WHAT WORKS: A nice mix of stock fantasy elements combined with some new and/or relatively rare fantasy components. Simple system with easy enough character generation, good for a pick-up game. A ton of art for a tiny book, it never gets in the way and especially does a nice job of depicting the more uncommon elements.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Honestly, the book feels like it was almost laid out backwards. I'm used to flavor fiction at the beginning of the book and not the end, and I almost always prefer character generation before rules.

CONCLUSION: I'm not sure I'd call it an RPG aside from the character generation, and I'd be hard pressed to call it a story game. It's really almost a board game in a book, but given how easy the map is to print, and the low price point, I don't think that's a bad thing. If the physical book is laid out the same as the PDF is, I'd recommend getting the PDF over the book and just printing out the map, since the map is almost smack in the middle, then using some kind of tokens or figures to track movement around it. Definitely has the potential for a fun beer and pretzels type game.

For my full review, please visit http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2012/06/tommys-take-on-dark-woods.html

The Good:

• Unique setting.
• Easy to learn system.
• Complete campaign included that takes the PCs across most of the setting.
• Released under a Creative Commons license.

The Bad:

• Lacks a "human" element.
• Just enough new terminology to be off-putting.
• Much of the interior art is significantly weaker than the cover piece.

For my full review, please visit: http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2011/01/tommys-take-on-squawk-role-playing-game.html