Hello Iain,

Could you sell me on Mob Justice? What makes it specail? How is it a mob game? What themes does it explore? Does the game provide you with a loaded situation up front? How much prep is required, if any, prior to actual play?

I enjoy the genre, but have never roleplayed in a mob based setting before and am curious to give it a go with a well designed game.

TTFN,

Yoki

View my gaming commentary in Holken

Hi Yoki,

Sorry Iain hasn't posted a reply to you yet, I think he's be run off his feet with work and then family stuff over the festive period.

Mob Justice explores themes of honour and loyalty through the medium of a gangster setting. This is achieved by making these themes the absolutely key parts of wahtt he characters are about. So, everyone has codes which are the ways they live their lives, they have loyalties which reflect their relationships, they have tells which give them away to outsiders and so on and so forth.

All of these elements interact heavily with the mechanics to produce a game where all of these, plus your standing ion society and the gang itself can vary over the course of the game, depending on the actions you and your fellows take.

Prep time can actually be quite brief, but the game can also be finely detailed. 'Story chips' allow the players to bring colour into scenes and these are also the currency for conflicts.

I'm sure Iain would be able to give a fuller explanation, but hopefully this will give you a rough idea of the way the game goes. We're currently putting the finishing touches to the full version of the game, which should be available for purchse in the near future.

Cheers
Malcolm

Contested Ground Studios

My apologies Yoki. I work in retail and over christmas it completely wipes me out. Bah Humbug!

Now to answer your question.

Mob Justice is a game that explores the themes of reputation, honour and loyalty that the majority of gangster and mob films explore. The game is set in an America where prohibition never ended and the mobs essentially run riot across the country.

Players create a character whose most important parts are his Reputation, his standing in the public eye, and his Stature, his standing within whatever organisation he is a part of.

This reputation and stature ties into the rest of the system: telling you how big a criminal network you control, how many men you can command in a conflict etc.

Characters have skills as well, which are used during conflicts to form poker hands. Yep, the entire system uses poker to resolve any conflicts with all the raising, calling and bluffing you would expect. Story chips are the narrative currency in the game, and are also bet during conflcits, and allow a regulation of what players can narrate and when.

The prep matter will come down to the GM a lot of the time. Character creation can be relatively quick, as a lot can be fleshed out during play, or can be detailed, allowing players to start the game with a better idea of who they are and where they stand.

Hope that answers your questions and apologies again for the delay in getting back to you.

Cheers
Iain