I love to go outside my RPG comfort zone and try just about any game, especially the ridiculous ones. We all need a break from the drama and there’s no better game for that than “Og.” Let me be completely honest with you. I’ve only played this game once, for four hours in 2011 at ReaperCon. I had such a fantastic time getting stomped to death by a T-Rex, that “Og” became one of my favorite RPGs.
In “Og,” you play a caveman or cavewoman and, with your fellow players, you help your tribe by gathering food and mates. There’s no deep character development here. You want your motivation? Here are your motivations: “food, escaping becoming food, mating, shelter, thumping on rival cavemen.” Most games begin in your tribe’s cave with your leader telling you what he or she wants you to do. Want to hear the funny thing about this beginning? Reportedly, some groups can’t manage to get out of the cave.
“That’s ridiculous,” you may say. And you’re right – it is ridiculous but perfectly understandable when you know this very basic rule of “Og” – there are 18 words your fellow players can potentially say. Most of you only know 3, but if you’re an “Eloquent” caveperson – then you may be able to say a few more. You are only allowed to use those words to communicate with the other players (along with grunts or gestures). So you can see why just shouting, “You hairy!” and gesticulating wildly may prevent you from accomplishing anything.
“I’ll just draw what I’m trying to say!” Not so fast! Unless you have the drawing skill, you are too dumb to figure out how to draw a line in the dirt. In fact, you only have 3 basic abilities in addition to “Run Away.”
In “Og” even the GMs are encouraged to be as vague as possible and describe the scenery in words your players can understand. There’s even a glossary in the Rule book that tells you the names of Prehistoric creatures in “Caveman talk.” For example, that T-Rex that killed me is known as a “Big Big Smelly Bang Thing.” Cavemen are basic creatures. They won’t have the understanding to appreciate “majestic snow-capped mountains” but they will see “big hills with white cold stuff on them.”
As stated before, you can only use the words you know to communicate with other players. You may also grunt and gesture but that’s it. “Og” gets loud fast. The more you can relax and realize that every single player looks and sounds utterly ridiculous, the quicker you can enjoy what makes “Og” a one-of-a-kind experience.
“Og” isn’t for everyone but it is wonderful for a one-shot convention game or for when your gaming group needs a break. The rule book is only 50 pages long and there’s no need to set up a detailed story. Because it removes so much of the fluff or, some would say, depth, you can easily use this as your first venture as a GM. That’s my plan anyway.
The only planning required is thoughtfulness. If you’re at a convention, be kind and attempt to find a play area as far from other games as possible. If you’re playing in someone’s home, make sure no kids are sleeping or the walls aren’t paper thin. “Og” gets loud fast. We tried our best to keep quiet at ReaperCon, but somehow we thought if we grunted louder, the other player would understand the importance of what we’re expressing. Several groups came up and asked us to keep the noise down. We apologized profusely but there’s really no way to play this game quietly. Well, I suppose you could play cavemen with laryngitis but that’s about the only way…
So, that’s “Og” for you. Players will grunt loudly, gesticulate wildly, and laugh hysterically. The rulebook itself is funny and I highly recommend you pick it up here. Give it a shot. I promise you’ll have a blast.
Stephanie Hawver
Latest posts by Stephanie Hawver (see all)
- Ask a Gamer- Concocting Your Gaming Group - January 15, 2016
