Story Games LA

WHAT IS THIS EVENT? At Indie RPG Night we gather to play story games and independent role-playing games (RPGs). These games are similar to role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) but tend to be simpler to learn, and have more shared narrative control for all players.

WHO IS THIS FOR? Any experience level is welcome, with no prior knowledge required. Almost all games are meant to be played in a single night (sometimes called one-shots or episodic), so no regular attendance is necessary.

WHAT GAMES DO WE PLAY? We play games that allow us to come together to have a good time telling a story collaboratively. We do not generally play games with a win condition. Some games we play have a game master (GM) and players, similar to D&D. Other games are “GM-less” or "GM-ful", and have no game master, where the rules of the game have us share narrative authority so we all have similar control over the story. Some examples include:

• Apocalypse World
• Blades in the Dark
• Dream Askew
• Fiasco
• For The Queen
• The Quiet Year
• Microscope

WHAT GAMES DO WE AVOID? We avoid role-playing games that may require players to have prior knowledge of rules (which is often the case with RPGs such as D&D). Many of us love board and card games, however this is not the event for those games. Note that some story games have elements that may look like board and card games, however we play games that share our goal of coming together to collaboratively tell a story. Although some board games have narrative elements (such as Above and Below), or can be played in a narrative manner (such as Arkham Horror), these do not meet our criteria. If you have any doubts, please talk to one of the organizers. It is also important that games played conform to our Community Standards (https://bit.ly/StoryGamesLA-CommunityStandards).

WHERE AND WHEN IS THE EVENT? Locations vary so check the meetup event for the current location. On this night we play at Geeky Teas & Games in Burbank. We plan to meet up starting at 6pm, and pitch games promptly at 6:30pm. The venue closes at 10pm. Games tend to normally last 2-4 hours. Note that Geeky Teas requires a $8 cover fee that you pay directly to them upon entry to the venue.

HOW DO I ATTEND? If you plan on attending, please RSVP here. We have tables reserved but space may be limited, so we will prioritize people who RSVP if we end up having too many folks. We will try to accommodate everyone best as possible. If your plans change, please update your RSVP as early as possible so we have an accurate count. You should not need to bring anything with you, however always feel free to bring writing utensils, dice, note cards, and so on.

WHAT ARE THE RULES? We try to provide an inclusive space, and do not tolerate harassment or prejudice of any kind, including that based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or disabilities. By attending and participating you are agreeing to abide by our Community Standards (https://bit.ly/StoryGamesLA-CommunityStandards). If you have any issues, please contact one of the meetup organizers at any time, either during the meetup or afterwards. We use the X-card and other RPG communication and safety tools, which we write about in our Community Standards document, and review when our events start.

Come join us if you are interested in discussing topics around role playing and story game design, as well as playtesting elements of people's games. Although this session will be about game design, you do not need to be an "established" or "published" designer, and you can even just be an RPG player interested in contributing. The meetup is open to anyone who is interested.

We gather at 6:30pm for some light socializing. This is also a great time to show up if you have any questions.

At 7:00pm we will likely start with a Game Design Lean Coffee session that will last approximately an hour. (What is Lean Coffee? It's a structured question and answer session where everyone participates, with shared spotlight. See https://leancoffee.org/ for more details.)

At 8:00pm we normally do some playtesting. Generally we've decided who is playtesting ahead of time from the prior meetup, and we also do a random "draw names from a hat" to see who will be going in the next sessions.

WHAT IS THIS EVENT? At Indie RPG Night we gather to play story games and independent role-playing games (RPGs). These games are similar to role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) but tend to be simpler to learn, and have more shared narrative control for all players.

WHO IS THIS FOR? Any experience level is welcome, with no prior knowledge required. Almost all games are meant to be played in a single night (sometimes called one-shots or episodic), so no regular attendance is necessary.

WHAT GAMES DO WE PLAY? We play games that allow us to come together to have a good time telling a story collaboratively. We do not generally play games with a win condition. Some games we play have a game master (GM) and players, similar to D&D. Other games are “GM-less” or "GM-ful", and have no game master, where the rules of the game have us share narrative authority so we all have similar control over the story. Some examples include:

• Apocalypse World
• Blades in the Dark
• Dream Askew
• Fiasco
• For The Queen
• The Quiet Year
• Microscope

WHAT GAMES DO WE AVOID? We avoid role-playing games that may require players to have prior knowledge of rules (which is often the case with RPGs such as D&D). Many of us love board and card games, however this is not the event for those games. Note that some story games have elements that may look like board and card games, however we play games that share our goal of coming together to collaboratively tell a story. Although some board games have narrative elements (such as Above and Below), or can be played in a narrative manner (such as Arkham Horror), these do not meet our criteria. If you have any doubts, please talk to one of the organizers. It is also important that games played conform to our Community Standards (https://bit.ly/StoryGamesLA-CommunityStandards).

WHERE AND WHEN IS THE EVENT? Locations vary so check the meetup event for the current location. On this night we play at Geeky Teas & Games in Burbank. We plan to meet up starting at 6pm, and pitch games promptly at 6:30pm. The venue closes at 10pm. Games tend to normally last 2-4 hours. Note that Geeky Teas requires a $8 cover fee that you pay directly to them upon entry to the venue.

HOW DO I ATTEND? If you plan on attending, please RSVP here. We have tables reserved but space may be limited, so we will prioritize people who RSVP if we end up having too many folks. We will try to accommodate everyone best as possible. If your plans change, please update your RSVP as early as possible so we have an accurate count. You should not need to bring anything with you, however always feel free to bring writing utensils, dice, note cards, and so on.

WHAT ARE THE RULES? We try to provide an inclusive space, and do not tolerate harassment or prejudice of any kind, including that based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or disabilities. By attending and participating you are agreeing to abide by our Community Standards (https://bit.ly/StoryGamesLA-CommunityStandards). If you have any issues, please contact one of the meetup organizers at any time, either during the meetup or afterwards. We use the X-card and other RPG communication and safety tools, which we write about in our Community Standards document, and review when our events start.