#the zone

The Zone is a very narrative-heavy RPG, to the point that players take turns being the GM.

It's the only game of its kind that I've played (or even been aware of), and it definitely knows its own strengths in game design.

The game has each person take on a character archetype with their own goals and whatnot, then throws them into a spatial anomaly that reacts to inner thoughts, emotions, or just whatever seems the coolest to the scene's director, kind of like Silent Hill, Puss in Boots TLW, SCP Foundation... maybe, etc.

This is probably the rules-lightest TTRPG I've played, because the only thing set in stone is that each player takes turns directing the different locations based on scene cards while on their way to the magical wish-granting epicenter of the anomaly.

Well, the other thing set in stone is death. People will randomly be fated to die in end-game locations (with the benefit of directing their own death scene!) unless someone else sacrifices themselves. All in all though, only one person can get the wish, and dead players have the voting power to decide.

The thing that can get you more voting power, though, are mutations, the main injury-type mechanic in the game. You gain them every now and then when things go wrong (or occasionally right, and though the reality shifting powers of The Zone may get you down, it just means that you and only you get to pick the final wishee if you die the most horribly mutated.

Overall, it's a pretty fun game with little to no setup time; hell, there's even an official version that can be played online (https://play.thezonerpg.com) alongside the beautiful physical edition.

Stared a bit too long into the Tornado anomaly today… and it stared back into me.

By Raph D'Amico

Surreal horror play-to-lose RPG. Based on media like Annihilation and Stalker, you play as an expedition into an exclusion zone from which no one has ever returned. Watch yourself mutate as your team tries to reach the Center of the Zone in order to have your greatest wish granted.

Всіх з новим роком, сталкери, та happy new year!