June 26: Toph Jonah Dylan

A full game, just under 2 hours from start to finish. Narration was low, but concepts were clear. Jonah is thrilled that he gets to be a Betatester. "I get to be a Betatester too? Cool!" exclaims Dylan. Dylan is also really excited about the ultraviolence aspect of this. He's giggling when he chooses to give his guy a 5 in Kill.

1. Both made characters: Agents Spyash (Jonah) and Tofu (Dylan). Five aspects each. I tell them to write short phrases, and before I even start asking questions, Dylan is writing "has a bazooka!" and laughing at that too.

2. Mission assigned:

• Find and Diffuse a Bomb in the City
• Punish People who Set the Bomb.

3. Ten teamwork dice placed on a book in the middle of the table. Not explained to the kids until the second conflict.

First Conflict: Looking for a Bomb.

Kids go to local Library. Tofu hits the computers (Dig), Spyash offers false threats, waving a gun around (Con). The answer is in the library, and there is an Enemy Agent there trying to stop them.

Round 1 Opposition (with 6 dice) gets 3x5. Spyash gets 2x6 with 4 dice. Tofu burns "goes ballistico!" and "goes nuts!" on a total of 6 dice and gets 2x3 and 2x1; Opposition is EXPOSED.

Round 2 Opposition gets 3x3. Tofu asks Spyash for help, so Dylan rolls 6 dice, getting 3x2. He then burns "Gangsta!" (Dylan has instinctively put exclamations by all his aspects) for two more, and ends up with a 2x3 and 2x1 as well. The 3x2 achieve the second hit on the Enemy Agent, and so that's a victory through DIG: The enemy agent has been identified (it's the janitor, suggests Jonah), and they know the bomb has been placed there by Dr. Mysterio in the basement of the Police Station, where he wants to destroy all the evidence and criminal records, which would lead to thousands of criminals being released from jail.

Second Conflict: Entering the Police Station.

The Police have never heard of the Agency, and so must make their way into the Police Station covertly. Dylan doesn't know that word, evidently, and takes 5 dice for kill.

Round 1 Spyash uses Con, and is helped by Tofu (and so has 9 dice, against the 8 used by the cops). Opposition rolls 2x3, 2x2, 2x1. Spyash gets 3x6, 2x2, 1, 4, 3, 5. Seeing where it's heading, he burns two aspects: "Doesn't feel bad", and "Skateboard". He's now got 5x6, 2x5, 2x4, 2x2. Cops are DUPED.

Round 2 Everybody rolls. Opposition gets 3x5, 2x2; Spyash gets 2x3, Tofu gets 2x6, burns "I kill whoever!" and ends up with 3x6 and 2x4. Cops are BAMBOOZLED as Spyash's con gets through. While Tofu is blasting away, Spyash is mistaken for an innocent bystander, and skateboards his way down the corridor to where the bomb is. A victory through Con.

Third Conflict: Diffusing a Bomb.

Despite my arguments that COOL would be a good skill to use on a bomb as you carefully snip a wire, both kids roll KILL, thinking that if they do enough damage, the bomb won't be able to blow up the records. Opposition has ten dice.

Round 1 Ten dice. The Bomb is threatening to detonate (we start counting down from sixty), and is using Kill. Bomb gets 3x5 2x3 2x2. Tofu gets 3x2, Spyash gets 2x6. Agent Tofu is BURNT as his bullets cause a leak and superheated acidic fluid starts pouring into the room.

Round 2 Dylan asks Jonah to help, who says no way. ("Can I tell Dylan what it says in the rules you get to say?" Jonah asks pleadingly). So Spyash is rolling 6 (5 plus one from Dylan's hand). Tofu (taking 2 from the Teamwork pool) also rolls 6. Opposition gets 3x4, 3x1, 2x2. Spyash gets 2x4, 2x1. Tofu gets 3x4 2x2. Bomb is SHOT.

Round 3 Opposition rolls 3x4, 2x3, 2x2, 2x1. Tofu rolls 2x1, burns "I have a Bazooka!", and gets a 2x5 as well. Spyash gets 2x4, 2x5, burns "Matrix slow motion", and, as time seems to stop as the bullet fly around the bomb that is spitting acid, gets a 2x6. The Bomb is BLASTED, another victory. Agent Tofu has no aspects left.

Interlude

So the kids have now accomplished the first part of their mission: they have found and diffused the bomb. The police records are safe. They ask about the Janitor, who I say they can do what they like with: he's an enemy agent, they can do what they like. My son has a conscience: "Killing him doesn't seem right." His friend remembers, "Hey though! You said he Doesn't Feel Bad." "Yeah, but I burned that aspect." First Objective Achieved.

Fourth Conflict: Dr. Mysterio.

Dr. Mysterio lives in a castle. They have the evidence they need to punish him, which for these guys means kill. Three previous successes and a Principal means there are 14 dice with the opposition, which are being split with 8 in COOL and 6 in KILL (from the Henchmen).

Round 1 Opposition Cool gets 3x2 2x5. Opposition Kill gets 2x4, 2x2. Spyash helps Tofu, who rolls ten dice: 3x4, 3x3, 2x2. So: 3x4 takes the first Kill set. 3x3 takes the second Kill set. The Opposition 3x2 takes the 2x2 set. Agent Tofu is hit by the 2x5, and is DAZZLED by Dr. Mysterio.

Round 2 Opposition Cool gets 2x5, 2x3, and 2x2; Opposition Kill gets 2x6, 2x4. Dylan has hits on him, and so to stay safe agrees to help Jonah. So the ten dice from Spyash get 3x4 3x3 2x6 and 2x5. Spyash is not DAZZLED as well.

Round 3 Opposition Cool gets 2x6, 2x5, Opposition Kill gets 4x4. Agent Tofu rolls 2x5. Spyash 2x6, 2x2, and, after he burns "Ninja skills", 2x1. The sequence here is important: The opposition's 4x4 kill takes Tofu's only set, as the henchman blast away with their weapons. Spyash's 2x6 hits the Opposition 2x6. Tofu has the fewest sets (none) and so gets hit by Mysterio's cool: Agent Tofu feels he is NOT WORTHY and is out of the combat, but that leaves two kill sets which knock out Dr. Mysterio. Victory for the players, against a Principal. Jonah has to kill Mysterio with this success, and first thinks it'd be cool if he were in a giant mecha suit, but when I begin to describe ripping Mysterio's arms off and the blood going everywhere, Jonah has a conscience again and decides just to shoot him instead. Second Objective Achieved.

We discuss Agent Tofu moving on, that Dylan gets to make a new character for the retaliation scene, with five fresh aspects, etc. He says no.

Fifth Conflict: Retaliation from Mysterio's Henchmen.

Round 1 Henchmen, with 14 dice, against the kids with 5 dice in Kill each. Spyash looks to Tofu for help, and receives it. Opposition gets 5x3, 4x5, 2x4, 2x2; Spyash gets 4x6, 2x5, and 2x1, and Spyash is SHOT.

Round 2 This is it. Tofu asks for help, but Spyash says no. Spyash will then roll six dice (5+1 from Tofu); Tofu takes all eight remaining dice in the Teamwork pool, for a total of 13. Opposition roll 14 dice, getting 5x6,4x2, 2x5, 2x3. Tofu rolls 3x6, 3x5, 2x4, 2x3. Spyash 2x3 and 2x1. Opposition sets interact with Tofu's sets, leaving two KILL hits from Agent Spyash, who gets a double KILL hit and achieves a victory.