Translated by AI:
I had originally planned to wait until the game ended before posting my comments, but due to scheduling conflicts with the participants, our game has not been able to continue. I'm not sure whether this game will ever reach its conclusion, so I'd like to share my thoughts on it now. We have three players in total and have completed four seasons so far. Everyone has had a fairly positive experience.
As the game description states, it is a war-related game, but rather than having players control the war or engage in survival adventures, it uses the war as a backdrop for exploring character stories. The game features a random resolution mechanism that determines the course of the war, against which players craft their narratives and develop their characters' backgrounds. It gives me a feeling very similar to *Microscope*—both are games where players collaboratively build stories upon each other's contributions. However, there are some differences. *Microscope* allows for a broader scope and more freedom in exploration, whereas this game is more focused on the individual level.
The three of us created three characters: a civilian student, a soldier on active duty, and a politician. The civilian was dragged into the war without cause, the soldier carries out dangerous missions, and the politician uses the war as leverage to gain an advantage in his election campaign. Through these three characters, we experienced three completely different stories, all connected to the same war—and that was a truly fascinating experience. I think this is exactly what the designer intended to present.
Now, let me talk about what I liked and what I didn't like as much.
**What I liked:**
1. I love the theme of this game—it was the very reason I decided to try it out as soon as I read the introduction. In recent years, multiple wars have broken out around the world, and many are still ongoing. We often see the suffering of people in war zones through the news. This game offers an opportunity to empathize with the lives of those caught in war and to reflect on it.
2. The overall mechanics and atmosphere of the game truly immerse players in the environment it designs. The map provided in the game makes it very intuitive to track and record the progression of the war.
3. Like *Microscope*, this game allows players to craft stories within the provided setting. It neither feels too vague—leaving you unsure where to start—nor overly restrictive. We created some great war stories, discovering them as we played, which is just as good an experience as *Microscope* offers.
**What I didn't like as much:**
1. The war resolution mechanics feel somewhat complicated, and the rule descriptions are not entirely thorough (perhaps because this is only a playtest version). At first, I had to constantly consult multiple tables and cross-check the rule descriptions, making certain inferences and guesses to arrive at the results. After getting the rules wrong a few times, we finally got on track. This did slow down the pacing of the game somewhat. I would prefer a more streamlined resolution system.
2. Some of the resolution tables don't seem entirely reasonable. For example, my character was a civilian living far from the war zone, yet I rolled three consecutive results that placed my character in danger from the war, which was difficult for me to narratively justify. Of course, I understand that this is a random event and I was simply unlucky. Still, I think the events that player characters encounter could be more varied and interesting.
3. The character exploration phase only offers three directions to choose from: *Moments of War or Peace*, *Letters*, and *Character Spotlight*. As we took turns picking these topics, I found them somewhat repetitive. I wish there were more and more specific directions to choose from, or that the rules introduced new information about the characters. This might provide better guidance for story creation and lead to more diverse narratives.
It's a pity that we weren't able to experience the game in its entirety. Overall, I think it's very promising and has great potential. If you like *Microscope*, you'll enjoy this game too. Thanks to Ben—looking forward to the final version.
原本打算等游戏结束之后再发表评论，但是由于人员的档期问题，我们的游戏迟迟没有继续下去。我不确定这个游戏还能不能结束，所以我就先说一下对这个游戏的想法。我们一共有3个玩家，目前进行了4个季节。大家的感觉都还不错。正如游戏介绍所说，它是和战争有关的游戏，但是玩家们既不操纵战争，也不做生存探险，而是以战争为背景，探索角色的故事。游戏有一套随机结算机制，来控制战争的走势。这就是玩家创作故事和探索人物的背景。它给我一种和《显微镜》非常相似的感觉，它们都是让玩家们一起在彼此构建的基础上创作故事。但它和显微镜又有些不同。显微镜的维度可以更大，探索的角度更自由，但这个游戏更聚焦于个人。我们3个玩家创建了3个角色，有平民学生，有参战的士兵，也有政客。平民被无故卷入战争，而士兵则冒着危险执行任务，政客则以战争为筹码来为自己的选举增加优势。我们在三个角色身上看到了三种完全不同的故事，但他们都和同一场战争有关，这是一种很奇妙的体验。我想这也是设计师想要呈现的内容。下面说说我喜欢和不太喜欢的部分。
喜欢的部分：1. 我喜欢这个游戏的主题，这让我一看到介绍就马上决定试玩。最近这几年，这个世界爆发了多起战争，且他们仍然在继续。我们经常能在新闻中感受到战争中人民的苦难。这个游戏能提供一个感受战争中人民的生活、反思战争的机会。2. 游戏的整体机制和氛围确实能把玩家带入到游戏设计出来的环境之中。游戏提供的地图能很直观的追踪记录战争局势。3. 这个游戏和显微镜一样，让玩家们能在提供的背景设定之下创作故事。它既不会过于散漫，让人不知道从哪里开始，又不会太过限制。我们创作了不错的战争故事，而且是一边探索一边创作，这是和显微镜一样好的体验。
不太喜欢的部分：1. 结算战争的机制显得有些复杂，规则的描述也不是特别完善（也许是因为这只是一个试玩材料）。一开始我需要反复查询多个表格，并核对规则描述，进行一定的推理猜测，才能得到结果。在搞错几次规则后，我们终于走上了正轨。这有些拖慢游戏的节奏。我会希望游戏结算机制更简洁一些。2. 一些结算表显得不是那么的合理，比如我的角色是一个平民，居住在远离战争的地方，但是我连续3次掷骰的结果是面对战争遇到了危险，这让我有些难以处理。当然我能理解这是一个随机事件，我的运气太差了。但我仍然认为玩家角色遇到的事情可以更丰富，更有意思一些。3. 探索角色阶段只能选择三种探索方向：战争或和平的瞬间, 信件,角色特写 。 当我们在轮流选择这些话题时，我觉得有些重复，我希望能有更多、更具体的探索方向可以选择，或者让规则引入一些关于角色新的信息。这样也许在创作故事的时候能提供更好的指导，剧情也会更多样一些。
很遗憾暂时没有完整体验到这个游戏，总的来说我觉得它很值得期待，也很有潜力。如果你喜欢显微镜，你也会喜欢它的。感谢Ben，期待这个游戏最终版本。