OK, so you’re a fan of roleplaying games. You’ve tried out some D&D, played a little Pathfinder, maybe some other stuff – but this has left you wanting. Maybe you’re a child of the nineties such as myself and thought, “What if there were an rpg based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-Files?” Yeah, I know I’m really aging myself, but I know there are a good many of you who just got really, really excited.

If you are part of that group, you are in luck, my friend. For I have found, and am very happy to introduce you to… Monster of the Week.

Monster of the Week is a tabletop roleplaying game based on the ‘Powered by the Apocalypse’ system. For those who are unfamiliar, this is the rule set created for the 2010 game Apocalypse World, and later for the arguably better known Dungeon World. In this system, players create a character to interact with the world and story presented by the game master, or ‘Keeper’. Any actions that the character takes are referred to as ‘moves’, and the outcome of these are determined by the roll of two six-sided dice, adding or subtracting any relevant modifiers. If you’ve played a tabletop before, this should be fairly familiar territory.

The great thing about these rules is that they are incredibly simple to learn, and very difficult to do much metagaming with. You aren’t typically going to find any players outshining others due to some broken character build. The gameplay is very focused on narrative. It is more of an interactive storytelling experience than a combat simulator.

The classes (or ‘Hunters’) and parties that can be made up from them are clearly very inspired by 90s horror-adventure tropes. The same can be said for the ‘mystery creation’ tools found in the main book. This book also supplies you with two pre-made mysteries so you can hit the ground running. Campaigns are intended to be played episodically with, as the name would suggest, a new monster or villain each week. Just like tuning in to Scooby Doo, you and your teammates can uncover a new mystery, and defeat or apprehend a new creepy cryptid each session.

Another thing about this game that I am in love with is that a game session will require very little prep time, when compared to a typical rpg. I myself have spent hours prepping single game sessions for D&D. This game could be prepared for with an extra 15 minutes and a good idea, if needed.

I am, without any apprehension, giving this game two thumbs up. Do yourself a favor and try it out.

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