Facilitator: Ross Cowman
Players: Kathryn Hymes, Hakan Seyalioglu, Karen Twelves, and Sean Nittner
Occasional Spectators: Alex Roberts, James Stuart, and Steve Segedy
System: Hot Guys Making Out
Thursday evening we had a Games on Demand orientation where all the GMs and hosts got together to go over how the process works, to answer any questions, and then to eat pizza and play games.
We played Hot Guys Making Out by Ben Lehman.
Woah, this game.
This game is steamy.
Here’s Ben answering some basic questions about it:
Who is this game for?
It is for anyone who loves intense, passionate, dramatic stories about beautiful men kissing each other.
Is it fun?
It is fun.
Is it sexy?
It is sexy.
Yep, pretty spot on.
Highlights
- Honoré standing outside his mansion, protected by an umbrella held by Maria, with his shirt buttons undone revealing thick curls of dark hair covering his chest.
- Silence which dominated the first several scenes. Everything communicated by Honoré’s barely squinting eyes and fierce gaze.
- The imagery of rain. Water dripping off everything, making all our clothes stick to our bodies. Drenching us so we must be bathed and warmed by gentle hands.
- The brusque Olivier taking off his wet shirt so it would not drip on the car as he dried it off.
- Gonsolvo’s voice caught in his throat at the dinner table…so far away from Honoré.
- Honoré toes, removed fro his boots by Marian, all covered in sapphire rings. Kissed one by one, by Gonsolvo.
- Olivier walking in with a cord of firewood in his strong arms and grunting as he dropped it into the the hearth of the fireplace interrupting Maria’s manipulations.
- Gonsolvo slipping into to bathtub and then cradled like a child against Maria’s bosom as she whispered the warning “Be Afraid.”
- The imagery of Golsolvo’s father in Honoré locket, snapped shut with finality.
- Honoré commanding Olivier to pleasure Maria, removing her shoes and delighting her with his tongue.
- Gonsolvo listening to the peels of ecstasy from outside, his ear pressed against the heavy wooden door.
- Maria’s wet footprints on the wooden floor.
- All the images of shoes. So many shoes. Honoré polished boots. Maria’s petite slippers. Olivier’s heavy work boots. Gonsolvo’s plain loafers.
What Rocked
Um, this game was insanely hot. Part of what was so hot about it was that the mechanics were actively working to stifle the players and build sexual tension. The card mechanic requires that to act you to either play a card that is equal to or higher than the last card played, or discard a card, draw a new one, and describe the environment. Further, Gonsolvo could only show his emotion or attempt to act and fail unless he played a heart, and Honoré cold only act but now shoe any emotion unless he played a heart. When Gonsolvo played a Jack (of any suit) he could initiate a moment of passion and intensify their relationship and when Honoré played a King he could do the same. Kathryn (who was playing Honoré) and I (who was playing Gonsolvo) could not draw hearts to save our lives. And when we did they numbers were low and we were almost never able to play them. And neither of us drew the face card needed to have a moment of passion. SO MUCH TENSION!
The other element that caused tension was that there was a threat, which was escalated by playing aces, and reduced when Olivier played Jokers. The threat in our game was Maria’s jealousy of Gonsolvo, but because the Jokers kept coming, the threat was always always washed away before it could materialize. At most Maria was able to hint at her jealousy as she warned Golsolvo away from her master.
Ross was so good at cracking down on us when we tried to cheat. He made us play as the cards dictated. There was no fooling around on his watch!
The environment, lacking anyone but our four characters, was so delightful to describe. The carved door to Honré’s room. The bright red umbrella in the dreary grey rain. The rack of shoes (SHOES!!!) drying by the fire. So much good stuff.
Phew…wow, that game was just delicious. Enough so that Alex stayed and watched most of the game!
What could have improved
Wow…I’m not sure. We could have played another hour or two of it. Gonsolvo and Honoré could have spoken words to each other. The sky is the limit!
