Yazeba’s Online, an unconventional tabletop RPG and the digital playground of your dreams

polygon.com:

It’s been four years since Possum Creek Games (Wanderhome) struck the match that would become Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast, an innovative, rule-breaking, fun-making tabletop role-playing game that is undoubtedly the first of its kind. March saw the release of the game’s online iteration, Yazeba’s Online. This version, which also features the official release of the original Yazeba’s book in PDF form, combines the novel virtual tabletop features of One More Multiverse, the point-and-click adventuring of The Secret of Monkey Island, and the terraforming and design freedom of Animal Crossing: New Horizons into one glorious online adventure. It’s a lot to pack into one game, but the end result is a charming, sincere playground for your digital escapades.

The core Yazeba’s experience promises a slice-of-life fantasy with themes of queer found family and community care, told through novel and innovative game mechanics around the table. The game, which is set in a magical bed & breakfast run by a heartless witch, is played with entirely pre-generated characters. These characters include long-term residents of the titular B&B as well as guests who are just passing through. This lets new players jump right into playing without needing to be led through character creation and customization.

Each character has their strengths and weaknesses, and also so-called journeys to base their role-play around. Journeys are individual processes of self-discovery and growth; when a character’s journey is fulfilled, players pick a new journey to focus on. Play is segmented into short chapters, which are stand-alone vignettes featuring specific characters. Chapters can be played in any order, and take 60-90 minutes to play. Some chapters and