WHAT WORKS: A fun, light RPG-ish game that could well appeal to non gamers who are open to a little roleplaying. Price point isn't bad and the game knows it's not a deep RPG, avoiding complicated subsystems and instead settling for a quick competitive/cooperative experience. I am utterly in love with that cover.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The game is built with the assumption of an ongoing campaign in mind, but I can't imagine ever really using it more than once or twice a year.

CONCLUSION: Dude, Run! seems like it would be a good deal of fun in the right setting. I could see busting it out annually around Halloween as a much lighter alternative to other horror games like Slasher Film, especially if you have a curious non-gamer or two willing to sit in.

For my full review, please visit http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2013/12/tommys-take-on-dude-run.html

A delightful send-up of the 'real paranormal' investigation shows that frequent the airwaves, a mix of role-playing and near boardgame which pits the players' Investigators against each other and the cold hard light of day provided by the GM or Skeptic.

The base concept is simple - the Investigators visit a suitable location and stuff happens. It is up to them to come up with suitable paranormal explanations for everything that happens, gather supporting evidence... and try not to scare themselves silly in the process.

As the game is supposed to last around two hours, gameplay is of necessity a bit mechanical. There is an initial call for investigation - hunters saying that they have spotted Bigfoot or someone saying that their house is haunted - and once the characters turn up there are hotspots to investigate and weird events (or are they?) to explain by collecting evidence.

The mechanics are fairly straightforwards although not completely intuitive. The wilder the explanations that the players come up with the better, though, as long as they can tie them in to their observations and the evidence that they have collected. However, play may become a bit mechanical as it is very reliant on rolling dice: this concept is possibly better played more freeform - provided your group is able to agree. Die-rolling is good for settling arguments, after all.

There is a useful summary of different kinds of paranormal events and creatures to draw upon both when constructing the setting and when trying to interpret the evidence. To round the whole thing off, there is a complete investigation episode to get you started.

Good fun but a bit mechanical in the actual playing out of the game.