishes to promote a game that its creator wishes to profit from: Namely, the rules are so brief and abstract that if I describe them at all, it might be effectively giving the game away for free.
Essentially, the task of creating a scenario goes around the table, and the person who currently has that responsibility is called the Voice. The Voice picks one player's character to be the focus of the situation, who is called the Bird. (Thus the name, I guess.) The player to the left of the Voice is called the Snake and the one to his right is called the Tiger (the Bird cannot be either of these roles, so the next player over has to be made the Bird if this is the case). In creating a situation, the Voice skips to the point that causes tension or change for the Bird character, requiring a response from him. Other players get to “build up” details on the situation to see how the scene plays out, until the situation comes to a head. When this happens, either the Snake or the Bird escalates by announcing “Crisis!” which is the point where the game's resolution system kicks in.
It is the Snake who has to adjudicate how the scene plays out within the rationale of what's been established so far. The Bird adjusts the Snake's intention depending on the traits (roles and elements) he's already established for his character, such as the guard who can fight off two men based on the element “once held a section of wall by himself.” Once the outcome is described, the description of the situation shifts to the Tiger, whose job it is to detail the repercussions of the situation and its outcome. There is a “principle of reversal” involved in that the Tiger is called upon to balance an overly negative outcome from the Snake, or to complicate an overly generous outcome to the Bird. For instance, the guard who easily defeats his opponents then discovers they were hired by the Empress to discredit him, and so he then has to decide where to go from there. This can often be done as an Echo, or a note that the Tiger player writes down to be revealed by him later, assuming the later situation is appropriate.
Character Change occurs by picking up stones, which normally happens each time a player is picked to be the Bird. When all players have at least two stones each, each player puts two stones back in the pile, and then picks up two coins and hands them as a reward to another player for his roleplaying. By spending one coin, a player can change, alter or add a new Role, Link or Element. These changes should usually reflect what happens in play. It is also possible for the Snake or Tiger to suggest that the Bird modify one of his traits due to the resolution of a situation, which is called “change through crisis.” A player can save up to four coins at a time. Also, a player may use his own coins to alter another PC with that player's permission. (Presumably this would allow someone with a coin shortage to appeal to a friend for more alterations.)
And... that's pretty much it.
SUMMARY
City of Birds is a very brief game, only 11 pages in the PDF. Including the character sheet. It is thus the radical opposite of the “crunch” games I usually go for. This doesn't make it bad, but it does tend to blur the conventional definitions of a “tabletop” role-playing game, and in fact it would seem to have a lot more in common with Live-Action.
The other issue with the game is that the lack of actual rules places a lot of responsibility on each player, since each is called upon to take up not only the role of a PC but also the various roles the Game Master would have in other systems. It may thus not appeal to more shy players or groups that have a certain dynamic. On the other hand, it might be just the thing to break such players out of their routine.
Style: 3
Given the brief detail and text, I don't give this game high or low marks for style. I do like the font and simple cover piece, however.
Substance: 3
City of Birds has the potential to be a dynamic and challenging form of RPG. Its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: The players get out of it just what they put into it.
