{"id":2435,"date":"2021-02-01T19:01:29","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T00:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/?p=2435"},"modified":"2021-11-16T00:38:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:38:28","slug":"a-greeblins-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2021\/02\/a-greeblins-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"#33in28 Review: A Greeblin’s Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is the first in my #33in28 reviews series for the month of February celebrating my birthday (I\u2019m 33 on the 4th). I\u2019ll do one individual review on Monday of each week, then a collection of the rest of the reviews that week on the following Sunday. Not all reviews will be the same length, but I\u2019ll try to be thoughtful as always. I\u2019m mixing in a few reviews of games I\u2019m familiar with or that I just want to play, because I can (and as example reviews). Luckily I have good taste!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*This game is currently being funded through itch sales, so what I reviewed is not the final product, just what is available prior to the creator hitting their sales goal. Full disclosure: I will be editing the text and I have drawn art to be used for it, but this is the first time I’ve read the text myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Greeblin’s Journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The General Idea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Genre Tags: <\/strong>multiplayer (3+ players & facilitator), fantasy, tarot cards, heists, coins
Replayable? <\/strong>Yes!
Actual Play Available?<\/strong> Some examples in text
Length: <\/strong>Short (One-shot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Review<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today I\u2019m reviewing <\/strong>A Greeblin\u2019s Journey by Thomas Novosel<\/strong><\/a>! A Greeblin\u2019s Journey is a solo fantasy adventure game in zine format funding<\/strong> through itchio.<\/strong><\/a> I have played it with Thomas\u2019s help before (handwriting for me, primarily, for a playtest) and I\u2019m excited to check it out again! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zine itself is well written and clearly laid out with a cute and fun cover piece by Thomas. I think the guidance at the start of the zine about themes you\u2019ll encounter is really great, and is a good guideline for how to inform players about content so they can consent and play actively. Really a good starter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA player should before they play take note of what they are comfortable with for themes, as the game\u2019s story is meant to edge the line of victory through luck and will, and what it is like to need to move. The feelings associated with your bones requiring a change of space and life after an entire life of sitting comfortably alone.\u201d – A Greeblin\u2019s Journey, Thomas Novosel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This in particular really resonated with me, as someone who has been in one place for a long time, and who wants to go from one place to another. The elegance of this section\u2019s explanation of the game to come is very true to my experience of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A Greeblin I drew for A Greeblin’s Journey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another section that I really like is the description of Greeblins, which can be any kind of thing really, and this part in particular:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile every Greeblin is different, and there is no core definition of what or who a Greeblin is, there is a feeling. Anyone can look at a Greeblin and sense that they are a Greeblin. Whether it be the way they communicate with others, or the way they look up at the natural world around them, or the curiosity they have with the constructions of civilization.\u201d – A Greeblin\u2019s Journey, Thomas Novosel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the game states, a Greeblin doesn\u2019t have a name. As someone who only recently acquired their name, I feel very Greeblin-like a lot of the time. This feels really queer in the design, though I honestly don\u2019t know if Thomas intended it that way. Playing the game and coming to the end of the Greeblin\u2019s story felt very reflective of many journeys, but as a queer person, I saw my own journey in it while experiencing a fantastical adventure, which is a great achievement of design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of design, the game uses simple two die rolls and narrative prompts (which the game encourages you to replace if there is trouble with content) and then you journal your response to the prompt. I would call A Greeblin\u2019s Journey a being game very much, because while you detail what you do, it\u2019s about being a Greeblin and experiencing their journey. Each Chronicle of the story adds up to a goal of 21 to reach the end of your story, just like in Blackjack (card game). This allows you to time play effectively, but also paces the story well, and gives a chance of failure that is truly bittersweet considering my previous paragraph. It may take a second read to fully understand the mechanic since it\u2019s not our standard fare, but the game does recommend one anyway to clearly understand the rules and play guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mechanics include an Impetus die, determining what prompted the Greeblin to journal today, and the Topic die, which determines what they are writing about. There is also the Substitution, which allows you to swap a number you roll for a 1 to allow you to control the pacing of the game (a really smart mechanic, imo), and the Freebies, which are 2 free Impetus, allowing you to replace an Impetus roll with a different Impetus and set the score for it at 0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
I love this Greeblin I drew for the text. So lanky! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I won\u2019t spoil the prompts, but they\u2019re quite evocative and inspire a lot of introspection about how the Greeblin interacts with the world, how you as the Greeblin feel about those things, and what matters to you on the journey. I admit that in my playthrough for the playtest I was blessed with Thomas\u2019s dulcet tones reading aloud as he inscribed my responses to the prompts, but I still feel reading through it today that this is a truly fun, and very thoughtful, game for a solo player. Reading the prompts and responses aloud to yourself is genuinely enjoyable, and Thomas\u2019s writing is flavorful and weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I created a Greeblin to demonstrate how flavorful it is, using only options (bolded) in the book. Here are how the prompts came out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Greeblin…
has tattoos that move in the breeze,<\/strong>
prizes their magic spoon, as its reflection shows what they desire,<\/strong>
is coming from the tall forest with no stars or moons,<\/strong>
and is going to the pink salt ocean and its salt towers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like, yes. This is my jam entirely. If Thomas hadn\u2019t been designing this completely separate of me (I\u2019ll edit in the future, but I had no input on design or writing aside from proofreading if he asked), I\u2019d swear he put some of this in here just for my tastes. Tattoos that move in the breeze? I imagine my Greeblin with a pretty mermaid on their arm, though they\u2019ve never seen the sea, who reaches out for passing dandelion puffs. I imagine a forest so bright that it blinds any stars or moons and the only reprieve is the shade, but the trees are so large there are many shadows to lurk in. The spoon shows them a real ocean, with stars overhead and dark skies making the sea look like blood. That ocean – it remains to be revealed, but the Greeblin has many imaginings of what it holds. They intend to lick the salt towers, as would be expected. Who wouldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greeblin\u2019s Journey is a solo game zine by Thomas Novosel currently funding on itchio.<\/a> It is an exploratory experience with simple mechanics that feels much deeper than skin and simply is good fun and storytelling. Check it out today <\/a>to create your Greeblin and help them take their journey!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the first in my #33in28 reviews series for the month of February celebrating my birthday (I\u2019m 33 on the 4th). I\u2019ll do one individual review on Monday of each week, then a collection of the rest of the reviews that week on the following Sunday. Not all reviews will be the same length, … Continue reading “#33in28 Review: A Greeblin’s Journey”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[390],"tags":[58,194,187,10,4,17,50,46,138,8,15,12,69,41,23,18,94,56,271],"class_list":["post-2435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-art","tag-assembludo","tag-briebeau-on-design","tag-game-design","tag-games","tag-gaming","tag-lonely-games","tag-queer","tag-reviews","tag-roleplaying-games","tag-rpg","tag-rpgs","tag-single-player","tag-storytelling","tag-tabletop-games","tag-tabletop-rpgs","tag-text-rp","tag-worldbuilding","tag-zinequest3"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Pages-from-A-Greebins-Journey-v12.jpg?fit=1650%2C2550&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paHOcG-Dh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2567,"url":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2021\/02\/precious-little-animal\/","url_meta":{"origin":2435,"position":0},"title":"#33in28 Precious Little Animal Review","author":"Beau J\u00e1gr Sheldon","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi all! 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The game is currently on Kickstarter and doing well, and I think it deserves a little extra attention! 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