#RPGaDay2024
“Good form” is a broad descriptor for a game. Does it refer to its design, aesthetics, accessibility, writing, or something else? At the same time, I immediately had several games pop into my brain space before I tried to dissect the term. It may be a tag I will put on two different games for two distinct reasons.
Across the board, the game Spectaculars has good form. The box set is criminally cheap (currently $20) and comes packed with an insane amount of content and accessories. It plays quickly with a simple but very playable take on superheroes. RPGs have tackled this genre in many ways, from Mutants & Masterminds to Masks. Spectaculars is closer to Masks (it is not a PbtA game, though).
Character creation is fun, and the accessories make it tactile. You pick through cards (or get them randomly) and piece together your hero. When I ran this for the locals, this process was a big hit, and we ended up with excellent characters.
Where Spectaculars shines is in world-building. Their setting book, which leads you through key questions, magically leaves you with a fresh world while still faithful to comic-book tropes. You pick a team (street level? Comic-exploring family? Global protectors?), each hero adopts a role, and you are off. The scenarios for each team type are easy and fun.
When I ran it, we opened the box, and everyone “ooo’d and ahh’d” the components; they built their team, world, and heroes in under an hour, and we played.
The book layout, the cards, the trays, the tokens, and the play all show Spectaculars is a whole lot of “good form.” It’s also fun.
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