Hey Man, well this is Babylon

I’ve got this gigantic digital drawer-full of little one-off game ideas that I have a feeling I’ll never get around to using. To that extent, I’m kicking off a new category of posts called “Little Ideas” so that maybe someone out there can find them useful to their own games and ideas.

So let’s get this all started with…

Line!

This mechanic encourages players to seek the input of other players during “big moments” in the game. Each player is given an amount of “Line Coins” which they keep in front of them at the game table. During moments of game play in which the player is uncertain about what their character should say or do, they can instead say “Line!” in the fashion of a stage actor who has forgotten his lines. The other players can then choose to submit what they think is the most awesome thing that character could do or say at that moment in the game. The acting player picks the best one, and awards the Coin to the player who submitted it. These coins can then have some special in-game effect, be it geared towards advancement, in-game empowerment, narrative enhancement, or another aspect of player boon.