Okay, here’s the deal: when you sit down to play Going For Broke, everyone plays as one of the roommates of a collective house. There isn’t a special player who’s “in charge” (like a GM in many other roleplaying games).

There are some additional duties involved in playing the game: framing scenes, introducing plot twists, playing bit parts, and so on. The game calls all that stuff showrunning. Going For Broke expects all players to share the showrunner role. Maybe some do more showrunning than others, that’s fine, but it’s not a role that is owned by a single player.

With that said, social games tend to rely on someone willing to step up to teach, facilitate, lead by example, nudge their friends, and generate momentum. If you’re reading this text, there’s a good chance that person is going to be you! So here’s a helpful way to think of it: when you sit down to play Going For Broke with new players, you start with the showrunner role in your lap. But throughout the process of teaching and diving into the game, you want to nudge people to get involved in sharing the role. By the end of the first episode, ideally you’re all just roommates (who moonlight as part-time showrunners).

Every group learns differently. If you end up being the person who’s responsible for teaching the game to the other players in your group, trust your gut about the best approach.

If you’re not sure about the best approach, some simple guidelines:

• Use the reference cards and roommate cards to your advantage! They can serve as helpful visual aids as you explain new concepts.
• Just focus on teaching what people need to know right now. You don’t need to explain the ins-and-outs of the entire game before people are able to pick out a roommate to play.
• Avoid assumptions. Avoid using unnecessary acronyms or jargon. Explain not just the procedure, but also the purpose behind it.

Everyone is invited to share the showrunner role. It involves a number of little duties.

• Frame scenes. Say where the characters are and what’s happening. Make sure to skip right to the moment when things get interesting; don’t worry about all the little details that get us to that moment.
• Narrate. Does your sitcom have a narrator, like Arrested Development? If yes, everyone should feel welcome to jump in with their best narrator voice.
• Play bit characters. Every time the roommates interact with someone new, someone who’s not in the scene should jump in and play as that bit character.
• Nudge others to participate. Ask leading questions. Invite shy players to step in and play as bit characters. Point out when it seems like someone just unlocked their Coin by narrating a Tendency.
• Introduce plot twists. When a plot twists, anyone can jump in with a clever thorny detail about what happens next.
• Cut scenes. Once it’s clear that the point of a scene has been fulfilled, look for a good moment to cut: a punchline, a lull in conversation, or a dramatic reveal. You can do this by announcing “cut!” or “…and scene!” if you’d like, or by simply framing the start of the next scene.

Wondering how to make bit characters funny? My advice: mostly don’t. This video about It’s Always Sunny unpacks why the best bit characters are normal and relatable. Play them straight, maybe adding one or two quirks to keep the character memorable.

Fan out the roommate cards, face side up. Have your players browse through these playable characters to see which ones spark their interest. Encourage people to read aloud any snippets that are particularly delightful.

As people are looking at the roommate cards, explain the components:

• Name and a quick snippet of description are located on front and back.
• Tendencies are the iconic behaviours that the audience comes to expect from your character. They’re the “Phoebe being Phoebe” moments.
• The question in the middle of the card is a character’s Coin – a two-sided tension or unanswered question at the heart of who the character is, which is also the lens through which the character shapes the plot.
• The Big Secret is something that everybody in the writer’s room knows, but that all or most of the other roommates don’t know. Make it clear that it’s actually encouraged for the players to talk about the big secret with one another! That creates the possibility for dramatic irony down the line.

Once people have had 3-4 minutes to browse the roommate cards, ask everyone to choose one to play for the episode. As with all aspects of this game, keep it simple: play characters who you feel like you “get” rather than straining to play against type. It’ll make the dialogue and comedy flow more naturally.

Once everyone has chosen their character, go around and introduce yourselves! Read off the details on the card and get a feel for the group.

Once everyone has chosen a character, the next step is to take a look at the Episode Guide and decide what episode you’re about to play. Each episode is just a few lines of description, which introduces a huge expense that would naturally lead to arguing among the roommates.

One of the reference cards lists two great starter episodes: The Rent and The Flood. If you’re introducing people to the game for the first time, The Rent is a perfect pilot episode to start with. You can also see more episodes listed below.

Set out a small pile of coins – one for each player. Set out the reference cards. As you do so, explain the flow of an episode, how the mechanics work, and what people should keep in mind as they play.

Once everyone understands the basics and knows what to look for on the reference cards, dive into your opening scene!

Sitcoms are procedural. Some might even say formulaic. They follow a predictable structure and flow. Change rarely sticks.

This isn’t just lazy writing! It’s actually an important part of how comedy works: setting up a stable platform so that the tilt has something to disrupt. If everything is goofy then nothing is funny.

Going For Broke has a consistent episode structure: the house is presented with a huge expense, arguing ensues about how to address it, two plots emerge, opening credits roll, there are a series of quick scenes that cut between the A Plot and B Plot, one of the plots succeeds and the other fails, and in the end the roommates barely get by.

Since roleplaying games and television are different mediums, Going For Broke follows a slightly different structure than the one outlined in the above video (and also this one). But I’m still excited to share it, because I found it really illuminating.

The opening scene establishes that there is a huge expense (or limited-time opportunity) that needs to be addressed. All the characters get dragged into an argument about the best way to deal with it. The characters find themselves split (ideally 50/50) between two plans. These become the A Plot and the B Plot for the episode. This opening scene should take 2-5 minutes.

The A Plot should be a way to raise money to pay the huge expense. The B Plot is more flexible – it can be a competing way to raise money, a strategy for avoiding needing to pay, tying up a loose end created by the huge expense, or a side drama about several of the characters.

Once the A Plot and B Plot have been loosely established, cut to the opening credit sequence. Name the song that plays during the opening credits (or put it on, if you want!). Describe the vibe (camera style, imagery, tone) as well as the specific shots that introduce your characters. This might seem silly but it helps clarify tone and lets you practice fast-and-loose scene framing. Keep it to a snappy 1-2 minutes total.

Think about the exuberance, quick cuts, shaky close-ups, and of-the-moment flair of Living Single‘s opening. Compare it to our soft, playful, timeless, meandering introduction to the Golden Girls. What promise do you want to make to one another about what’s coming up?

Are you doing a modern sitcom that only has a quick title card and bumper (like Fleabag or Broad City)? That’s fine. Still describe it!

Most of the episode consists of quick scenes, alternating between Plot A and Plot B. Everyone shares the showrunning responsibilities: framing scenes, narrating (if your show has a narrator), introducing new plot points, playing bit parts (including every character that the roommates encounter), and deciding when it’s time to cut to the next scene. Each of these scenes should take 1-2 minutes.

During these quick scenes, players can use the game’s Coin mechanics: showing a Tendency to unlock their Coin, and then at some point using their Coin to try to resolve their plot. Quick scenes continue to cut back and forth between the A Plot and the B Plot until one of them either succeeds or fails.

This is a past-paced game, so players shouldn’t be shy about grabbing their Coin early or flipping it after only a few scenes have taken place. It’s possible that the very first coin flip is the one that seals the fate of both plots. Don’t worry! That’s great!

One plot always succeeds and the other always fails. That means that the moment that you resolve one plot, the fate of the other is sealed. For example, if the A Plot succeeds, the B Plot is automatically doomed. You don’t need to worry about the Coin mechanics any longer.

The final scene for each of these two plots shows the audience how it all works out. As storytellers, your job is to make sure that the two plots cancel out so that at the end of the episode, the roommates are right back where they started.

If one plot makes a small fortune, the other eats up every surplus dime. If your benefit concert fails to raise enough money to hire a plumber, your attempt to fix the plumbing issue DIY goes surprisingly well.

The final scene is your chance to bring everyone back together again, show how the two plots have cancelled one another out, and to restore the status quo. Every episode ends the same way: with the roommates barely getting by.

Because one of the plots succeeded only to be cancelled out almost immediately after, this scene is an opportunity for irony, wry quips, and a dash of pathos. Find the joke that perfectly sums up this saucy situation, and end there. This final scene should take 1-4 minutes.

Going For Broke is designed for 40-45 minute episodes. The traditional sitcom is 22 minutes long, which means that for every two minutes of roleplaying you can imagine it as equating to one minute of screen time.

Each roommate has two Tendencies. Tendencies are the iconic behaviours that are trademarks of a character. They’re the “Phoebe being Phoebe” moments. Whenever a roommate shows off one of their Tendencies, that player unlocks their Coin—grabbing it from the centre of the table and placing it in front of them.

Your Coin is two things at the same time. First, it’s a literal coin that you take from the centre of the table, which can then be flipped when your roommate attempts to resolve the plot. Second, it’s a question that reflects the two sides of your roommate’s personality (as in “two sides of the same coin”).

Once your Coin is unlocked, which means you’ve got it sitting in front of you, you can use it to attempt to resolve the plot.

You can’t stack up multiple Coins in front of a single player. Each roommate only has one Coin to unlock.

Hush’s Coin is “Are you baddie or baby?” So if you’re playing as Hush, you end up looking at the world through a very specific lens: will you try to solve today’s problem by being baddie or by being baby? Those are your two options, unless you want to rely on someone else to resolve the plot (which, honestly, is pretty baby).

So, the A Plot and the B Plot are rolling, and you’re involved in one of them. You’ve shown off one of your roommate’s Tendencies, which means you’ve unlocked their Coin and now have it sitting in front of you. You’re now able to attempt to resolve the plot.

Attempting to resolve the plot means (A) taking some sort of useful action that could conceivably make the plot work out, while (B) clearly demonstrating one of the two sides of your roommate’s personality Coin, and then (C) flipping that coin.

On a heads, the plot succeeds. Narrate how the plot works out in your favour.

On a tails, the plot twists. Someone else should jump in to narrate what unexpected twist complicates things and delays any sort of resolution. Return your Coin to the centre of the table and keep playing. You’ll need to unlock it again if you want another chance at resolving the plot.

On a tails, if this particular plot has already twisted, then it fails. Between yourself and the other players, narrate how it goes awry and what the immediate consequences are.

Once a plot has succeeded or failed, the fate of the other is sealed and the Coin mechanics are done for the remainder of the episode. See One Succeeds, One Fails for more info on what happens next.

Thanks so much for checking out this draft version of the game. If you’d like a copy of the playtest cards, and feel like you can realistically playtest this during the remainder of September, message alder.avery@gmail.com to get a copy.

If you get a chance to playtest the game, please fill out the brief playtest feedback form here.

Published 2024
Buried Without Ceremony

Designed by
Avery Alder

Photos (on this page and on the cards) by Lia Bekyan, Natalia Blauth, Ave Calvar, Levi Meir Clancy, Mikail Duran, Getty Images, Jordan Gonzales, Erica Leong, Nappy, Tabitha Turner, and The Funkship.