Amazing Tales vs Cypher System
Compare Amazing Tales and Cypher System side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Amazing Tales | Cypher System | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Beginner-Friendly, Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Narrative, Family, Fiction-First, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind | Narrative, Low-Prep, Exploration, Cinematic, Collaborative, Theater of the Mind, Roleplay-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Each character has 4 skills the child invents. Each skill is assigned a die (d12, d10, d8, d6) — bigger die = better skill. Roll 3+ to succeed. That's the entire system. | GM sets difficulty 1–10, multiply by 3 for target number. Players spend Effort to reduce difficulty. |
| Dice | d6–d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Community | Low | High |
| License | Proprietary | Cypher System Open License |
| Cost | $ | $$ |
| Publisher | Martin Lloyd | Monte Cook Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2019 |
| Best For | Parents playing with kids aged 4+ who want collaborative storytelling with the simplest possible rules — one die roll, no math, any setting. | GMs who want minimal prep and players who enjoy spending resources to shape the story. |
| Highlights | Genuinely playable by 4-year-olds, genre-agnostic (pirates, space, fairy tales, anything), child creates their own character skills, four ready-to-play settings included, encourages collaborative storytelling | Very easy GM prep, flexible character descriptors, XP for discovery |
| Considerations | Far too simple for older kids or adults, no combat system or advancement, GM (parent) does all the heavy lifting narratively, extremely limited mechanical depth | Players track most complexity, limited tactical combat, can feel same-y |