Lasers & Feelings

What players say

At the table

Firsthand reports are thin: seven in total across four threads, mostly single sessions. Tables describe a game that takes almost no prep and gets players talking quickly. Results depend heavily on how much the group likes to improvise.

What works

• Setup is minimal. One first-time GM said it took none of the hours of prep that D&D or Pathfinder had cost them. (thread)
• With no rules to learn, players engaged at once and came up with creative moments, such as a robot character reading a dead crew member's retinas. (thread)
• It works as a low-prep break between campaigns or from crunchier games. (thread)
• The d6 roll-under/roll-over mechanic and the Laser Feelings question kept play moving. One table improvised a full three-act story. (thread)
• It fits short, silly one-shots of 60-90 minutes, and a group of newcomers enjoyed it. (thread, thread)

What tables struggle with

• Players and GM both need to be comfortable improvising. (thread)
• A table used to heavier systems found the lack of crunch felt wrong, so it added world and scenario detail it hadn't planned. (thread)
• One GM nudged players toward clues in a three-room scenario, which risked feeling railroaded. (thread)
• The same GM expects logical inconsistencies to become a problem over a longer run. They have only played one session. (thread)

Who it suits

• Groups that want a quick one-shot with almost no prep.
• Tables with confident improvisers, or newcomers willing to go with the flow.
• Players who want a break from crunch, and who may add their own detail.

In players' words

• "it took literally 0 effort to get the players engaged, they were interested right from the get go" (thread)
• "We ended up unintentionally adding deep detail and fleshing out the world (or scenario) because the lack of crunch felt wrong." (thread)
• "What I loved was that our game was both silly but also emotional in the end." (thread)