The Microscope roleplaying game, as it says on the frount, is a fractal game of epic histories. Over several sessions, different characters of different times and places take part in a shared universe and setting, The group are the ones that create this history. Things can be created or destroyed and sessions can take place anywhere along the timeline as long as what was played out in the games before remain true. As sessions continue the whys and wherefores of what led to events already played and how they affect the overall history are revealed.
It all starts with the big picture in a single sentence, like "Mankind leaves a sick Earth to travel to the stars". It should be something that can be told over many sessions at multiple points of history. It then needs a beginning period point and end period point for the big picture. Using the previous example they could be "Mankind makes new life among the stars" to "Humanity stagnates isolated and alone". Players then agree if these periods are light or dark but sometimes they are self explanatory like the example. Then each player adds one ingredient and bans one ingredients to the overall story palette. During the telling of the entire history you can use an added ingredient but never a banned ingredient. These ingredients, added or banned, give some focus to the story and sometimes never come up in play. Each player then adds a period anywhere in the timeline (light or dark) and an event under a previously made period. This is the setup for the history.
For each game session one player is picked to be the lens, and it should rotate amongst the group. They declare the focus of the session and creates a new period, new event, or scene. The next player does the same until it comes back to the lens who creates another new period, new event, or scene under an event.
The player who created a scene starts with a specific question, like "Is the Alliance willing to sacrifice the colony on Sigma VII to beat the invaders even though the colonists will be slaughtered?", "Why does the teacher lie to their students about who founded the colony?", or "Why is the captain secretly planning to blow up their ship, with everyone onboard, in the middle of the Victory Day celebration of the very war they were decorated for fighting in?". The players then add characters, some of which are played by the players and some by anyone. With this the scene is roleplayed. Once done, the person to the side of the player who declared the scene gives a legacy that will be added to the event.
Although each session can have interpersonal conflict but everyone is there to make a story. The results of the decisions should provide a fascinating look at what the group commonly creates. It also gives powerful abilities for each player to change the direction of the history while encouraging the other players to also change it. Even if something happens that not everyone likes, it can be temporary when it is their turn to choose a time in the history to explore. There is even the option to drill down to certain shorter histories within the larger one.
I really like the concept of this game and can make for fantastic opportunities for great stories that will be told well into the future. Although I have not played it yet I like it and recommend it.
