I need help for a playtest review - Dirty Secrets!

[Jocelyn Robitaille]

Less than 24 hours to go...

... here's photos of the game material assembled!

The whole stuff.




Same stuff, other angle




The Conflict Track




The Crime Grid




The Character and Crime Cards




The Investigator's Notebook, a regular die, a violence die, the witness, and the Dirty Secrets rulebook.

[Jocelyn Robitaille]

Okay, it's now official - I'm a nervous wreck.

Dirty Secrets is pretty complex, and I hope I'm gonna be able to explain the rules to the rest of us in a non-confusing way tomorrow night. I'm working really hard to make sure I can, but I'm still a nervous wreck.

This said, my guidelines for bringing dice, people. Bring d6s of the following varieties:

• White "dotted" d6s.
• Non-red d6s with the numbers written in actual numbers instead of dots.

If you're wondering why, it's because the violence dice (a special variety of dice that do not count toward the bidding) I've got for us are dotted red dice. The "dotted white or non-red with numbers" scheme will make it easier for everyone involved to peek under their dice cup and not get confused about which dice are used in the betting, and which are the violence dice.

I'm pretty psyched. This should be very cool.

[USER1]

Originally Posted by Jocelyn Robitaille

Dirty Secrets is pretty complex, and I hope I'm gonna be able to explain the rules to the rest of us in a non-confusing way tomorrow night. I'm working really hard to make sure I can, but I'm still a nervous wreck.

...

I'm pretty psyched. This should be very cool.

I got both of those from those pictures you posted. A scary complex am I even going to understand this game yet alone play competently feeling, and a OH YEAH! I'm playing this game tomorrow feeling.

[Jocelyn Robitaille]

Actually, the rules are very clear, and very very clean. Having read through the book, I can say for sure that I understand the system perfectly, that I understand its underlining implications and impacts, and that I can find the details I forget by flipping through the book for 15 seconds at most.

Needless to say, this is going one of the game's strong points in my upcoming review.

Nay, what I'm nervous about is giving you guys as good a run-down on the rules as the book gave me.

(And for the record, my kitchen table gave an amazing sepia-toned look to those photos I totally did not plan on.)

[Walkerp]

Looks exciting!

[Doc H]

I love how you posted the pictures. It really whets the appetite. I soooo wish I were there to try this game out with you all.

[Jocelyn Robitaille]

As this is totally a pick-up game, if it's any fun, chances are I'll run it again.

DocCon 2008, maybe?

[Walkerp]

Good luck on your game tonight, gang!

[PMikey]

Yes, good luck to all...and have FUN!

[Jocelyn Robitaille]

The verdict...

Well, I had a blast. The story that came up kept twisting and turning, and felt like true noir all the way. It had it all: sex, drugs, murder.

I won't go into too much detail, because that's what my review is for, but the game pretty much achieves what it sets out to do. The only (minor) issue that I have with it is that it has a rather steep learning curve until you sit down to play.

Dirty Secrets definitely doesn't scratch my regular RPG itch, but I can see myself playing it again, and even developing a specific itch for it. The fact that it is a pick-up game in the truest sense helps a lot.

Mekhare, Chearns and White Wolf were all very good, and I like how the game managed to almost effortlessly mix our four respective visions in one cohesive story.

Dirty Secrets is really a gestalt sort of thing, where the sum is greater than its parts, so I have a hard time giving you guys more details. Feel free to ask me questions, as this will help me organize my thoughts for my review.

Hit me!