3:16 - Carnage among the stars. Just say it out. From the get-go it slaps you around, and tells you to straighten up, cause you're in the infantry now! Originally written for a 24-hour contest, author Gregor Hutton has refined it and rewritten the rules to actually work.
A quick read of 96 pages, it is beautifully decorated, and has a cartoony feel to it. Perfectly blending flavor text and actual rules most seasoned players will have read - and understood - the entire thing within a couple of days.
The key to any good RPG is clear rules for characters and a good system for conflict resolution. 3:16 has both. I have yet to find a player who has not grasped the basic consepts of the game within ten minutes of explanation and demo-playing. Simply limited to two kinds of dice, d6 and d10, the game features just about any kind of weapon you might want, from hand-to-hand weapons and grenades through sidearms to weapons that yield 1d100 kills.
Another great thing with this game is the fact that there are a lot of examples of use of the rules, which help understanding greatly.
The second time I played 3:16 was as a game master. My group loved it, and we had an excellent time, with one of my players scoring 83 kills in a single mission.
3:16 is simple to grasp, and quick to play, a single mission taking up to two and a half hours to play through. Featuring the best of both the roleplaying and boardgame worlds, this RPG still has ample opportunity for actual character development both in between missions and through. using the game's wrench in the machinery; flashbacks.
Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!] |