It's not about defeating things. It's not about accomplishing things. It's not about problem solving at all, creative or not. Which fits quite well, as it simulates horror - where you do not defeat things, do not accomplish things, and do not actually solve problems. Strategy would utterly undermine the tension, and is just a bad idea in the context of Dread. Moreover, you don't need a steady hand - it doesn't matter who draws from the tower, merely that they do.

I can't and won't speak for anyone but myself, but to clarify the kitten puzzle thing:

We weren't making fun of Chris because he used a puzzle in his game. I'll admit to having never played in one of Chris' games, but all accounts I've heard (including from my brother-in-law) is that he runs wonderful, exciting, and energetic stuff. If I thought he had no good ideas for approaching a game, I wouldn't have him as a host.

And I'm certainly not going to bust his balls for using a prop or hands-on exercise, which I think is a wonderful way to build diversity in the play experience.

Nor was this even about the fact that it had kittens on it. Sure, a statue puzzle would have made a little more sense, but who gives a crap?

The point of the friendly ribbing (not genuine attack) was our credulity at the irony. The same man who would have his immersion shattered by Bob naming the NPC whipped out a kitten puzzle to represent reconstructing a statue. Nothing says "ancient, mystical statue" quite like little kitties in a basket.

Honestly, this seems to have gotten taken out of context and blown out of proportion. As stated on the episode, I went out of my way to have a conversation with Greg Christopher, and I now "get" the other side of the debate. We were just busting on Chris the same way we bust on each other all the freaking time. No absolute statements (like "you're doing it wrong") were made or even on our minds.

As for Jenga, personally, I think it does a wonderful job of building tension in a horror game. Sure, it relies on personal skill and therefore doesn't handle dispute resolution as well as dice. But holy crap does it create edge-of-your-seat suspense when someone goes to pull.

Argh, did I get the name wrong? It was a really old interview. I remember the point, if not the interviewee. A little help Dan? Anyone?

It doesn't simulate HARDLY anything the game is trying to convey. Like combat or social mechanics or jump over a pit. It does simulate tension. I did say 'hardly'.[/quote]

I feel like horror is all the game is trying to convey. Social Mechanics and Jumping over a pit aren't there, because that doesn't matter to the horror. I think. I don't know, I've never played dread, only read half the book, so there is that.

I'll meet Addicted half way on his point, in that I do agree that Dread opts to focus entirely on creating tone over simulating a situation. I don't know if I'd call this better or worse, though, just very different from what past generations of RPG would call the norm. They sacrifice something we kinda take for granted in RPGs to do one thing really well, and I'd say as far as recreating both the tone and the pace of a horror story, Dread is excellent.

*blushes furiously*

My total bad. Got my podcasts mixed up. John Wik talks in the now defunct Kobold Quarterly Podcast Episode 3

Sorry about that.

No problem

It doesn't simulate HARDLY anything the game is trying to convey. Like combat or social mechanics or jump over a pit. It does simulate tension. I did say 'hardly'.[/quote]

Horror is an exercise in manipulating tension and tone. The best examples are able to keep you on the knife's edge of where they want you. This is why I really like Dread for horror. Call of Cthulhu, because it's so rules light, also works well. You barely have time to get out of the game when it comes to rolling dice.