I have been come quite intrigued recently by ideas of game design and figuring out what kind of game works for a particular set of players.  (Maybe this is because I am new to the Princeton, NJ area and am looking for gamers.) 

I thought: why not have a game that a group can use to figure that out?  So I wrote one.  You can view or download version 1.0 at http://sites.google.com/site/eusebiusgames/metagame-game-rules.  I would be grateful for feedback. 

There are two primary mechanisms: (1) Group members make statements about the campaign they would like to play in and (2) Players move the "Ouiji Token" on a game style map.  Hopefully by the time everyone is done, the group will have a strong sense of direction. 

I probably should have named it "Group Process For Determining A New Campaign", but "The Metagame Game" appealed to my sense of humor. 

Cheers,
Eusebius

The game as you've written it seems to share some aspects with card games commonly known outside the roleplaying community, like Hearts.

Certainly a bonus in my eyes because it makes the game easy to understand for an outsider and it gives a new opening and potential market for your game.

The one query I'd have of you...

Have you looked at Universalis?

It covers similar subject matter (the development of the game world and the collaborative input of multiple parties), there seem to be quite a few parallels between your system and Universalis but a few striking differences as well. Some refinement might benefit from looking at a game like that and seeing how it handled things.

Just some ideas based on an initial read through.

V

Thanks for the tip.  I had not looked at Universalis--and I am intrigued.  I guess the difference is that the Metagame Game is designed to be a one-shot entree into designing a campaign which will then be used under another rule sets where Universalis incorporates its notions of group design and economy into the game structure itself. 

Eusebius