Hey all!
Last month I had the pleasure of placing my first order with Knave of Cups, a Portland, Oregon-based shop stocking independetly published ttrpgs and a variety of related objects and accessories. I first found out about this shop, which gets new stuff in the first friday of each month, through Twitter. I went throught their thread about October’s offerings with absolute glee, and wound up picking up a tarot deck and three new games – two of which I’m talking about today!
I may only have been aware of Knave of Cups for two months, but their updates are now marked down on my calendar as something to look forward to on the first Friday of the month. If you decide to check them out and buy anything, lemme know what you’ve picked up! It’s always interesting to find out what others have decided on! And, with that in mind, lets get to talking about the two TTRPG zines I picked up in October: Orbital and Zero Void, both of which are set in space. I’ll see you there!
Orbital by Mousehole Press
First up is Orbital. When I first read through it I was reminded of Hugh Howley’s Silo series. Has it been a number of years since I read these books? Yes. Did the “everything is bad out there but by working together in here we will survive” vibe immediately make me connect the two? Also yes. The world of Orbital is not utopic by any means, but part of its premise is that everyone believes in this thing bigger than themselves: the station.
The tone of the game is thus quite appealing to me, and the physical feel of it was lovely as well. The interior pages have satisfying feel that is more textured than usual book pages. The cover is similar, and I love that is using blue ink. I found it much easier to read, and the blue and gold together on off-white pages looks beautiful.
Orbital is a GMless game, but it does have a Facilitator who has a firmer grasp of the rules and introduces the game to everyone else. From there, it’s time for collaborative storytelling in a turn-based system! The game opens and closes with minor scenes from each player where your character is just… being. It’s nice that each character gets to open in a way that humanizes them individually, and that at game’s close we return to these individual lives and how the character has changed over the story’s course. I find it charming!
I found myself with several questions as I went through Orbital, thinking I’d have them answered later. I did not! But that’s okay, because a quick search on Itch brought me to Mousehole Press, where I found out I just need to e-mail the creator to get the digital files I don’t presently have. You do need the digital files to play the game, and I’m glad to have quickly resolved my momentary panic of “wait, am I missing things? I’m definitely missing things oh no!”
Orbital is a neat little volume, and I like the ‘working together’ world it creates. There isn’t anything cozy about threats to the station’s existence, but there is something human and warm about how the game encourages you to share a meal together before playing, if you can. In a game about community, and saving it, that was a nice addition.
Zero Void by MacGuffin & Company
Zero Void is very much not about saving your community! It’s the opposite to Orbital in several ways: glossy cover and pages, has a GM, and it’s stated outright that your group is way more likely to die than survive – great, cool, no stress! (Some stress, a fair bit of stress)
The premise of Zero Void is that you’ve just botched a robbery and the imperium is on your heels. You’re racing against the clock to get out of the system, and you and your crew are all equally terrible people. To make matters even more interesting there is a mechanic actively encouraging players to make things more difficult for one another… and easier for themselves in the process. Will you stick with your crew, or save your own skin? The choice is yours! Do you trust that they’ll watch your back if you watch theirs?
I like this one because everything you need is right here in the volume. I’m not super keen on the glossy page texture because it picks up oils immediately but do think the finish adds to the overall futuristic feel of the game. I think I’d want to make photocopies of several pages so that each player had physical copies of the information they need – something that’s easier to solve with a digital file. That said, I’m quite happy to have the physical version!
Zero Void is also neat because you get the roles and stats for possible characters, but no other information about them besides “you’re all awful”. I do feel that these dynamics could be a lot of fun, and that the game itself would be an absolute blast. I also know that for me, because of the ‘everyone for themselves’ and the exceptionally likely chance that the players die, the idea of running this one causes me a little bit of stress! Regardless, Zero Void was a great read and the world felt very complete. It does a great job of keeping the tension and pressure up, and I think the story possibilities for an evening of chaos are as vast as space itself.
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