First Impressions - Tales from the Loop RPG

Tales from the Loop RPG

TL;DR:  This is an evocative and fun game fuelled by nostalgia and SF tropes. Although some of the mysteries that the kids face and the problems they have can be scary and dark, there's always a feeling of hope. The game engine is light and modern, and the production values and artwork superb.

Tales from the Loop is a RPG I helped create indirectly; I'd discovered the fantastic artwork of Simon Stålenhag on the internet a while before the RPG was released. I'd loved it, so when Fria Ligan announced a Kickstarter of an artbook of his work, I backed it straight away. One of the stretch goals was that they would create an RPG and give backers a PDF. Needless to say, that goal was met and Fria Ligan proceeded to create the game. They then Kickstarted the game itself and I backed it to get the full package (which included dice, a screen and a set of mysteries (scenarios) in a separate book.

Before I go any further, it's worth mentioning that, because I was born in the early 1970s, this RPG is addressing the period I was the same age as the characters that you get to play. It's a nostalgia trip for me.

Fria Ligan commonly release an alpha and beta version of the game for error trapping by backers, and I enjoyed working my way through the alpha when it landed. I played in a great scenario home-brewed by Evil Gaz at Furnace, and never really got back to reading the core book. I'd skimmed it (it looks delicious) and was content that I understood it enough to run if I needed to.

The launch of the game coincided nicely with the Stranger Things zeitgeist which rolled through geekdom; in the game you play a group of kids aged 10 to 15 typically, in the 1980s that Stålenhag's art depicts. You go on adventures together and solve mysteries. Adults are distant and kids have to fix things themselves. The kids cannot die in the adventure (they will always come back) but they can be broken physically or mentally which effectively takes them out of play as they cannot succeed at any test. Real life has the challenges of the daily grind; relationships, school, homework, bullies and family.

The game uses the Year Zero Engine, first seen in Mutant: Year Zero. This is a dice pool engine using standard d6's with a roll of a six being a success. Multiple sixes can cause better or more lasting effects. Failure can be avoided by spending a luck point to re-roll dice, or by pushing. Pushing will give you an ongoing condition that penalises dice rolls. The engine is quite swingy; it's possible to roll a bucket of dice and get nothing. The number of dice you roll is based on the governing attribute and any appropriate skill. You can get bonus from a number of things, including your character's iconic item if it's appropriate.

Two settings are presented for the Loop, a huge nuclear physics facility where weird science is carried out. The first is the original setting in the Mälaren Islands in Sweden and the second is set in the USA, in Boulder City, Nevada, beside the Hoover Dam and perilously close to the bright lights of Las Vegas. Personally, I'd go with the original, although the new Amazon Prime Video series of the setting (based in Ohio) suggests that it could well work in the USA. Just enough detail is given on the backgrounds for a GM to hang a game around. Detail is provided about the technology; in most cases this is reflected by a trait with a rating that shows how hard it is for a character to overcome (the number of successes needed). There are lists of music, films and more that get the 1980s vibe along with descriptions of what life was like then for the younger audience.

The chapter on creating 'The Kids' presents some archetypes (Bookworm, Jock, Weirdo, Popular Kid Troublemaker and more), and then walks you through generating a character. Your age determines how much luck and what level attributes you have. Your luck decreases and your attributes increase as you get older. Characters cease to be playable aged 15 (but you could always move them on to the standalone sequel game, Things from the Flood, which embraces the 1990s). Every kid has a problem that they need to overcome and a drive that motivates them. Relationships are developed with NPCs and the other players. There is some encouragement to play siblings.

There is a chapter describing how to create Mysteries for the kids to overcome. It discusses how you obtain a balance between everyday life and the mystery (alternating scenes is suggested) and the different phases of a mystery. Ways to establish the mood of the scenario are covered with discussion on how to run bigger mysteries and campaigns. It's good material.

Two ways of play are suggested; having a mystery landscape where the GM riffs off the character contacts, drives, problems and actions, and then a more traditional scenario. The landscape approach has a chapter, and then there are five chapters which cover a year of game time for the kids. The first chapter sets up the background to the mini-campaign; the subsequent four cover off an adventure each season. There's a good amount of variety and it shows how to build a campaign well.

The book has a decent index and table of contents. The layout is superb; clear and easy to read in a modern style. The book is a 192 page, full colour hardcover. Stålenhag's drawings are used throughout and you'll recognise them if you have the art book.

As many other reviewers have said, this is an evocative and fun game fuelled by nostalgia and SF tropes. Although some of the mysteries that the kids face and the problems they have can be scary and dark, there's always a feeling of hope. The game engine is light and modern, and the production values and artwork superb.

Highly recommended.