Many Shades of History: Microscope Actual Play

I have to admit, there were times when I thought, “hmm, will the histories people come up with really be different, or will they all follow the same basic ideas and patterns? Won’t all stellar empires start to look alike?”

Yeah, I was totally wrong. There are some fantastic actual play reports coming from the playtest groups, and just like the games I played at GPNW, each one has blown me away with its originality. Even the ones that look they should be a simple concept start to grow into something unique before you know it, which is kind of the point.

I started linking them in the comments of the “What is Microscope” thread, but I think they really deserve a home of their own. Witness the many shades of history:

• When the Stars are Right (alt history Cthulu)
• Capitalism, Uplifted Dolphins & the Hive-Spires of Titan
• Scourging of the Sky (sky cities & elven dragon riders)
• 40K-ish Space Inquisition
• ice ages and transgenic humans
• The Rat-ening
• The Monsters
• Greater Earth Co-Prosperity Sphere
• Wizard War (with timeline graphics) [added july 29]
• Alien Apocalypse [added aug 04]
• The Return of Magic (aka Shadowrun revisited) [added aug 18]
• Celestial Dragon Judges & Vase Runners [added nov 3]

There are more that playtesters have sent directly to me, but sadly you don’t get to see them. They’re all mine!

If you’ve got your own play report posted somewhere that you want to share, post a comment or trackback here and I’ll link it. I’ll keep updating this page to include new games as they are appear.