Fiasco vs Lasers & Feelings
Compare Fiasco and Lasers & Feelings side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Fiasco | Lasers & Feelings | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Modern | Sci-Fi |
| Tags | GM-Less, One-Shot Friendly, Rules-Light, Narrative, Collaborative, Drama, Fiction-First, Low-Prep | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Low-Prep, Comedy, Collaborative, Fiction-First, CC-Licensed Rules, Tag-Based |
| Core Mechanic | No GM. Setup uses cards (or dice in Classic edition) to establish relationships, needs, locations, and objects between characters. Scenes alternate between Establish and Resolve: other players either frame the scene or choose its outcome. The Tilt at the midpoint introduces chaos. The Aftermath tallies white and black dice to determine each character's fate. | Pick a number from 2–5. Roll 1–3d6 depending on preparation and expertise. Rolls under your number succeed at Lasers (science, tech, reason); rolls over succeed at Feelings (intuition, diplomacy, passion). Rolling exactly your number triggers Laser Feelings: a special insight where you can ask the GM one question. |
| Dice | d6 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | Book tools not listed |
| License | Proprietary | CC BY 4.0 |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Bully Pulpit Games | One Seven Design (John Harper) |
| Year | 2020 | 2013 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | One-shots where players collaboratively build and then dismantle a story of desperate people with big ambitions: inspired by Coen Brothers films and crime-gone-wrong cinema. | Quick one-shots with zero prep: the crew of the interstellar scout ship Raptor must save the day while the captain is out of commission. |
| Highlights | Zero prep, no GM required, playsets define different settings and genres for each session, Diana Jones Award winner, plays in 2–3 hours | Entire game fits on one page, zero prep needed, character creation takes seconds, free and Creative Commons licensed |
| Considerations | Heavily dependent on player chemistry and group dynamic, Tilt can derail carefully established narrative threads, new players often struggle with self-directed scene framing, outcome quality varies significantly between groups | The GM carries most of the creative and structural load. The single stat means characters can feel mechanically identical. There is no structured scenario framework beyond the initial hook. |