Amazing Tales vs Genesys
Compare Amazing Tales and Genesys side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Amazing Tales | Genesys | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Beginner-Friendly, Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Narrative, Family, Fiction-First, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind | Toolkit, Narrative, Career-Based, Social Combat, Modular, Hackable, Character Building |
| 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. | Assemble a pool of custom narrative dice: positive dice (Boost, Ability, Proficiency) from character ability and skill, negative dice (Setback, Difficulty, Challenge) from task difficulty and circumstances. Roll all dice and cancel opposing symbols: Success vs. Failure determines if the task succeeds, Advantage vs. Threat determines beneficial or harmful side effects, and Triumph/Despair trigger powerful narrative outcomes. All three axes resolve independently, so a check can succeed with complications or fail with a silver lining. |
| Dice | d6–d12 | Custom dice |
| Complexity | Very Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | Genesys Foundry (community content program) |
| Cost | $ | $$ |
| Publisher | Martin Lloyd | Fantasy Flight Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2017 |
| Best For | Parents playing with kids aged 4+ who want collaborative storytelling with the simplest possible rules: one die roll, no math, any setting. | Groups who want a genre-flexible system where every dice roll generates narrative texture beyond pass/fail, and who enjoy interpreting results collaboratively at the table. |
| 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 | Every roll produces multiple axes of outcome, creating layered narrative results beyond binary success/failure. Full social encounter rules give non-combat interactions the same mechanical depth as combat. The GM Toolkit provides structured guidance for creating custom settings, species, talents, and gear. Six example settings (fantasy, steampunk, weird war, modern, sci-fi, space opera) included in the core book. |
| 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 | Requires proprietary narrative dice or the Genesys Dice App: standard polyhedral dice cannot be used without conversion charts. Interpreting multiple symbol types on every roll can slow play for groups unfamiliar with the system. No free quickstart or SRD available. |