Review of Juvenile Delinquents

What does the book look like ? Juvenile Delinquents is a small-sized 32-page book, with a dark red cover depicting a kid painting the Anarchy symbol (circled "A") on a brick wall. It's the only illustration in the book. The book is entirely written like on a typewriter (fixed font), which looks very artisanal. Almost all the book is about rules, but those are very simple, and feature many examples and advice to the GM.Approximate contents - introduction (basic explanations) : 4 pages - character creation : 9 pages - task resolution : 6 pages - equipment : 7 pages (including 16 sample devices to build, and 1 page about "magic") - encounters ("monster manual") : 4 pages (with 14 creatures including dogs, adults and kids) - rules for forts : 1 page - suggestions for miniature gaming : 1 page What is the game about ? It's a RPG about being a kid, and living kid's adventures. The cover and the title of the game are misleading : it's not about kid / teen rebellion against society, but more generally about silly things you do as a kid : absurd challenges, rivalry with other groups of kids, etc. The game is supposed to be played with kids' vision of life, including their superstitions, which are somewhat real ... And how is the system ? The system is standard d20-rolled-under-stat. There is no difference between stats and skills : 14 such "General Characteristics" are proposed. There's also a simple advantage / disadvantage system, featuring 24 such "Special Characteristics". Character creation (and evolution) is done with points with which you buy those characteristics. Children are rarely supposed to fight "for real", but there are rules for fights anyway, in case you're in a snowball fight, have to face a bully or a mean dog. Damage is rated as Fatigue, which you lose when exerting yourself or taking a hit. More important than fights, there are rules for chases. When faced with an hostile adult, the only solution is to run away, because once they catch you, there's no escape (and fighting is useless). How does it compare to Little Fears ? This may seem to be an odd question, since the topics are apparently very different. Aren't they ? Well, "horror" is not absent from Juvenile Delinquents, though it is far more subtle than is Little Fears. Adults can't be fought : they try to catch you, and once you're caught, you're completely at their mercy. Among the generic NPC's, there are "Mean and Nasty Adults", a very generic term to describe monsters which might be worse than Closetland denizens ! Also (a bit like in LF) the game features Child's "Magic" which is the power of belief. They can enchant an object by their belief ("the spirit of Michael Jordan is powering my shoes") and there are rules for it. And, more important, there are rules for "forts", the kids' HQ's. There are also rules to build equipment, simple and fun (you can create a "telegraph" with some wire and 2 yogurts, brew a "dog repellent", build a "rocket launcher" with some tube and fireworks ...). For representing kids and their vision of life, this is the best system I've found (with the possible exception of some freeware games, such as the French Petit Nicolas). Of course, I'm talking about the system here : Juvenile Delinquents' setting is less precise, and far less horrific than Little Fears'. It's a question of taste, but I prefer this more subtle approach to child's fantasies. ConclusionDon't be fooled by its poor aspect : those ugly 32 pages are extremely rich and well-though. It's certainly worth reading if you manage to find it (it's been OOP for some time now...), as an near-perfect adequation of setting and rules.

Review of Juvenile Delinquents

Juvenile Delinquents Review Summary

Juvenile Delinquents Product Summary

Review of Juvenile Delinquents

What does the book look like ?

Approximate contents

What is the game about ?

And how is the system ?

How does it compare to Little Fears ?

Conclusion