Tragedy Looper is a deduction board game which pits three protagonists against one mastermind. On the board are four locations featuring a cast of characters which can be influenced by the players by moving them around and applying ‘goodwill’ and ‘paranoia’, two forms of currency which influence the game in various ways. Generally, goodwill benefits the protagonists and paranoia benefits the mastermind.
Known only to the game master is a hidden narrative which determines secret roles of all the characters on the board. Some characters will be killers, some will be secret lovers, some will be friends. Some of these roles will grant abilities to the mastermind, some will have passive effects. For example, if the character with the hidden role of serial killer is left alone with any other character, they will always kill that character at the end of the day. Observing this pattern of behaviour will allow the protagonists to determine that said character is in fact a serial killer, which can provide hints on which ‘plots’ are in effect. Plots determine which roles are in play, and only a limited number of plots can be in effect at once. In the ‘Basic Tragedy’ script, the existence of a serial killer means that ‘The Hidden Freak’ plot is in play, which also includes a Friend role, as you can see on this chart.
What makes Tragedy Looper unique is that it features a time loop mechanic. Each game will contain a certain number of loops, anywhere from 2 to 7 total. A loop can last up to 8 days (each scenario has a limited number of days), and various conditions established by the plot and roles can cause the loop to end prematurely. The ultimate goal of the protagonists is to either A: reach the end of the loop without losing, or B: identify the roles of ALL characters at the end of the final loop. The loop mechanic allows protagonists to manipulate the board through trial and error to determine patterns of behaviour and isolate potential plots and roles of the characters. The goal of the mastermind is to deceive the protagonists and prevent their victory. If you’d like to learn more, you can read up the Player’s Handbook here.
So, now that I’ve explained the basics of the game, here’s my proposal: I want to host a game of this on the Rokkenjima forum! It just so happens that Tragedy Looper is available on Tabletop Simulator (It’s okay I own a physical copy so it’s not piracy, right?), so while we could play a game of it live with others who own TTS, I feel like we could get a lot more people on board by hosting it on the forum. How would I do that? Basically, I’d post screenshots of the board from TTS on the forum topic as each move plays out. In response the protagonists would decide on a move, and I would act out that move on the board and upload a screenshot of the result.
“But Aspi, isn’t four players kind of small?” True enough, it is a small number. However, while these protagonists are the only ones directly influencing the game, that doesn’t mean the rest of the forum can’t join the fight, commenting and speculating and advising the protagonists of potential moves they can make. I’d even offer the protagonists to open a private channel to discuss strategy away from the mastermind’s eyes, because the more aware of the protagonists’ strategies the mastermind is, the less it works to their benefit. As I plan to be the Mastermind to begin with, I’d like to offer the protagonists every advantage so they can get a good grip on the game.
So, from here, I open the floor to expressions of interest! From the interested parties we’ll need to decide on three protagonists to represent them. If you have any questions or feedback, I’m all ears.
