Begin Again

^{review by Kaleb}

Begin Again is powered by the Belonging Outside Belonging framework, originally developed by Avery Adler in Dream Askew/Dream Apart. The Belonging Outside Belonging engine also powers games like Sleepaway, Our Haunt, and Wanderhome. There’s no dice to roll, no game masters, and no math to tell the story. Belonging Outside Belonging relies on the players to guide the story, with simple rules and imagination.

In Begin Again, the players are college students stuck in a time loop. When you choose your character role, you build out your relationships with the other players and with the setting: what’s the thing that draws people to you, otherwise known as your Lure; and who is the person you have a special bond with, known as your Anchor? Your character role will provide you with questions to answer that are specific to your character at the start of play - some questions can only be answered as the game progresses.

The premise is simple: as mentioned above, you are playing as college students stuck in a time loop. The interesting part is what you must answer while you play: why? Why is your character stuck in a time loop? What is it about this group of people that can break the time loop? Why is your character feeling stuck in particular? As you play, you and the players will figure out these questions together. It can be as complex or as simple as you need it to be. At the start, your group will have a clock (similar to a pie chart) with 2 pieces per player in the game (i.e. a 4-player game will have 8 clock pieces). The clock progresses under certain conditions: a scene closes, someone talks about being afraid of the future, a player character makes a strong Move (without spending a token). The clock keeps track of time passing in each loop.

Each character additionally has Moves, which is akin to having special abilities or powers during the game. Moves come in sets of: weak moves, normal moves, and strong moves. Normal moves consist of actions your character can take at any time. Weak moves occur when your character is feeling hopeless, or wavering in their beliefs. These moves give you a token each time they are used. Strong moves are the opposite - these are used in moments where your character’s abilities can shine through, but they cost a token to use.

Begin Again is a game about hope in the face of change, as put by the author, Barclay Travis. All players are involved in making decisions and progressing the story, without the presence of a game master. Players share responsibility for the community their characters are tied to and to contribute to the story as it unfolds.

Begin Again is available now from our webstore.