Customer Reviews

Tribes *OP

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(Note: Additional stars may be applicable. See below!)

How did human cultures and mores arise? _Tribes_, a specialized sort of roleplaying game, attempts to answer it through play and experimentation.

_Tribes_ was created by SF author David Brin, and game designing legend Steve Jackson. It's a physically minimal game, with paper components. If you're interested in PLAY of game, and don't mind the lack of slick or commercial production, add a half-star!

The players -- I'd say you need at least six, while twelve is too many -- represent members of a tribe of early humans. The winners (one male, one female) are the ones who end the game with the most surviving children. (An early version of the game was called "Darwinopoly.")

The game is played on a very simple board with four regions (plains, hills, swamp, forest) each of which has a different variety of plants and animals to hunt or gather. Much of the playing surface is occupied by charts and tables, e.g., a timeline to determine how far along your kids are toward maturity.

In each round, players decide whether they're going to spend their time hunting, gathering, guarding children (there are hyeanas about), and making craft items (baskets or spear points). Also, they decide who they're going to sleep with! Successful mating means the female character gets pregnant, of course.

This is a VERY social game. Lots of arguing and bargaining occur. The games I've played (I was a playtester) were all VERY enjoyable. The game is successfull in that, from a simple set of game rules, _social_ rules emerge.

_Tribes_ isn't something you'll play super-often. It's something to have fun with once in a while. The good news is it's easy to learn, so you can spring it on friends and acquaintances who might not normally be into a role-playing game. Add another half-star if this doesn't bother you.

This is a game by David Brin and Steve Jackson. It's fairly cheaply made - consisting of a thin black & white rulebook and a cardstock sheet of counters which you have to cut out yourself. But they weren't expecting to sell the game to the masses anyway. In short, it's a simple simulation of tribal life during the stone age. You hunt, gather, procreate and try to survive. If you're interested in anthropology or fairly quick and simple but interesting games, give it a try.

Interesting documentary style storyline. Definitely worth a read if you like Brin style racconts...