GunCraze vs Monster of the Week
Compare GunCraze and Monster of the Week side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| GunCraze | Monster of the Week | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic, Modern | Horror, Modern |
| Play Style | Tactical, Crunchy, Classless, Skill-Based, Deadly, Gritty, Miniatures | Narrative, Beginner-Friendly, Investigation, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Theater of the Mind |
| Core Mechanic | Statistic Test — roll 1d10, add the relevant Attribute or Skill rank plus modifiers, and meet or beat a target number; contested actions are Opposed Rolls where the higher total wins and ties favor the defender. A natural 9 or 10 on a combat test banks a Craze! Point, and up to three Craze! Points can be spent after a roll to add +1d6 each. Attacks roll a d10 for hit location and deal damage in d6s against per-location hit points. | Roll 2d6 + stat. 10+ full success, 7–9 success with a cost, 6 or less the Keeper makes a move. Playbook moves trigger from fictional actions. Luck points turn failures into successes but never come back. |
| Dice | d10, d6 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Proprietary (GunCraze OGL v1.1) | Generic Games Third Party License |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Action Tactics Roleplay Gaming LLC | Evil Hat Productions |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want crunchy, grid-based tactical gunfights with genuine lethality in a post-apocalyptic setting and don't mind learning a dense rulebook before the first session. | Groups who want episodic monster-hunting adventures inspired by Buffy, Supernatural, and The X-Files — investigating mysteries, confronting creatures, and dealing with hunter drama. |
| Highlights | A natural 9 or 10 on a combat roll banks a Craze! Point, and up to three can be spent afterward for +1d6 each or to dive for cover mid-attack, but never to boost damage, keeping firefights swingy without softening lethality. Damage tracks per body location, so a destroyed limb is disabled and spills further hits into the torso past armor, turning partial wounds into mounting handicaps rather than one shared health bar. Characters are built from specializations, tiered talent trees, ranked skills, and jobs rather than classes, letting any blend of gunplay, melee, and noncombat skill live in one survivor. | Very easy to learn, mystery countdown gives the Keeper a clear prep framework, playbooks map directly to genre archetypes |
| Considerations | Social conflict resolves through single skill tests, with no structured subsystem for extended negotiation, interrogation, or social maneuvering. The rules cover realistic firearms, melee, and cybernetics only, with no rules for magic, psychic powers, or other fantastical abilities. Installing cybernetics requires both Surgery and Engineering (Robotics) skill ranks plus high target-number tests, gating the augmentation catalog behind dedicated character investment. | No pre-written mysteries in the core book, limited mechanical depth for long campaigns, custom move design requires GM experience, monster creation guidelines are loose |