Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com The best place on earth for nerds. Wed, 06 Feb 2019 20:03:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-nerds_head_thumb2-100x100.png Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com 32 32 All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, under one umbrella. We create short run podcasts for nerds, covering D&D, Marvel, Starfinder, and more! You vote for your favorite shows and they just might get a second season. Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth false episodic Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth jason.sansbury@nerdsonearth.com podcast All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, the best place on Earth for nerds. Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/noe-podcast-logo.png https://nerdsonearth.com/blog/ The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 19 https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/02/the-fortunes-untold-podcast-episode-19/ Thu, 07 Feb 2019 08:01:58 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=22666

Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time.

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Wait… They had books for your phone back in the 90s? And your address was in it?! Mikey and Jack’s hunt for the matagot leads them to the town librarian’s house in the final episode of our review of Kids on Bikes.

If you liked what you heard about Kids on Bikes, you can find it at the Renegade Games website: https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/kids-on-bikes or check out our initial review of the setting.


Fortunes Untold is a show where a group of gamers get together and review different table-top RPGs. But we don’t just tell you about the games, we show you how they play. We’ll try out the rules, we’ll test drive the setting, and at the end of the adventure we’ll hand out Experience Points and see if the system levels up.

We take the crits so you don’t have to.

(Disclosure: Renegade Game Studios supplied us with a copy of the Kids on Bikes: Strange Adventures setting book in exchange for an honest review.)

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Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth 19 19 full false 1:06:38
The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 18 https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/01/the-fortunes-untold-podcast-episode-18/ Thu, 31 Jan 2019 13:01:14 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=22445

Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time.

The post The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 18 appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Jack and Mikey have solved the mystery of the hardware store vandal… sort of. What’s a lutin? What’s a matagot? What is its evil plan? And what time is Mom getting back from work?!

If you liked what you heard about Kids on Bikes, you can find it at the Renegade Games website: https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/kids-on-bikes or check out our initial review of the setting.


Fortunes Untold is a show where a group of gamers get together and review different table-top RPGs. But we don’t just tell you about the games, we show you how they play. We’ll try out the rules, we’ll test drive the setting, and at the end of the adventure we’ll hand out Experience Points and see if the system levels up.

We take the crits so you don’t have to.

(Disclosure: Renegade Game Studios supplied us with a copy of the Kids on Bikes: Strange Adventures setting book in exchange for an honest review.)

The post The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 18 appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth 18 18 full false 58:07
The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 17 https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/01/fortunes-untold-podcast-episode-17/ Thu, 24 Jan 2019 13:19:33 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=22215

Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time.

The post The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 17 appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Mikey and Jack head out to the Fort to see if they can solve the mystery of who’s vandalizing Mitzi’s Hardware, but are the woods outside of Sharon Hollow safe to explore?  Join us this week as we continue our review of “Kids on Bikes” by Renegade Games. Kids on Bikes is a collaborative storytelling role-playing game about small towns and big adventures!

If you liked what you heard about Kids on Bikes, you can find it at the Renegade Games website: https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/kids-on-bikes or check out our initial review of the setting.


Fortunes Untold is a show where a group of gamers get together and review different table-top RPGs. But we don’t just tell you about the games, we show you how they play. We’ll try out the rules, we’ll test drive the setting, and at the end of the adventure we’ll hand out Experience Points and see if the system levels up.

We take the crits so you don’t have to.

(Disclosure: Renegade Game Studios supplied us with a copy of the Kids on Bikes: Strange Adventures setting book in exchange for an honest review.)

The post The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 17 appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth 17 17 full false 1:13:02
The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 16 https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/01/fortunes-untold-podcast-16/ Thu, 17 Jan 2019 06:01:41 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=22061

Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time.

The post The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 16 appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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It’s 1993, William “Jack” Jackson and his little brother Mikey are stuck in Sharon Hollow, MI where nothing interesting ever happens. Or so they think… Join us this week as we begin our review of “Kids on Bikes” by Renegade Games. Kids on Bikes is a collaborative storytelling roleplaying game about small towns and big adventures!

If you liked what you heard about Kids on Bikes, you can find it at the Renegade Games website: https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/kids-on-bikes or check out our initial review of the setting.


Fortunes Untold is a show where a group of gamers get together and review different table-top RPGs. But we don’t just tell you about the games, we show you how they play. We’ll try out the rules, we’ll test drive the setting, and at the end of the adventure we’ll hand out Experience Points and see if the system levels up.

We take the crits so you don’t have to.

(Disclosure: Renegade Game Studios supplied us with a copy of the Kids on Bikes: Strange Adventures setting book in exchange for an honest review.)

The post The Fortunes Untold Podcast: Episode 16 appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Welcome to Fortunes Untold, the weekly podcast that plays through independent roleplaying games, a few sessions at a time. Kids on Bikes – Nerds on Earth 16 16 full false 1:23:25
2018 Nerdie Award for Best Small Press RPG https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/12/2018-nerdie-award-for-best-indy-rpg/ Wed, 26 Dec 2018 13:00:04 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=21048

Nerds on Earth presents the Nerdie Award for Best Small Press RPG, highlighting great indie roleplaying games.

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The Nerdies” are the end-of-year awards from Nerds on Earth. They are only awarded to the most excellent of things, and are selected by Nerds on Earth writers and editors, with input from readers via our social media.

Our category today is “Best Small Press RPG,” meaning we want to celebrate those indie roleplaying games out there. We narrowed the slate down to four before opening the vote to determine the winner of the Best Small Press RPG.

By the way, if you want a podcast that plays through these RPGs in short arcs so you can get the basics, check out Fortunes Untold!

2018 Nerdie Award for Best Indie RPG

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Harlem Unbound

Cthulhu at the Cotton Club! It’s 1929 and the night is dark and full of terrors in Harlem Unbound. Packed full of history, story hooks, and campaign ideas Harlem Unbound has rules for both Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu 7th edition and GUMSHOE, Chris Spivey’s book takes the Mythos where it’s never gone: from Sugar Hill all the way to 96th Street.

Play one of the new classes written specifically for Harlem Unbound. Your investigator might be a Conjure Woman, a Writer, a Jazz Musician, or maybe even one of the Harlem Hellfighters back home from The Great War. Just remember that the greatest danger your PCs face may not be Mi-gos or cultists, it may be gangsters looking to expand their turf or the police themselves.  – Davery

 

Kids on Bikes

Kids on Bikes is an awesome game that capitalizes on the 80s nostalgia ginned up by Stranger Things. If you dug the Netflix hit, Kids on Bikes captures the spirit of adventuring with Dustin, Nancy, and Eleven (speaking of whom, there’s a mechanic for the group to share control of a “powered” character).

Play as a kid, teen or adult. Choose a character trope (nerd, jock, etc.), then assign a die (d4 – d20) for each ability score. Roll the max on a die and it explodes! My favorite mechanic: fail an ability check and gain “adversity tokens” you can cash in later to boost a roll or trigger your “strengths”.   – Mike

 

Alternity

Alternity is no new kid on the block. Originally released in the late 1990s, it created a flexible system with which to host a wide variety of RPG settings. The new Alternity system released this year does not lose any of that charm or flexibility.

Developed with instruction from the original creators Richard Baker and Bill Slavicsek, Sasquatch game studios sought to streamline and upgrade this veteran rule system. This success of this can only be proven by the ease and enjoyment of play, however the setting is only limited to your own imagination.  – Andrew

 

 

But the Nerdie Award winner for the Best Small Press RPG of 2018 is…

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Forbidden Lands

Forbidden Lands by Fria Ligan is what they call a retro open world fantasy RPG. You are renegades, rebels, and rogues exploring the ruins of a desolate world. Pretty standard, right? Explore dungeons, kill monsters, get treasure, rinse, and repeat.

Except the game isn’t about that at all. The game is about freedom and discovering the stories of the places you visit. The Blood Mist has lifted and the open road beckons you to come make your mark, to discard the destiny you were born with and carve your own. You are the raiders of the Forbidden Lands, and now is your time.

It’s a wonderfully evocative system and for that reason, Forbidden Lands wins the 2018 Nerdie Award for Best Indy RPG. – Chad

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7 Nerdy Things You Need in Your Life: Fields’ Shelfie https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/11/7-nerdy-things-you-need-in-your-life-fields-shelfie/ Tue, 06 Nov 2018 13:00:43 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=20394

Whether you're slogging through a stressful time in your life or sitting on top of the world, we all have things that we love that provide an escape or otherwise keep us grounded or centered. So as is the custom at Nerds on Earth, here is my list of 7 things on my shelves that let me spend hit dice and heal up.

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Nerds on Earth editor Papa Nerd Clave is great at building people up, helping them feel special and important. He’s constantly sharing things he loves and encouraging us to share the things we love.

Whether you’re slogging through a stressful time in your life or sitting on top of the world, we all have things that we love that provide an escape or otherwise keep us grounded or centered. So as is the custom at Nerds on Earth, here is my list of 7 things on my shelves that let me spend hit dice and heal up.

7 Nerdy Things You Need in Your Life: Fields’ Shelfie

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Flashpoint: Fire Rescue

What it is. My love of cooperative games is not something that embarrasses me. Flashpoint is probably one of the most frequently played games around my house and when I run my developmental gaming groups.

Flashpoint allows each player to choose a unique firefighter “with a particular set of skills.” Then the players all work together to use their firefighting, medical, hazmat, and leadership skills to check points of interest to rescue people (and pets) from a house engulfed in flames.

Why you might like it. The game uses dice, different maps, different player roles, basic or advanced rules, and expansion sets to make each game unique. Co-op games are great for pulling new gamers into the hobby because, not only do you learn as you play, but everyone wins or loses together. Games like Flashpoint help teach planning and sequencing, strategy, and social problem solving just to name a few.

The in-game stakes are high in this one though. Do you chop through a wall and risk having the house collapse to reach that poor kitty trapped in the bathroom quicker, or take your chances going the long way around?

Where you can get your hands on it. You can snag this one online, but swing by your FLGS where you can probably have someone help you learn to play… and paint up those firefighter minis.

Pandemic

What it is. It’s another co-op game. Sorry, not sorry. My wife is a nurse and my mom used to work at the CDC so this one is popular around here for the theme alone. This is another one where you win or lose together. Can you and your fellow scientists, each with their own unique abilities, discover cures and stop the spread of diseases before it’s too late?

Why you might like it. This game is an award winner that’s spawned lots of different variations (Pandemic, Reign of Cthulhu anyone?) and expansions. The Legacy variation is available in multiple “seasons” where each game affects the rules and conditions in the next game. You can even order custom meeples and tokens that look like a microscopic viruses.

Where you can get your hands on it. You can pick this one up just about anywhere–book stores, even Target and Walmart will typically have some version of Pandemic sitting on the shelves. But don’t forget your trusty FLGS.

Superfight

What it is. This one is more of a party game. It’s competitive, but also absurd which can help take the sting out of defeat. Also, the winner is decided by voting. There are rules for a battle royal version, but I like playing two players at a time.

You draw cards that identify your character which can be anything from “Me” to “Michael Jackson” or “Godzilla”. Then you draw cards which describe you abilities. Those could be things like “is invisible,” “has a flame thrower,” or “is afraid of the dark.”

Then the two players have to explain why they would win. Everyone else votes for the winner. Then the winner stays, draws new powers, and faces a different challenger.

Why you might like it. The game comes in a relatively small box so it travels easy, and works well with any number of players. Again, there are expansion decks for this one, but it comes with some blank cards so you can add your own flavor to the game.

I like this one because it is competitive but even when you lose a fight, you’ll get another turn. The ridiculous characters and abilities can make for some great laughs. Add to that, Superfight helps develop critical thinking and self advocacy, and you’ve got another game that I love both personally and as a therapist.

Where you can get your hands on it. This is another one you can find at most big box type stores, Amazon, and of course your FLGS.

Marvel Legendary

What it is. Legendary is a deck building game. Of course it’s another co-op, but this one does have victory points, so while everyone wins or loses as a team, one hero will end the game with more points.

The premise is pretty simple, you have a deck of bad guys and a deck of good guys, as well as an evil scheme that provides rules for how the game progresses and what the conditions are for victory and defeat. Each turn, a new villain or plot twist will be revealed, and then the players will get to play cards that allow them to either recruit new heroes into their personal deck, or to fight the baddies that are wreaking havoc on the city.

Why you might like it. I’m a big fan of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. It’s a fundamental theme in my work as a therapist–strengths, self identity, growth… Plus, I just love superheroes (so do my wife and son). While this is a co-op game, the mechanics of a deck builder are really different from the others I’ve included. So this let’s my family and individuals I see in my practice share an experience where we work together to learn and grow but use different mechanics and a different genre/setting.

Which reminds me, the Legendary series of games is yet another one where there are lots of versions and variations (including an Aliens version, a villains version, and many others).

Where you can get your hands on it. You can grab this one online at Amazon or check out your FLGS for different variations and expansion sets.

Pugmire

What it is. Pugmire is an RPG from Onyx Path Publishing. It is a d20 system where you play as “uplifted dogs” sometime in the future after man has disappeared. No-one knows where man has gone, but as a “good dog” it’s your duty to follow the code of man.

The code of man includes obeying the master, be loyal to those who are true, and protect all from the unseen. It’s a fantasy setting (because what do dogs know about technology, right?). So think knights and wizards… except they’re talking dogs.

Why you might like it. The mechanics should be familiar enough if you play RPGs, and the setting and themes are appropriate for all ages. Want to have a fun game with your nieces and nephews, or maybe a dark and gritty adventure with some friends? Pugmire has it in spaders (which you won’t need to clean up after an uplifted dog).

If you love dogs, this one is for you.

I have to admit though, I’m not really a dog lover. But there’s a companion book (which could also be played alone) coming out in the next month or so called Monarchies of Mau, and that’s REALLY why I’m into this one. Monarchies of Mau is all about cats! My buddy Jack Berkenstock and the Bodhana Group uses this game in a lot of their therapeutic gaming groups, so I credit him for introducing me to this one.

Where you can get your hands on it. You can order this one from Onyx Path, Drive Thru RPG, or Amazon.

Kids on Bikes

What it is. Kids on Bikes is my favorite RPG right now (although there are quite a few – like Pugmire
that are not far behind). Kids on Bikes is a game that is set back in the 80’s. If you loved Goonies, ET, Stranger Things, or even Scooby Doo, this is your jam.

I got to play in a game run by Doug Levendowski (one of the designers) recently, and he talked about
his love for D&D and wanting to create a game that paid homage to it. He also talked about wanting to create something that really dug into a kind of duality of good and bad, success and failure. In Kids on Bikes, when you fail a roll you gain an adversity token. Those can be used to activate abilities or to modify future rolls.

Why you might like it. 80’s nostalgia! Experience what it’s like to be an adventurous kid, bravely exploring, doing good, and just trying to do the right thing and help those who are being oppressed by an evil organization… or a ghost, or swamp creature, or alien. There’s a powered character that the players will discover and have shared control over (think Eleven in Stranger Things, ET, or even Sloth in Goonies).

This is another one that can be dark and scary for adults, or fun and silly enough for kids to play too. I use this one in my groups because I love the adversity token mechanic that encourages kids to try something. Even if they fail, they fail forward. They’re rewarded for taking a risk and putting themselves out there.

Where you can get your hands on it. This one just came out in the last couple of months. You can grab it online from publisher Renegade Game Studios, as well as Drive Thru RPG, and Amazon.

 

DICE!

What it is. My Addiction. I love dice, I just can’t have enough. Different sizes, different colors, custom branded dice, foam, metal, plastic. Not much to really say here, except they are the simple tools that help us create stories of triumph and tragedy. When failure is an option, or you need to generate something random, you need dice. (I love technology and gadgets, but I gotta have the sight, sound, and feel of real dice in my grubby little hands.)

Why you might like it. If you play games you probably need them. And sometime they betray you, and need to know they can be easily replaced. And sometimes you just want your dice to match your mood, or your rulebook.

Where you can get your hands on them. Go see them and touch them in person at your FLGS. I like to meet my dice before I make a commitment to them. But that’s just me.

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So there’s a look at my shelf and the things that… get me rolling (see what I did there?). What’s on your shelf?

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Capture the Stranger Things Vibe with the brand new Kids on Bikes RPG https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/07/kids-on-bikes/ Tue, 03 Jul 2018 11:31:13 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=18748

Capture the Stranger Things vibe in the brand new Kids on Bikes roleplaying game from Renegade Games.

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Stranger Things captured lightning in an upside down bottle. With its retro 1980s aesthetic, believable characters, spot on acting, and chilling surprises, the Netflix show was a cultural phenomenon that oddly enough brought Dungeons & Dragons and roleplaying a great amount of attention. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the global horror and sci-fi genre hit would itself morph into a kind of RPG subgenre of its own.

Perhaps at the forefront of this new RPG subgenre is Renegade Game Studios and Hunters Entertainment’s Kids on Bikes. Created by Jon Gilmour and Doug Levandowski, Kids on Bikes is billed as a rules-lite, collaborative world building RPG where players take on the role of nosey pre-teens, angtsy adolescents, and well meaning adults who are sticking their nose where it’s not meant to be. The game was kickstarted in late 2017, garnering 3,000+ backers and netting just over $93,000.

Kids on Bikes: World Building & Character Creation

Kids on Bikes is set during a time of the gaming group’s choosing. Want to take it back to the Red Scare of the Eisenhower Era? Great! Want to continue the retro-tinged glory of the 1980s according of Stranger Things? You can do it.

The only real guidance given is that it shouldn’t be set during a time where people have access to smartphones and modern technology. Sorry, kids. No earbuds, Googling for answers, or nifty apps. A boom box might be acceptable.

From a nuts and bolts perspective, Kids on Bikes gives players the opportunity to create the game world. Much like the experience with the Microscope RPG, Kids on Bikes asks that the players collaborate in the creation of the town and gaming world. Each player is asked questions in order about the town, providing answers which the other players and GM can build on as they create the town. Rumors, historical events, and even major industries help create a sandbox that your characters should be able to traverse in a bike in around an hour.

Also included in the creation of the town is a discussion about what should and shouldn’t be included in the game world, including several types of mechanics such as rewinding and fast-forwarding through scenes that may touch on these sensitive issues. The game takes great pains to address issues concerning setting gaming boundaries on race, ethnicity, disabilities, gender, and sexuality. The creators ask that these issues all be discussed at the beginning to ensure player safety and comfort.

Character creation is fun and easy. Players can choose from the many tropes provided in the book or from the pre-made characters in Appendix E. (Or from the downloads section of the Hunters Entertainment website.)

Players can also create their own characters. Players must assign the six main skills (Fight, Brawn, Flight, Grit, Brains, and Charm) a single die (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20) to represent their degree of competence. This intentionally creates a character with both strengths and weaknesses. This isn’t a game for the min-maxing masses!

In the spirit of collaboration, each character is connected with one another somehow, in both positive and negative ways. Kids on Bikes provides several ways to make those connections, varying between a short version to a longer version. Of course, players dedicating several sessions to Kids on Bikes should take the long route, as the connections in this game provide better collaboration and roleplaying opportunities for all players.

There are also powered NPCs that are controlled by the group. In a game that emphasizes the weird and the spooky, someone like Eleven from Stranger Things is bound to show up. While players are using mundane characters, the players share control and narration of these strange powered characters. The game offers plenty of aspects and options for creating interesting powered characters that will enhance the game. Of course, using these kinds of powers has consequences!

Kids on Bikes: Playing the Game

Kids on Bikes is about three key factors: collaboration, collaboration, and collaboration! Players will find themselves depending on one another to drive the game forward. Like any modern RPG, there needs to be a GM, but they act more as a facilitator than an all knowing, all powerful god who controls every aspect of the game. While some of the more traditional GM roles remain like setting up a general plot and deciding what kind of nasty things might be behind that creaky old door, their primary role is to set targets for skill checks and help players narrate the success and failure of their actions.

Kids on Bikes leans into its rule-lite roots for gameplay. Most everything in the game can be handled with a single, simple roll of the dice. There aren’t labyrinthian modifiers for players to keep up with or THAC0 charts to consult. Players roll and narrate the result. Players won’t find themselves in endless rounds of combat.

In fact, there aren’t any hit points! If players should happen to fight, they roll the appropriate skill and narrate the action based on how well or poorly they rolled against the GM’s target.

There are two basic types of actions in the game: Planned Actions and Snap Decisions. Planned Actions are checks that are made after careful planning, while Snap Decisions are those that have to be made spontaneously.

  1. Planned actions typically have small bonuses applied based on the character’s age and the skill they are using to accomplish the task, and players can take half the value of the face die to easily gain the result.
  2. Snap Decisions have to be rolled, offer no bonuses to the roll, and cannot be assisted by others.

Degrees of failure and success matter in Kids on Bikes. If the GM sets the target for 12 and you roll a twelve, you just barely succeeded, and the player and GM need to narrate the success as being as close to the wire as it can get. Rolling higher and lower allows for players to add flourishes and failures to their rolls. Helpful charts are provided to give players and GM advice on how to narrate these varying results.

The game follows the ethos of making failure interesting. Just because a players fails at an action doesn’t mean the game is over. It’s an opportunity for players to open up the creative floodgates and explore different ways to approach the problem. Players are also issued Adversity Tokens for failures. Each token collected can add +1 to a dice roll of their choosing. Having multiple failures can add up if players hoard their Adversity Tokens for a clutch moment.

Another unique feature of the game include the popular crit mechanic of exploding dice. If characters roll the max value of any die, they get to roll again and add the result to the total. Dice can continuously explode if the high result is rolled. This mechanic rewards players with lower skills for giving it the good ol’ elementary/middle/high school try for a difficult task.

Kids on Bikes: Those Darned Kids

For many of us, nostalgia about our childhood is a potent drug, a reminder of a yesteryear that is just out of reach as busy, stressed out, and exhausted adults. All of us can relate to the experience of having a spooky old house down the block or the whispered rumors about the crazy old lady who would stand on the street corner yelling at cars as they passed by.

Kids on Bikes gives players a chance to let their imagination run wild with the possibilities of our past lives, shining a light on the strangeness we always suspected to be hiding there in the dark.

Like Stranger Things, Kids on Bikes manages to capture nostalgia without being a schlocky exercise in glossing over our childhood memories and bastardizing pop culture. It’s nearly perfect in it’s small, unassuming packaging. The strength of the game is that it trusts its players to create a town and gaming experience that caters to their desires. The emphasis on collaborative play makes the game come alive in asking players to bring their own experiences to the table for the sake of the game.

Kids on Bikes offers players a superb playground to set out investigating their own unanswered childhood questions and fantasies about our hometowns, and to have them potentially scare the bejesus out of us once again.

Kids on Bikes is currently shipping to backers and is available for pre-order from Renegade Games.


[Disclosure: Your friendly neighborhood Nerds managed to get our nerdy hands on a review copy of Kids on Bikes from Renegade Games.]

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