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The game echoes the way a western feels from my view. Deserts being brutal and unforgiving, although the itself isn't meant to be that way (just reflect that vibe). 

Your question is a good one. If you're stuck - you just backtrack. I thought the idea was inherent to the Carta system but the Sandlands really are a map. If you hit a dead end you go backwards and move in a different direction. If you already resolved an area you don't have to do it again unless it's one that repeats. That's why you can visit the Oasis more than once. As a player you're expected to go back to spots like that and the Clinic. 

Thank you for asking, each player illuminates something different about the games they play. It's why I also like ttrpgs and such, since creators can feel free to answer questions like yours. Let me know if you need clarification on anything else, for sure!

Pretty darn good for just the first few weeks. Congratulations!

That's for the more storied idea of gameplay, and it's what's inherited from Cyberborne specifically. It's true, just about every roll comes with an effect and there are few ttrpg systems out there with something similar.

However - it's a solo ttrpg. Feel free to play without those modifiers and view that portion in a way that works for you. Yeah, you'll lose the little bump on the 6, but it won't break the game. You can even think of it as "casual mode" so you can focus on the other aspects of gameplay. 

I'm a big believer in bending the rules to keep it fun. So do so with my full blessing. 

Just want to congratulate you for your gaming making it to the number 1 spot for physical games! It has to feel really great. You both deserve it for all of your hard work!

This is a really good one! Almost like a poem.

Congratulations!

Hello, and thank you for the comment. The last batch were grabbed up recently, but when the next purchase is made I'll be sure more are added. 

My name is Madeline Tortwill, and I live in Sunvale Manor with my family. This year my father has agreed to let me attend the sun fair all by myself and I couldn't be more excited. On the first day of the fair my carriage set out and I expected to see familiar locals on the road too. We didn't encounter anyone. In fact, the only thing we found was a Great Scaler menacing the only farm road into town. They normally don't leave the forests, I can't fathom what it was doing in such a public place in the light of day. I shot an ironoak arrow to scare the miserable thing away. When it scuttled off a suspicion formed... ironoak is sacred to the god of light and is abundant in Sunvale Forest. 

Something evil is afoot. I bid my driver to make haste to the fair in hopes that Master Umbros would be in attendance. Or I would have except the Great Scaler slithered right back onto the path further down the road.

I must be mad. I feel as if it's trying to keep us from getting to town.

I am so happy to see your comment. Thank you for your kind words and please feel free to share excerpts from your playthrough. I'm so glad you're liking the game! 

Congratulations on being the runner-up in the Jam! 

Congrats on placing number 1 in the Jam! 

Oh wow, Lucky number 13 for this jam! I love it!

A complete game with an interesting story that likely won't take more than 30 minutes to an hour to play. Can you guess who the vampire is? Play it and see what you think!

This is a really well put-together project. While the protagonist isn't exactly the best hunter out there I felt as if it worked out. The vibe you're creating asserts itself early on and the character designs lend themselves to the story and the climax of the visual novel. Also, this isn't always true of VNs, your work READS very easily and the characters came across with definition without having to make their dialogue crazy or adding a ton of accents, etc. 

My critiques would concern some of the stuff mentioned at the end. People being sick and odd things happening - I wasn't sure if I was dealing with an unreliable narrator to be honest. There isn't much evidence of something strange occurring beyond the protag's word for it. School is going along like usual and the teachers and even your targets aren't concerned. I wasn't sure why the main character was. If you were to revisit I'd add more "lore" points or allow the player to read some of those notes on the board at the beginning. Visually, this isn't a critique but a note, the clock in the classroom is HUGE! lol. I saw that and compared it to the whiteboard and it occurred to me that it has to be the size of a full shield. 

That out of the way, it should be noted how you mentioned this being a time where you took everything on by yourself and that's a major step. This is a good first game for striking out on your own and being a solo team for a game and you added quite a bit of forethought to the gameplay that I appreciated but must have taken work on your part. So pat yourself on the back, it FELT very much like a complete game and for a short game that isn't always easy.

A boost to creativity is always a lovely thing, and I think others can often discount how important it is for those who are already creative as well. 

Thanks for noting the Back Issue variants. It's not traditional for 5-minute ttrpgs but I thought it would be helpful. 

An absolute Nostalgia blast. I you were on the internet in the early 2000s then this will totally give you fun flashbacks. Give it a try and spend some time customizing your adorable slug. 

Also, the faux-background story is SO spot on! 

What an exciting playthrough to read! 

First, the art is so cute. You really want to root for Miss Gloop, and storywise I found what she went through actually...relatable? lol Wanting to meet your heroes, getting duped by the fine print of a contract, and of course I love the queerness of it all. I was totally glued to text wondering how it would all unfold. 

No worries on it taking more than 5 minutes - the time WAS optional! We'll say you stuck to the 5 minutes in like...Jupiter time. lol 

Gonna be honest, your project was the one where I wanted to place my rating directly on the page instead of in the jam. You CAUGHT the spirit of those early Web 2.0 dress up games. Like, I also remember the software with K-I-S-S Dolls and such that people put so much work into. But you always had those offshoots that inspire fashion games even to this very day. 

But this is just on the nose. The Neopets of it all. I cannot imagine how long this took, but it had to be a labor of love. Even down to the SIDE panels. But it was a good idea to keep the game page itself simple because it reminds me so much of those understated geo-cities guides for certain games. I saw the vision for sure. 

Oh my goodness! You really embraced the ttrpg-ness of it all! I'm so glad, and it looks like you had fun, which is always the goal of what we do, right? 

And thank you for the compliments on the art, from one artist to another, I find that 5-min ttrpgs are very minimalist by tradition but...a splash of color and context-setting doesn't hurt right? I appreciate the playthrough in the comments! 

I appreciate you saying that! I like to put thought into them and the experience. Thank you! 

Thank you! I know ttrpgs aren't for everyone but - the nostalgia was strong. lol 

Some grammatical things to fix under "Slimed" the butterflies should be "grateful". Under "Fireballs" you state that there's an "earth shattering raport" but a "rapport" is a good thing. Did you mean to use another word? 

Okay, all of that said I can see how this one really is a direct revival. So you get highmarks there! Despite the spelling issues, which are very minor and don't affect gameplay, it's a very cute game that presents some stuff challenges as it progresses. I only got as far as the fireballs before I gave up and that's okay - easy to learn hard to master. The story elements are helpful to keep the player going and you have the ability to add to that to make completing a level even more rewarding. 

Still, it reminded me so much of games from the 90s and that's truly in the spirit of the jam. Good work. 

Now I understand why I didn't see your game before! You were the team still working on the project. 

I did read through/listen to the game. There are a few grammatical issues or instances of the spoken dialogue not syncing with the displayed text - but I really enjoyed the voice acting and the concept seemed cute. A small adventure with bits of depth here and there gave nuance to the story. Congrats to your team! 

Sensational! So well done with great pacing.

Thank you for your honesty! It made me take a step back and consider the nature of tabletop roleplaying games- including the 5 minute variety which are a bit like a puzzle. I appreciate the feedback! 

Hey Slug-fans, I'm the superheroine of your dreams - Sluggerina. All on account of my amazing powers to communicate with denizens of the deepest ocea- naw, that's a lie. I shoot slug slime at people. 

Although, I wouldn't say no to dropping a whale on a supervillian or two. 

I used to be on this team full of "winning personalities" cause I was disjointed from my own reality. I mean Ultra Maim Corps isn't all bad if you like big guns and women who can't walk on the heels of their feet. Tried it, not for me- my feet are too slick. 

I guess fitting in didn't matter in the end because my teammate Blayde Belle ended up possessed by an evil entity named Paralyzer and killed everyone else on the team. How did I survive? Well it wasn't perseverance. I slipped out of there on my slug slime by mistake. The happiest accident my slick butt ever had! 

I don't think Paralyzer was too happy about that because they ended up kidnapping my only friend in this grungy world - entomologist, Chuck LaRoach. Actually he does kind of get kidnapped like once a week so this wasn't too out of the ordinary - but Paralyzer was no villain du jour!

But I had ole-dark-and-deadly figured out. I had to save Chuck and I was gambling on a hunch- It couldn't have just been a lucky escape.  My slime made me immune to the entity's powers! That's why it needed to get rid of me so badly. So I confronted that menace in Belle's body and shot one good glob of goo its way. 

Really good news? I got the bad guy! With one hit! The bad news is Belle and Chuck were hit by my goo and sent...to who knows which dimension. And the powers-that-be blame ME for all the trouble Paralyzer caused! With no witnesses to back me up they exiled me from Earth! How's that for gratitude?!

Well the joke's on them, cause I joined up with a crew of interstellar freedom figh-- just kidding. I got sent to Mars and awakened an ancient evil Martian Deity -- NAMED PARALYZER! 

So I kinda got to attend to that cause there's this whole civilization on Mars - yadda yadda. You know the drill. Later, Slug-fans! 

This is a really good manifesto!

A neat speculative ttrpg that takes you away from your tabletop and out into the world around you. The play is all about the player and their real world seen through a new and fun lens. 

I like the colors, formatting, and the idea - but I was confused on the first part. It says to roll twice so I'd assume my result of a spell that's "Sweet Sanguine" was right? 

What I rolled was: I case a sweet sanguine spell that brings about an ending. We'll say it ends a time of cursed ancestral blood that has only gotten worse with time. However it costs me my words. So instead of losing my power of speech I lose the ability to sound normal. Every phrase and sentence sounds like a curse, even if my blood isn't anymore. 

I'm impressed just reading the document - this TTRPG is brimming with heart and mindfulness. Thank you for creating it!

I saw an anteater fairy masquerading as a human because it wanted to play competitive sports. 

To be honest, I found the magic window portion much more compelling than the shadow one. Even though I think the shadow portion is creative, it didn't feel aligned with the previous portion (I.E. the meter mechanic). 

I still encourage others to play, though. It's a great lyric game!

Simple bit creative. Good for focusing on roleplaying with friends. 

Mine also began working on the cover images

All in a day's work for a mid-medium extraordinaire! lol 

But seriously, something so simple but definitely capable of producing an interesting result. I think this could easily be played solo or with a few friends on a car trip or something. 

I love this, it's got real character and a sense of...voice? perspective? Great work!

I'm getting something now...

A terrible fire broke out while the  son was playing a game, he was not supposed to play, on the family PC...

Their spirits won't rest while you have electronics in this house. 

This is a great example of a playthrough! It's great that you embraced letting the troupe members have personalities and the sketches really add to it. Thank you so much for letting us get a glimpse into your experience.

OMG! I love the Playbill-style poster. This is so cute and SO good! Thank you for sharing your art and the review.

I saw that someone else spoke about their game and I wanted to talk about my game's revival as well: 

1. I don't think a new 5 minute TTRPG has officially come out in years. I really wanted to take part in that, plus I love the format. 

2. The world is chiefly inspired by a Silver Age Heroism vs Early Modern Age EXTREME Heroism. My biggest influence was the comic Ex-Mutants, which really held my artistic imagination as a kid and I was able to finally dive into as an adult. It was a not-well-known, colorless,  tongue-in-cheek dystopia and just...awful but wonderful. I loved when comics could do that. The second influence was Strikeforce Morituri which I'd NEVER heard of but a lot of comic creators talk about it and I dove into that as well. It was really good until it wasn't. I miss those ages. 

3. I normally make a playlist for my games, but I couldn't really do that this time because the music that I kept in mind for the aesthetic was from a youtube remixer named Tronicbox. They'd take music from the 2000s and turn them into 80's tracks. Who does that? He did before he disappeared without a trace. 

So I wanted to speak to a lot of things in terms of mechanics, aesthetic, and theme. 

Thank you for hosting this competition!
 

Hello Dan Qui Dam I've made a game...very very late. Is it possible to add it to this jam? https://brite-palette.itch.io/crisis