Visigoths vs. Mall Goths
| A Tabletop Roleplaying Game & Dating Sim | |
|---|---|
Visigoths vs. Mall Goths paperback book, exterior and interior | |
| Designers | Lucian Kahn |
| Illustrators | Robin Eisenberg, Vee Hendro, Lluis Abadias Garcia, Olivia Fields, Jackson Tegu |
| Publishers | Hit Point Press |
| Publication | 2020, 2023 |
| Genres | tabletop role-playing game, urban fantasy, comedy, romance |
| Players | 4-6 plus GM |
| Age range | teens and up |
| Skills | Role-playing, improvisation |
Visigoths vs. Mall Goths is an urban fantasy tabletop role-playing game with LGBTQ dating sim elements by Lucian Kahn, with art by Robin Eisenberg.[1] The ancient Visigoths have time traveled to 1990s Los Angeles and are battling mall goths for control of the mall.[2] The game's tone is silly and the setting has many puns. The game was inspired by 1990s movies The Craft, Empire Records, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Clueless.[2][3] It was nominated for the ENNIE Awards and the Indie Game Developer Network awards.
Gameplay
[edit]Players make characters in competing teams of two-three Visigoths and two-three Mall Goths. Conflicts are resolved by opposed rolls with two six-sided dice plus character class bonuses. Players can use embarrassing traits to offer a teammate a bonus. Characters are not physically hurt in combat but receive hurt feelings they can heal through dialogue.[4]
Adventures
Jonaya Kemper wrote the adventure "The Little Mx. Scare-All Pageant.”[5]
Design influences
[edit]According to the book, Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was influenced by the videogames EarthBound, Dragon Age: Origins, Monster Prom, and The Sims 3, and the tabletop roleplaying games Montsegur 1244, Witch: The Road to Lindesfarne, Shooting the Moon, Masks: A New Generation, and Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition.[6]
Reception
[edit]Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was nominated for the ENNIE Awards for "Best Writing" in 2020[7] and the Indie Game Developer Network award for "Best Setting" in 2021.[8] It was in the exhibition "Game Play: Between Fantasy and Realism" at Museum of the Moving Image.[9]
Kieron Gillen endorsed the game.[10][11] Justin Joyce for Polygon recommended it as a game to try from Indie Press Revolution.[12] Banana Chan for Dicebreaker called it one of the best games of 2020.[13] Linda Codega for Gizmodo recommended it as a queer game to play for Pride Month.[14] Trin Garritano, Games Digital Outreach Lead at Kickstarter, named it their favorite project of 2019.[15] Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was featured as a four-part series on One Shot Podcast Network's flagship actual play podcast hosted by James D'Amato, author of Simon & Schuster's "Ultimate RPG" books.[16][17] One Shot Podcast Network's show Character Creation Cast also aired a two-part episode about Visigoths vs. Mall Goths.[18]
Publication History
[edit]Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was originally self-published in hardcover, softcover, and PDF form through a Kickstarter campaign in October 2019 that met its initial goal in 24 hours and raised a total of $21,393 from 751 backers.[19] It continued to be distributed in softcover and PDF form through Indie Press Revolution, Itch.io, and DriveThruRPG.[12] A PDF version of the game was included in bundles on Itch.io to raise funds for various charitable causes, including abortion funds in the south and midwest of the US[20] and funds for Ukrainians impacted by the Russian invasion.[21]
In March 2023, Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was republished in softcover and PDF form by indie publisher Hit Point Press after their Kickstarter for Kahn's game If I Were a Lich, Man raised $84,590 from 2,049 backers.[22]
References
[edit]- ^ "Queer Games Bundle strives to earn a living wage for marginalized artists in the tabletop RPG space". Dicebreaker. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ a b Gailloreto, Coleman (2021-06-19). "LGBTQ+ Themed Tabletop Roleplaying Games". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "Pre-order If I Were a Lich, Man: 3 Jewish Games by Lucian Kahn on BackerKit". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "Scratching That Itch: Visigoths Vs. Mall Goths – Waltorious Writes About Games". Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ Grace, Lindsay (2021). Black Game Studies: An Introduction to the Games, Game Makers and Scholarship of the African Diaspora. Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press. p. 48.
- ^ Kahn, Lucian (2023). Visigoths vs. Mall Goths (3rd ed.). Hit Point Press. p. 5.
- ^ "2020 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards". Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ "Indie Game Developer Network announces 2021 award nominees". Dicebreaker. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ "Game Play: Visigoths vs. Mall Goths". Museum of the Moving Image. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Visigoths vs Mall Goths :: Game Books :: IPR". www.indiepressrevolution.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ kierongillen. "Another Way To Breathe". Tumblr. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ a b Joyce, Justin (2021-06-02). "The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ "Games of the Year 2020: Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall co-creator Banana Chan". Dicebreaker. 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ "26 Tabletop Roleplaying Games by Queer Game Designers". Gizmodo. 2022-06-16. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "Visigoths vs Mall Goths :: Game Books :: IPR". www.indiepressrevolution.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ "Visigoths vs Mall Goths Archives". The One Shot Podcast. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ The Ultimate RPG Guide Boxed Set. 2021-12-28. ISBN 978-1-5072-1834-1.
- ^ Cast, Character Creation (2020-02-03). "Series 24.1 – Visigoths vs Mall Goths with Lucian Kahn [Designer] (Creation)". The One Shot Podcast. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Track Visigoths vs Mall Goths (game & weird 90s mall setting)'s Kickstarter campaign on BackerTracker". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Meehan, Alex (2022-07-04). "Wanderhome and Visigoths & Mall Goths featured in bundle for abortion funds". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ Jarvis, Matt (2022-03-08). "Ukraine charity bundle offers over 300 tabletop RPGs for $10, including Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Troika and The Wretched". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
- ^ "Pre-order If I Were a Lich, Man: 3 Jewish Games by Lucian Kahn on BackerKit". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-06.