...I'd run it straight up, but if you're really supermotivated by the bowling hack then you should do that instead.

For me, I like the reaction the game generates when players realise they're telling a story about people and connections. The lightbulb switching on. That seems to strike home more when it's been boxing/fighting since they expect the game to be just fighting, and it's not at all. The problem with boxing as a backdrop is the barrier it seems to cause to people trying it out. (And it's a barrier I don't quite get.)

I think I will keep it boxing, so that new people get the game straight off. I was thinking about setting. I happen to be downloading some of the new battlestar galactica (BSG) and I seem to remeber one episode involving underground boxing that allowed the crew to work out their frustrations. Would that seem like an interesting idea? Cash could be currency to buy the luxuries from the black market, hopes and fears centering around their families and loved ones with regards to their future.

1920s might be the other one I go with, mafia connections and all.

Edit: I deleted a bizzare double post.

Cheers

Iain

Mob Justice now available!

'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.

I'd recommend you bring no more than a sentence or two of possible settings. Keep it light. And let people know they're just suggestions. Mediate when people suggest other settings, and latch onto the good ones quickly.

And just to mix things up a bit, give everyone a few extra points in both in-ring and other traits. Or the fights will look a little samey.

So should I just sit back and mediate as need be or should I take part?

I am leaning towards the former at the moment

Cheers

Iain

Mob Justice now available!

'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.

Sorta depends on the group? If you get a creative bunch, let them do the lifting. If someone looks bright-eyed but hesitant, help them along.

Last time I ran it, I came along with 'Maybe it could be in Vegas, as I just saw Ocean's 14'. We did War in the Pacific instead. =)

http://www.collective-endeavour.com/node/906

Joe.

Depends how many players you get! Last time I played at Furnace we only had 3 players, so I joined in too. But last Conception we had plenty, so I sat out and just mediated and handled the rules. So see how many you get!

As for setting, maybe go for boxing? Seems to pique people's interests. Don't turn up with any more than a fragment of an idea and let them run with it, or come up with their own. I think at Furnace I just said "how about Sheffield during the miner's strike" and the players handled the rest!

Last year worked very well, with Andrew running the Roman themed gladiator Contenders game. Mechanically identical, but loads of juicy background to play with. He bought all the ideas to the table, pitched it as a Gladiator game and had pre-written characters.

I'd suggest:

Play it straight as a boxing game.

Don't create anything up front.

Explain that the default setting is the grittier side of the real world, but that it works just fine in any setting. Have a few ideas of places the boxing could be happening. BSG is neat, but make sure you throw at least two other ideas out there. Like Joe says, someone will grab something they like and run with it or they'll suggest something else they think is awesome and everyone will run with that.

Like Andrew says, if there are less than 4 players, step up and play a character yourself. Otherwise, mediate.

Make sure you have the character sheets printed! They have the cheatsheet stuff on them and they're essential.

Make sure you have the NPC fighters in the game. A lot of players are used to the Players vs GM thing and are very reluctant to start a fight with another player's character at the start. Once they understand things they tend to go for the throat, but I've usually seen the first couple of fights be vs NPCs. (This also usually happens in Umläut as well with new groups)

Have two decks of cards. Or three if you can: two for playing and one for splitting up so that the players can have a set of 4 fighting style cards each. Actually, making a set of cards you can give the players with the styles on (like I have for Umläut) would probably be more noob friendly, but they are far from essential given the really neat cheatsheet on the character sheet. Having two decks means you can shuffle one while using the other one. This is really important during fights: you can deal hands of cards from one deck while a player not involved in the fight shuffles the other deck. Then switch decks between rounds. This will speed things up a load.

I found having a Gregor to explain stuff while I ran it was handy, but Gregors are fairly rare. Lacking one, the cheatsheet on the character sheet is good.

Rich is right about two decks.

I would re-run the gladiator one
you will get way more interest than boxing IMO