A Year In Revolt

Made for the Fuck Capitalism Jam 2024

A Year in Revolt is a map-making and narrative building ttrpg in the style of A Quiet Year though with a different set of rules.

(And if you haven't played A Quiet Year, you really should!)

In A Year in Revolt, player(s) collectively build the story of protest and change within a liberal democracy. The protest grows through Occupations, social Transformations, direct Action and confrontation before finally pushing the state to react and reveal its coercive nature.

The game is played with a big piece of paper, pens, a slimmed down deck of 25 standard playing cards and a 6 sided die (d6). The cards randomly determine the type of  activity the Movement can undertake on a given turn. The players decide how it all goes down and write and draw their interpretation on the map. The d6 determines if what the Movement is attempting on that turn succeeds or fails and then the players in turn write/sketch the result.

The focus of the game is not victory for the revolution or long debates about what comes after. It also tries to avoid romanticizing what has come before. Love and acknowledge revolutionary history, for sure, but then leave it to the far right to imagine an unchanging future of only nostalgia.

This is your brief, fragile moment of focused revolt in a world of distraction.

Today. Now.

FAQ

How many players is it for?

It's been play tested both solo and with three players who get along.

Is it done?

What is done? But sure! It plays pretty well. But the mechanics will keep getting tweaked and the document will get another hard edit. Or two.

How long does it take to play?

It  takes a bit less than two hours to play to the end but you'll get a feel for the game after a few turns.

What's next?

There's a draft of a themed Playbook that's mostly written. It makes the game less open ended. That could be finished if folks wanted.  Also, doing some more drawings, revisiting the layout and uploading a booklet version would be cool. And if people have ideas, I'd totally work that in.

As Marx said...

Only in community [has each] individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; only in the community, therefore, is personal freedom possible.