I’ve posted a summary of a session of play, and there’s a Google+ group you can join, but perhaps the most obvious question still needs answering: what exactly is Eden?
Eden is a storytelling game about talking to animals and learning of good and evil. During the game, players collaboratively draw a map of the Garden of Eden, create human characters who live there, and role-play scenes as those characters, in which they interact with the animals and other humans. There is no GM, and players all share control of how the story turns out. The game is made for three to five players, and is meant to be played in a single session of two to three hours. The game is played in essentially three phases: Map the Garden, Create Characters, and Explore Eden. A typical tabletop during the game will look something like this:
That’s just about the most basic summary I can offer. Now let’s dive into a couple of the game’s core mechanics for a closer look at how everything works.
The Map of Eden
The heart of the world you’ll explore during the game is the map. You create the map together, taking turns describing and drawing the various lands of Eden on it. Eden is a supernatural paradise, which means you can have a frosty glacier nestled cozily beside a tropical beach if you like. Animals abound in The Garden, but you’ll only select a few to focus on; in fact, your first choice of the whole game is which animal will be your character’s favorite. This choice is critically important, and I’ll be doing a post in the future about how this choice affects gameplay.
Here’s an example of a map from a game of Eden:
As you can see, this map has a lot going on! We’ve got a beach and ocean area, some rolling dunes, a rocky cliff, a savannah, a flowering garden, and a forest with a lake. There are bunnies, elephants, a shark, hummingbirds, and other animals visible. You may be wondering about the line of circles all the way around: that’s The Wall, which surrounds and constrains the Garden of Eden. The only way out is through The Gate, which you can see in the upper right corner. All three players in this game contributed to this map, which makes it a truly collaborative effort.
Character Creation
Making characters is Eden is very straightforward. Your character will be a young adult, innocent and naive, barely cognizant of good and evil. They have a favorite animal, a skill they learned from that animal, and a moral lesson they’ve acquired through observing or talking to their favorite animal. You’ll also have a relationship with the characters on either side of you, based on helping and harming each other. The way you create these skills, lessons, and help/harm connections is narrative; everything you say about your character is supported by fiction, so the whole process is interactive and full of unexpected surprises.
Playing Scenes
After mapping Eden and making human characters, the rest of the game is devoted to playing scenes. Each character gets one scene per round, and then everyone updates lessons. That’s it! The scenes themselves follow certain guidelines: for example, your scene must shine the spotlight on your character. A great part of the game is playing as animals in other people’s scenes–being a talking animal is just fun, and I often surprise myself with what I end up saying or doing in that role. Scenes generally alternate between asking your favorite animal for help, and trying to apply your lessons to your interactions with other humans, often with mixed results.
So where can I get the game?
Look for Eden on Kickstarter this Fall!
Oh, and as an addendum to the game in the photos… sharks are super wise.
-Marc
