Hi! My fiancee wants to get into tabletop, but I need to find a game that suits her interests. Do you have any recs for something that's A) beginner-friendly, B) has little to no combat, C) is suitable for a minimum of 2 players, and D) has more mechanical complexity than, say, a journaling game? Thank you in advance 🤍
THEME: Non-Combat, Complexity-Medium Beginner Games.
Hello there! I'm so excited that your fiancee is interested in tabletop games! My apologies for being so late in replying. Here's a little bit of a taster menu: I hope something here sticks out!
PICO, by Felix Isaacs.
Let me tell you a story.
There was a night, many, many years ago, when everything ended. Bugs aren’t that great at writing things down, so nobody really thought to record the particulars of the event, but the effects were lasting; no more pesticides, no more deforestation, no more fish hooks or bait boxes or flypaper. Pets ran free from newly-quiet houses, and roach motels showed nothing but vacancies.
The world hadn’t suddenly become safe - there were still stoats to contend with, and lizards, and snappy little plants. A bug might still meet their end on the beak of a bird, or (if they were particularly unlucky in the lottery of life) under the playful claws of a feline deity. But it had become safer, and though bugs may not be great at recording history, they’re pretty damn good at making the best of whatever situation they find themselves in.
So bugs, on the whole, flourished. And the world opened up to them in return.
PICO might be a good fit for someone who wants to engage with elements of a world that doesn't necessarily require combat to solve all of its problems. I haven't played this game, but I've played it's predecessor, The Wildsea, and the flexibility of character options means that you can put together a crew that is more interested in exploration and relationship building than fighting rather easily. PICO is also gorgeous to look at, and while art isn't the be-all end-all for any game, it certainly helps potential players get excited!
I also think that the Wild Words system has enough moving pieces to encourage you to develop some level of mastery, without becoming terribly tactical. If you want to play with 2 players, there's typically a GM-less option that can allow you to generate plot pieces without requiring a guide to determine what happens next. You can find some pre-generated characters to give you a feel for the game at pay-what-you-want!
Warrenguard, by Luck of the Harbor.
You are a dragon-rider.
You feel the cold wind rush through your hair as you and your dragon fight the bonds of gravity. Your dragon lifts off from the lofty warren high above the rest of the world where you make your home.
Below you is a mountain of living stone set on snuffing out the small flame of humanity you are charged to protect. You’ve fought giant acid-spewing centipedes, a horde of rogue dragon-riders, and a storm of living lighting. You’re ready for any threat.
But you are not in the fight alone. You ride a dragon that shares your mind. At your wing are other riders who will always have your back. You live with them. Train and eat your meals with them. Laugh and cry with them. Together, you are the Warrenguard.
Warrenguard does something really interesting in that it's complexity is derived from the fact that it's two game systems put together: Belonging Outside Belonging and FATE. I don't know if I would describe either on their own as complex, but together they allow for a structure that is easier for a new group to follow, while introducing mechanical elements that can slowly merge together to create something new as you get more comfortable with them.
There's also this magical process that happens when you combine your character archetype with their dragon's personality, which allows for a lovely diverse set of player options. I don't think Warrenguard would work very well for 2 players, but would probably play well with a small group of 3 or 4 people.
Blackborow Academy, by Black Armada Games.
You play a group of Teachers at a magical school, the Blackborow Academy.
You are all friends and fought on the front lines of a war against the Shattered 15-20 years ago. Now you look after the next generation and hope they don’t ever go what you went through.
Shepherd the next generation of teenage magicians whilst fighting back an old evil, the Shattered, confronting your past and evading the School Governors.
The first rule of the Blackborow Academy – protect the students. This is your fight, not theirs.
I think I'd call this the most story-forward game on the list, particularly because it mostly depends on tokens to resolve problems and actions as you play. It's a GM-less game, which works well with small groups, and both the rules and setting of Blackborow Academy encourage you to focus on relationships, rather than physical conflict.
One reason games that use tokens might be a good fit for new players is that the limitations set on tokens encourages a natural story arc, while still giving you the power to decide what your character does next. If you want stories about magic and secrets and fraught histories, you might like this game.
Haunted Echoes, by gaa_txt
Have you ever wondered who died when the echo of a bell toll reached your ear?
Who died when the masked man descended from their black church to burn the flesh of the forgotten? Some say there aren’t enough of them to give names to the bodies, find the culprit. Even worse when you slip through their fingers, the only thing you can do is return as the worst memory you ever had, hoping your loved ones aren’t a part of it.
HAUNTED ECHOES is a lightweight TTRPG focused on one-shots and short term games where we play as weird detectives in the rainy streets of a fantasy Victorian city. Use your talents to gather clues, solve cases, banish ghosts, deal with elemental demons and ruthless scoundrels while trying to search for an answer to the question that haunts your very being.
I'm spotlighting Haunted Echoes mainly because of the genre it sits in and the system it runs on. Forged in the Dark games are great for introducing complexity at your own pace: there's a lot of pieces to keep track of depending on the game, but you can add layers as you like. Haunted Echoes is not nearly as complex as original Blades in the Dark, although that might be the result of it still being in play-testing.
That being said, the game is focused on solving mysteries, which means that you'll be spending a good amount of time in the game simply trying to figure out the source of your current problems, which doesn't necessarily require combat to figure out. This game is also playable in a duet setting, so if you only have 2 players, it still works!
PILGRIMON, by The Ravensridge Emporium.
What is PILGRIMON?
PILGRIMON is a roleplaying game designed for short campaigns about humans and their monster companions going on an adventure to realize their dreams.
The catch-22 about Pokemon-inspired games is that they typically focus on the process of battling your monster friends against each-other, which doesn't work quite as well for players who aren't interested in the nitty-gritty details of a fight. PILGRIMON, however, is more interested in the journey, as well as the relationships you build with your team. This means that battles are quickly resolved through a round of rock-paper-scissors, while checks that expect dice depend on the relationship you've developed with your creature companions.
The game itself is a bit of a longer read, but the monster sheets look fairly straightforward and simple to fill out. The designer also mentioned there was a solo game option, which makes me curious if you could use the same option to play as a duet. You can check out the Trainer Sheets for free at the link above!
Teens On Pacts, by Deep Light Games.
Teenagers would do almost anything to belong and fit in.
An accidental eldritch pact was not a conceivable option. Too late.
Let’s just hope we don’t lose what is precious for what we want.
This is a game about young teenagers entangled between accidental pacts, struggles to fit in and eldritch mysteries.
Teens on Pacts is inspired by Apocalypse Keys and Monsterhearts, which share a similar rules framework, as well as a new lens on violence. Your characters struggle with social stratification, otherization, and darkness that pulls them into arcs of corruption.
This game looks to be a little bit quicker to read than either of its inspiration, which could be a boon or a drawback, depending on how much you like to read, how comfortable you are with Powered by the Apocalypse, and how quickly you can pick up certain game principles. That being said, I'm really interested in the play aids and mapping tools that the creator appears to have made for this game, and I think the fact that this game is set in the modern day makes the lore of it very accessible to folks who are new to the scene.
You Should Also Check Out…
Tangled Blessings, by Cassi Mothwin, is a great option for a more intimate game about a doomed rivalry at a magic school.
Good Society, by Storybrewers Roleplay, gives you regency drama, a great non-combat option.
Animon, by Zak Barouh, another monster-collecting game with beautiful art!
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