Fiasco
Boxed SetBest 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.
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.
There is no GM, and cards or dice set up relationships and needs between characters. Play is structured scenes that spiral toward chaos, with no in-scene resolution rolls.
- Free to tryFull core rulesLegally free as an SRD, PDF, or official web rules
- Get it nowAvailable nowFree to download or read online
- ✓IndexFind any rule by page number
- –GM guidanceNo how-to-run chapter
- ✓Examples of playRules shown in action at the table
- ✓Quick referenceCheat sheet or summary tables
- ✓Cross-referencesRules point to each other by page
4 of 5 book tools found in the core book
Highlights
Zero prep, no GM required, playsets define different settings and genres for each session, Diana Jones Award winner, plays in 2–3 hours
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
Rules license Proprietary
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