%% date:: [[2023-12-26]], [[2024-09-18]] %% # [[Microscope (RPG)]] [site](https://www.lamemage.com/microscope/) Microscope (RPG) is a [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games|TTRPG]] system that plays out over a larger scale than most other games. Microscope is low-prep, [[Being a Game Master|GM]]-less, highly collaborative system where players create the world and its history before defining events and scenes within it. Microscope never gets into the nitty gritty of battle and combat; instead, it stays at the narrative level. ## System Summary Setting:: Any Classes:: No Races:: No Tests:: None Degree of success:: No Attributes:: None Player agency:: High PC hardiness:: High PC power level:: High Rules complexity:: Low Publisher:: [[Ben Robbins]], [[Lame Mage Productions]] ## Rules - [[Microscope (RPG) rules cheat sheet]] ## Distinctive Features ### No GM There's no GM in Microscope. The rules recommend that at least one player have read the rules, but beyond taking the first turn, they do not have any more agency than anyone else at the table. All players are involved in everyone's round, but players generally take turns being the "Lens", a role that gets a little bit more of a say for the current round. ### High narrative agency Microscope gives every player an extremely high amount of narrative agency - maybe more than any other game I've tried. Players can not only determine what happens in a scene, but the history and course of an entire universe. Owning that agency, and actually using it to make sweeping declarations, is one of the hardest parts of the game. ### Collaborative world- and story-building The world-building in Microscope is collaborative, but the turn order and rules around not being able to affect things on other people's turns prevents the [[Alpha Gamer Problem]] from occurring. When it's your turn, nobody can stop you from creating and destroying large sections of the universe. In Microscope, creating history can mean either creating a Period, Event, or Scene-- but eventually, at some point in the game, you'll do all three. Sometimes they'll be to flesh out something you introduced, but most of the time you're building them onto something that others introduced. ### No cliffhangers Unlike lower-scale game systems that tend to be combat-focused, or have tighter story arcs, in Microscope, there are no open loops at the end of the game. In fact, one of the first parts of the game is "bookending" history: defining the start *and end* of this chapter of a universe's story. That means that you're always building towards the eventual and known end together, even if you take a circuitous route to get there. ### Varying levels of focus On your turn (as the "Lens"), you can decide to create a part of history that is on a high level: a Period or an Event. These element sit as part of the story, but can be vague. However, you can also create Scenes and either dictate them (narrate what happened, all on your own) or roleplay them, in which case all the players get together, decide which characters they're going to play, and then act out the Scene until the question that began the Scene is answered. The roleplayed Scenes are more akin to how other TTRPG systems typically work. Microscope is unique in that it allows you to create both high-level epic stories and low-level thrilling scenes. ## My impressions of Microscope (RPG) Microscope is more of an activity than a game-- an exercise in collaborative world-building rather than a fun roleplaying romp. With the right mindset, creative players can use it to create a satisfying, centuries-long story that sees empires rise and fall and change in epic ways. ### What I like - You can collaborate on building a world together, and then play in that world using another system. I really want to try this! - Everyone gets a say in the world, and it's so satisfying and fun to see your friends build on some throwaway concept you happened to mention. - There's enough of a structure of rules there to keep you from meandering, but not enough to shoehorn your story into a predictable mold. The improvisational nature of the game makes even the most boring beginning become a unique and fulfilling story. - The rules are light enough that they can be explained by someone who's only read through them once, and is a good fallback for an impromptu game or when there are fewer players present than normal. ### What I don't like - Creation can be painful and exposing. When you're creating collaboratively and needing to build off each other's ideas, you need to be very careful about showing your dislike or disapproval of someone's ideas while still encouraging them to create something others can use and expand on. It's a fine line, and can be difficult to walk, even for close friends. I absolutely would not play this with strangers. - The game is meant to be played physically, and the rules reflect that. There are cards that need to be oriented a certain way, or stood up rather than laid down, or coloured a different colour. The turn order uses physical location. There are some adjustments to be made for digital play, not the least of which is the careful selection of a [[Virtual Tabletop|VTT]]. - The open-endedness of the game can be daunting. You can play with any genre, add any elements you want, kill off anyone you want, make anything happen. It can be creatively paralysing when it's your turn to create something, and it can also be frustrating when someone adds something to the story that doesn't fit your idea of what it could have been. - It can take a really long time to play through a single round, depending on the level of experience of the players and their willingness to move things along. ### My games of Microscope (RPG) - [[ttrpgs/First Dawn/World|First Dawn]] - [[ttrpgs/The Stolen Words/World|The Stolen Words]] - [[ttrpgs/Codex of Brambles/World|Codex of Brambles]] ## Resources - In two my games, we used [Utgar's Chronicles](https://utgars-chronicles.app), a free web app for Microscope. However, if I were playing it again, I'd probably just use something more freeform and general, like [[Miro]], because Utgar's Chronicles felt very restrictive in that it didn't allow you to move cards from one place to another very easily. - Update: I played this again and used [[Miro]] for [[ttrpgs/Codex of Brambles/World|Codex of Brambles]], and it worked *much* better! - [[Microscope (RPG) rules cheat sheet]] - My notes on the rules of Microscope