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This was an interesting game to read, and even more interesting a game to play. But before I go into detail about the game let me explain a bit about myself as a gamer so you have some idea where I’m coming from and thus you can filter the review through that lens as a reader. I play games of all sorts everything from the extremely realistic like Hârnmaster Gold to the extremely esoteric like Noumenon. Like most gamers the vast majority of my roleplaying time is consumed by more “typical” games like Dungeons and Dragons or the myriad of White Wolf games (who I also happen to have playtested for on Hunter and Changeling and co-wrote the demo adventure of Promethean for). All that having been said I have a great love for Narrative roleplaying games and look for nearly any excuse to play them. Hopefully that gives everyone a clear idea of where I’m coming from on this review, with all that aside, on with the review.

Microscope is a roleplaying game, though if you walked into a room and saw some people playing it you might mistake it for some sort of odd home-brew card game or board game since the table would have a series of index cards with writing and funny looking circles on them laid out in what looks like some semblance of order. Really all those index cards are doing is creating a visualization of the game worlds timeline. At its core that’s what the game is about actually; the players (there is no Game Master) are cooperatively creating an entire game world and it’s timeline. However they are doing it in reverse. Starting by creating a “beginning of time” (it doesn’t have to literally be that, but it could be) and then creating an ending to that same timeline. In between could span a scant few decades or could go on for untold millennia, it’s up to the players to decide. The game is divorced from any default setting or genre so players can really build the world they like; in the examples given in the book there is a fantasy world example, a martial arts epic, and a sci-fi setting that are used throughout the book to demonstrate the rules and mechanics of the game. The system is diceless as well for those of you who are curious. As the game progresses the players will then drill down into the timeline and play specific scenes (with complete disregard for chronological order) to flesh out the feel of their shared creation.

Now you might be saying, “wow that sounds fascinating but how does the game do that Dan?” Well, I won’t tell you exactly how it happens, to know that you’ll need to buy the book but I will give you a lovely loose look at it. Basically play begins by the players cooperatively deciding on a beginning of time and then on and end of time. Then the players create a “palette” of things they would like to see and things they absolutely don’t want at all. Once that’s done players go around the table creating new “periods” which are large chunks of time within the timeline, and “events” which are much smaller but more specific, well, events that happen within the periods. Once the group has reached a agreed upon amount then actual play begins. The first players is declared the “Lens” for the round and picks something (a person, place, thing, organization or pretty much anything in the game world really) that will be the “Focus” for the round. Play goes around the table again but this time any periods or events players create must relate in some way to the focus that the lens selected. At this phase players can also create “scene” which are important moments within an event in which everyone will decide on roles and roleplay out to answer questions that the players are curious about within an event. Once play goes around the table once, one player decides on a “legacy” from that rounds focus which is something that the player would like to see come up again and be important throughout the timeline. Finally the Lens passes to a new player who creates a new focus and around we go again. This can go on as long over as many game sessions as the group likes until they are satisfied that they have learned all they want about the shared universe that’s been created. One caveat is also given in all of this: when players are making new periods and events (not scenes though) they cannot be challenged coached are bartered with by other players. If they want to blow up a civilization it blows up, no matter what anyone else wants so long as it does violate what is known about future periods and doesn’t include anything banned by the Palette. That’s part of the fun of the game actually, being surprised by history.

Now that I’ve taught you a little bit about the game and seeing as how this is supposed to be a playtest review let me tell you about me and my groups world so you can see how this all came together:

The players were myself, Kyle, Becky, and Josh. We decided we wanted to do a fantasy world and for our beginning period we decided on Humanity founds its first city and agreed that the tone of the period would be light. Then for our ending period we decided on Lizardmen inhabiting the abandoned remnants of Humanities cities and agreed that was actually light since it speaks to time marching on, even if it is without Mankind. We then agreed on our Palette (interesting choices: humans were incapable of magic without making a pact with a supernatural force, no Elves, and Gods are distant with very few miracles being doled out to the faithful). Next we set about making new periods and events. The first city was named after Rydon. The hero from humanity’s nomadic days that drove the orcs out of the fertile lands (this was an event within the first period). Becky made a new period right before the closing period in which humanity ceased it’s worship of the gods and began worshiping their heroes of legend. Kyle made an early period in which humanity prospers because of access to fertile farm land and lucrative shipping lanes along the coast where the first few cities where established. After making a number more periods and events we then moved on to regular play. Since I was explaining the game I decided to play Lens first and I set Rydon (the city) as the focus. I immediately started off with a scene in which we would figure out why Rydon encouraged his people to settle in cities after he had been so successful as a nomad king. Turns out he had seen how the orcs had failed due to their adherence to tribal ways and he feared humanity might one day share the same fate. Josh then created a new period in which Rydon was destroyed as the peasants rebelled against a corrupt and oppressive nobility. Becky created an event within the period of man ceasing to worship the gods where the people erected a shrine to Rydon upon the ruins of the city that bore his name. Kyle created an event within Josh’s new period in which the rebellion was started when a twelve year old boy was hanged on the wall of Rydon after insulting a noble. And then back to me at which point I created another scene to answer the question: why did a descendant of Rydon himself seek to destroy his families city by leading the rebellion? After this the lens was passed and play continued and let me tell you mankind ended up with a sorted past. It saved the dwarves from extinction, an emissary of the gods was raped publicly and genocide was attempted on the very same race of dwarves that man had once saved.

All in all it was an interesting experience to say the least. In closing I would definitely recommend this game, with one caveat: This game is heavy on narrative play and if that’s not your thing then you probably will have trouble with this one, but if you like a good yarn, then you’ll be fascinated by this game. As far as my scoring goes, I gave this game a 5 on substance because of just how innovative and smooth the system is. I gave it a respectable 4 on style and would have liked to give it a 5 but the distinct lack of art made that not realistic, though the lack of a default setting would make it challenging to keep any artwork pertinent.

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