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Keenan is killing it bringing story games to the classroom. His latest post is about using Microscope scene structure to explore the Scarlet Letter. The kids’ feedback is stunning, once again. Scarlet Letter: Microscope Scene Building and Reflections Other educators are starting to share their experiences on the new “games in the classroom” G+ community, […]

“fall of league of supervillains creates world war” “outlawing of experimental drug unleashes social inequality” “rise of psi talents unites terrorists” The special bonus superhero Oracle from the Microscope Explorer kickstarter is ready to go! You can use the PDF and roll the dice or use the oracle online. There a lot of societal issues, […]

A lot of people look at Legacies in Microscope and ask: what’s the point? What purpose do they serve? Couldn’t we just skip that step? Here’s an excerpt from Microscope Explorer, where I talk about that very thing: Legacies perform a vital function, but it is a fairly subtle one. At its heart, a Legacy […]

Last weekend I had a chance to play Microscope for the first time with some of my gaming crew from way, way back. We’re talking veterans of Lorngard and my old AD&D campaign — that far back. We started our history with a pretty basic fantasy premise: magic was perilous, and a eldritch war had […]

In Microscope, there’s always room in between, so long as it doesn’t contradict the history you’ve established. But how much room? Again, as much as makes sense. There was a suggestion on twitter about marking cards to show how much time passed between each Period. The problem is, our understanding of the history improves as […]

Back with the fine folks at HyperRPG, talking about Microscope. And a bit about Follow. And West Marches. And Braunstein. And Pokemon Go. We cover some territory, we do. The bad news is, I have no idea why there is jazz playing the whole time. We couldn’t hear it in the studio. Yeah, it’s kind […]

Two more history seeds for you! These were created as part of the Microscope Explorer kickstarter, based on ideas requested by generous backers, but they are provided as free downloads for all Microscope players to enjoy. In the War of Secrets seed, a world-shaking truth lurks, guarded by some and sought by others: Aliens hide […]

I was on my way to make a surprise appearance on Strix’s Weekly Affirmations show on HyperRPG when it occurred to me that in the seven years I’ve been playing Microscope, I had never recorded a session I played. Ever. So if you’ve been curious to see how I play and teach Microscope (with occasional […]

“Colonists set foot on a new planet and strive to make it home. Can it grow into a flourishing, civilized world or will the colony fail and be forgotten?” Brave New World is one of the new, improved seeds in Microscope Explorer, but I wanted to make it available for all those Microscope players who […]

Don’t you hate it when you sit down to play Microscope and then fumble about trying to pick a topic for your history? So many possibilities. Not quite infinite but really really big. And each minute of brainstorming and discussion is one less minute of play. As I’ve said many times, you don’t need need […]

It’s hard to believe Microscope is five years old today (almost seven if you count from the first game we played). And what better birthday present than brand new Microscope Explorer books, hot off the presses? Let the shipping commence..!

I finish Microscope Explorer and I immediately start coming up with even more ways to play. Doh! Jonathan Walton asked: Thinking about using Microscope for a grad class on Friday. Anyone run it (or Echo) as attempt to uncover/obscure “true” history? I’m hoping it might be useful for exploring multiple competing narratives about the same […]

The first print test of Microscope Explorer just came back. Yep, it looks great. But before I press the big red button that starts the actual print run, I’m double-checking (and triple-checking) everything, then doing a second print test with those final corrections. One of main things I’ve been doing is stress-testing the Oracles to […]

“Wanted: Hundreds of monks to manually transcribe copies of Microscope Explorer onto thin pages of vellum…” What’s that? We’ve got machines for that now? Whew, that’ll save time. And monks. Now that the PDF is done I’m working on test prints of the book. When those check out, bulk printing begins. Depending on turnaround times […]

Microscope Explorer, the new supplement for Microscope, is available, right now. Backers have already had their hands on Union, Chronicle and history Seeds for months, so it’s time to give everyone else a shot! Books should be ready to ship in February but you can pre-order them now.

It’s always fantastic to chat with RpgGamerDad. After he invited me to talk about Microscope back in January I promised I’d come back when the Microscope Explorer was underway. So I did! RpgGamerDad Podcast: Ep 43 – Sunny Seattle Special RpgGamerDad also talked a bit about Microscope Explorer and his plans to run Microscope with […]

“We created the Citizen Kane of spaceship stories…” –Timothy Young Sometimes the excellent games sneak up on you. They disguise themselves with trenchcoats and fake moustaches and then, when you least expect it, they pounce! I played two games of Microscope Chronicle at PAX last year. The first was the story of a mechwarrior-style mercenary […]

Psst! Hey, kid! Want to score some cool new ways to play Microscope? I’ve got some Microscope Explorer right here… (uh, imagine me whispering in a dark alley, possibly wearing a ratty trench coat, tempting the youths with story games and that sweet, sweet imagination…)

Ever since the first playtest, Microscope Echo required the Lens to describe a faction going back and changing history. The idea was that this intervention kicks off each round and drives the action. But as I keep playing it, I’m thinking that requirement isn’t necessary. Players don’t seem at all hesitant to go back and […]

“Let’s work on our games! Use the devastating weight of procrastination shame to jam it up!”–the Mighty CHOBBS Peer pressure makes good company. So this weekend, Marc, Caroline and I set the grindstone speed to “dangerously high” and leaned way, way in. We ignored the pretty-pretty sunshine, the chirpy-chirpy birds, and did the dreadful labor […]

Now that all the spin-off games have gone through playtesting, I put up a proper introduction page to talk about what’s going to be in the new Microscope Explorer book. Three Microscope spin-off games? Detailed step-by-step seeds plus randomly generated seeds? All that lovely strategic advice? Yep, we got all that.

“But too often, fantasy worlds are created like Ikea furniture, popping up whole with minimal assembly from big pre-existing parts that creak and come apart after heavy use. That’s why so many many fictional worlds seem to produce carbon copies of real world Western gender hierarchies, even if it becomes painfully dissonant with other details […]

Four years ago today, Microscope is released: would-be players: “Oh cool! A game about time travel!” me: “Actually no. Players pick where in time they want to explore but the characters in the game can’t move through time. Except, uh, forwards. At the normal speed.” would-be players: “But… I can haz time travel?” Fast forward […]

The Earth was lost. The tide of Communism had spread to every corner of the globe. But on the Moon the last patriots remained steadfast, raining down showers of city-crushing debris from their lunar bunkers. Vengeful, destructive, but ultimately futile. It was a last hurrah for the West, but too late to turn the tide. […]