Player Guidelines

This guide contains advice for the players. Further guidance and optional rules for Judges can be found in the Judge Guidelines.

Before the Game

Before the game begins, come up with character ideas, and pull together materials to play with. Decide together with your group on what kind of heroes you all want to play. This game fits well with themed hero teams like Power Rangers or Sailor Scouts, but can work for less cohesive heroes if desired. Together, come up with a theme for your powers - animals, myths, cars, aliens, crystals, or whatever your group likes. Make heroes that are fun to talk about, and fun to play!

Talk to your teammates about your character’s personality and personal life. Maybe they are teens struggling to mature, or adults who struggle with money.

You will want some materials handy before the game begins. Set up something to play your music with, and gather some items to use as props. The music and props for your character are your responsibility to gather and keep track of. Talk with your Judge about what materials to use to track the Upper Hand and Victory Points. Poker Chips, coins, beads, or dice may be good options. Make sure you have these on hand before the game begins.

If you are going to use Music as a Requirement in your written scripts, make sure that you have something to play the music with - including a button that you can press easily. This may be a button on a smartphone app, sound board, drum pad, keyboard, cassette player, or anything else you have, as long as it can play the music right on cue. In a pinch, you can use the music resources found here. If using Props, you should also spend a little time preparing those. Your Magic Cloak can be anything from a bath towel to an elaborately embroidered silk cape, but the important thing is that you bring it to the game and have it handy.

Although you may spend some time imagining your character and gathering materials for Requirements, don't write your scripts before the game starts - you will want to do that together with your whole group during Phase 1 of the game.

Phase 1 Guide

When writing Moves, consider your characters and how they fit into the group. It can be fun if the Move matches your character’s personality - or just as fun if it’s a total mis-match. Be creative and feel free to bake-in conflicts. Does the most immature character have the best Superpowers, making the others begrudgingly rely on her? Or does the pacifist secretly hold the power of the strongest Final Attack? Don't try to make a character that has every power - share ideas with others and be a fan of everyone else's characters.

You can find examples of how to write up your Moves on the Moves and Scripts page.

Phase 2 Guide

When playing your character, have fun. Speak in your character’s voice, and laugh even when things go wrong for them. Imagine yourself in the story, and collaborate with the Judge to create an exciting story with lots of fun conflicts.

Eventually, your characters will come up against the villain. At first, you will not have the Upper Hand, meaning you should be cautious. You can gain the Upper Hand by transforming, or by using your Superpowers creatively. You can also gain the Upper Hand by winning a Contest, but it’s tough to win when you are at a disadvantage.

The Judge gets to decide when a Contest begins, but you are free to recommend one whenever you feel it is appropriate. Contests do not always represent battle, and should happen when either the hero or the villain is acting against the other: an investigation, a chase, or combat of course. A longer investigation or battle may take up several Contests.

When you have the Upper Hand, you are likely to win Contests, and therefore likely to gain Victory Points. These points allow you to finish the game, so capitalize on having the Upper Hand when you can.