[The Pool] Playing with fewer dice?

[Halzebier]

Hi there!

I'm a teacher and plan on running The Pool for a group of 5 to 8 students, aged 15 to 18, on an upcoming class trip.

I'm worried that that there will be little room to roll dice and that with buckets of dice (which I do have -- about 100), many would be lost (under sleeping bags etc.).

Hence I'm looking for a way to make do with about 30 d6s.
Does anyone have an idea on how to do this (i.e. how could I change the rules and still end up with roughly the same probabilities and dynamics)?

I don't see a way to do this (after all, taking a die instead of an MOV should have roughly the same value, too), but I thought I'd ask...

(If there's no way to reduce the number of dice needed, I'll bite the bullet and hand out however many d6s it takes -- I definitely want everyone to have his own pool of dice for reasons of personal investment and tactile pleasure alone.)

Regards

Hal

[Christoph Boeckle]

Hello!

I just played a game with two 14-15 year olds without any RPG experience this weekend and it was a blast!
They couldn't care less for the extra die, they always wanted to narrate and did so really well.

We had 15 dice on the table and it was plenty. If you have one of those green felt dice trays that come with some yahtzee sets, you will have little risk of loosing any dice.
The issue of personal investment and tactile pleasure was not an issue for the two boys, they seemed to be more interested in the game.

[Halzebier]

I just played a game with two 14-15 year olds without any RPG experience this weekend and it was a blast!
They couldn't care less for the extra die, they always wanted to narrate and did so really well.

I'm chosing The Pool specifically because players can lean back and let the GM do most of the talking. Perhaps too careful an approach, but your experience is heartening and I hope my students will take over and do most of the talking.

The issue of personal investment and tactile pleasure was not an issue for the two boys, they seemed to be more interested in the game.

It's not a thing many people realize or readily acknowledge, but in my experience, quality materials (e.g. brand new, carefully hand-crafted etc.), have a subtle, but noticeable effect on motivation -- whether for gaming or teaching.

Thanks for suggesting the tablet, by the way!

Regards

Hal

[Lxndr]

Halzebier,

Nice seeing you around again!  I recognize your name from the Twisted Confessions forum, back when you were asking roulette questions.

Have you looked at the Pool Variants page?  Check out the Anti-Pool variation by Mark Withers, about half-way down.  According to the origin story:

One week I forgot my dice. I wasn't alone. We managed to scrounge two dice from a monopoly set and found another in Dave's pencil case, but that was it.

We sat in shocked silence for a few minutes...

After about quarter of an hour spent in heated debate (squabbling like children), we decided on this variant, which increases the chance of success and reduces the number of dice rolled.

And you know what, it works. Really well.

[Halzebier]

Hi Alexander!

Have you looked at the Pool Variants page?  Check out the Anti-Pool variation by Mark Withers, about half-way down.

That looks very interesting - thanks!

Among other things, I like the point about quantified traits just confusing new players (and just going with one extra die).

It's a version of Anti-Pool, which I've always been itching to try out, but I'm not sure if the traditional model won't suit me better. Maybe I'll give it a test run with friends to see the dynamic in action.

Regards

Hal

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

This isn't playtesting, guys, so it needs to end here.

Best, Ron