In my experience, one of the hardest things to do as a GM is come up with in-game games on the fly. There are only so many times you can do an arm wrestling match or an odds-evens game before players start getting bored, so I was excited to check out The Arcane Clock, a “game within a game.”

The basic premise is that three magic users get together and have to either “build” a magical clock face or get zapped and lose concentration/lose the game. To do so, each player rolls 2d6 over the course of multiple rounds, doing their best to amass the 12 numbers on a clock face without getting zapped too many times. The first player to get all 12 (or who outlasts the other players getting five zaps) wins!

There is a little bit of further nuance involved in the game beyond just rolling dice. For example, your ability modifier can help you gather the numbers, and you can also use the numbers you roll in a variety of ways. The rules seem a little complicated at first, but the examples in the document and further explanations really help clear up that initial confusion.

Overall, it’s a fine mini game, one that’s easy to implement and play and can give you as the GM a lot of descriptive power. However, I do confess to being a little disappointed in the document. The document is four pages long, but only half a page is actually necessary to give the game rules; the rest is just descriptive fluff. There also isn’t any cool art or layout work, and it just felt a little disappointing to open the document for the first time. I also don’t see why this game couldn’t have been easily adapted to non-magic users, essentially giving you multiple games in one.

However, this is a really cheap game at Pay What You Want/$1.00, so it’s not a bad value. It’s just that, if you compare it to other items and how much hype the game starts with, it feels like there should be something more. Maybe a neat layout? Maybe the rules in playing card form so you can print them out? Maybe more than one game? Maybe paper dice you can print out? Something.

That having been said, if you would like a quick and easy mini game to add to your campaign, I do recommend grabbing this. It’s easy to learn and doesn’t necessarily need the GM, freeing you up to do some last-minute planning. It also encourages players to be creative and descriptive, and that’s always a good thing.

This is a great way to keep characters occupied. Pretty well constructed. Very useful.