2021 Day 17: Masak Ayam
Whilst not strictly a single page, this beats the same rhythm as Grant Howitt’s one page games: tiny system, simple offbeat PCs, random plot, lots of possibilities for chaos and humour. And what’s not funny about playing chickens?
It's going to be a short review, for a short game, but it's probably the most fun game on this year's list.
You are chickens that awaken as your fate (to be cooked in some way) draws near. The threat of that fate gives you the power to escape it and the skills to get your revenge (if you wish). There’s not much more to it than that, but it broke one of my players.
Name: Fred (female, cos’ chicken)
Fred is a very friendly bird, always keen to be popular. As such, nobody minded that she ate a little bit more than her share.
Fate: Fried Chicken. This gives her the power to block damage. I envisage this as creating a forcefield bubble around her; whilst active she spins around and around and around. Which she loves.
Skill: 2, Power 3
And the story features a strict Chef at a Frontier Temple with a Gaudy kitchen. There will be hungry guards on patrol. There are also hidden but unstable passageways.
So I envisage this as the celebration at the end of the journey. It’s tempting to say this is a trip to a distant planet, but it feels more like a Western (or Western fantasy). A caravan has made it over the icy mountains, across the sparse plains and through the dangerous animals to their destination. As a result they are making a feast before they start building. I’m not sure how the strict chef features, but the hungry guards are obvious. And I would suggest that the passageways might be rabbit warrens (or belong to a similar but more dramatic creature) which could lead to all sorts of shenanigans.
With three fields, I'm not doing a character sheet for this one. Have a chicken.
Chicken clipart
https://defiatos.itch.io/masak-ayam