Classic fashion
But I love the classics of American adventure cinema from the 80s. The Goonies, Back to the Future, Young Indiana Jones … really, I can list for a long time. Here, however, once again, the example of the Stranger Things series should be cited , which perfectly illustrates the passion of today’s creators for those magical years for popular culture. Today, we present to you an RPG system that takes us into such climates. A group of kids, a haunted house, a pinch of magic, bike chases through the streets of a small American town – here you have it all. So we open a small manual for Kids on Bikes and start our adventure.
Mainly rules guide
If we have lovers of extensive descriptions of the game world here, you will unfortunately be disappointed in this case. The creators decided to summarize it in one paragraph, but focus more on presenting all the mechanics of the game. As a consolation, however – the manual is full of descriptions of sample scenarios and situations taken straight from other games, so people who like ready-made plots will find something for themselves.
Creative thinking included
The ability of players to think creatively plays a very large role in this system. The game master deals with playing NPCs and gently moderating the actions of the players. Of course, the manual is full of tips both for the game’s leader and for the participants of the game, which will help you fully empathize with their roles, but also properly lead the whole game. What’s more, the mechanics of rumors are described here. This original solution allows players to create their own threads. It is up to the teacher whether or not to use them later. However, allowing players to directly influence the course of the game is impressive.
Quick character creation
We start by creating our characters. We get six attributes, each of them should be assigned one of the dice. The age of our hero also matters here. In addition, you should focus on the character’s flaws, strengths and fears, as well as his relationships with other players’ characters. There is also the mechanics of characters endowed with power. During a given game, there is one unique hero controlled by all players at the same time. Again, it’s hard not to refer to Stranger Things and Eleven. It is easiest to compare this mechanic to this situation. Unfortunately, it is not very easy to use during the game and requires considerable skill from the Game Master, who must weave such a character into the course of the session.
A small booklet
Leaving aside the intricacies of the system, it is worth appreciating the manual here. This one, despite its small size, is full of narrative hints, inspirations and advice for both game masters and players. We also receive all the data required for the game, presented in the form of convenient tables. Thanks to this, we can easily check the effect of a given roll, the meaning of the dice result or the influence of the difficulty level during the session. Let’s add that all this looks very nice from the graphic side. However, due to the tiny dimensions of the manual, I recommend getting a few climatic gadgets for the session. Maybe the idea of players disguising themselves would work here?
Segregation of duties
When it comes to the system part of the game, we get a clear “power” in the hands of the players. Not all masters will like it, but I really recommend trying this treatment for yourself. This will allow for a completely different course of the narrative. A lot here also depends on the imagination of the players. Will you be able to create the atmosphere we know from Stranger Things ? I wish you this very much, because Kids on bikes allow you to experience amazing adventures. However, they require a bit more commitment from the participants of the game.
