The Slasher Movie can be scary, ridiculous, gory, trashy, witty social commentary or just dumb fun. SLASHR is a fast playing, free wheeling Slasher Movie emulator captured in 9 simple playing cards.
Before starting play, make sure that you set the rating for this movie (a PG-13 game is very different than the Hard R version). If we are okay with our movie getting a hard R Rating, make sure that the players are all comfortable with that. You may want to check out some standard RPG safety mechanics - such as an X-CARD.
Have everyone sit around a circle. Take your SLASHR deck, shuffle it, and put it in the middle of the area you are playing, in easy reach for all the players. If you really want to get in the mood, service some greasy popcorn, turn the lights down and sing "Let's All Go to the Lobby".
As a group, come up with a setting for a 1980s-style exploitation flick. Once you have a setting, settle on a title for the film. The setting and title are going to really lock down what the players do over the course of the movie.
The first player is the last person to have seen a horror movie. They begin the game by introducing themselves (their actual self) as starring as a character in the movie. So, for instance, let's say that we are playing a movie called Unholy Pigskin (a PG-13 slasher about a High School Football team full of vampires. You would say something like, "Starring Chris O'Neill as Head Coach N. Romancer". Then have the next player in the circule introduce themselves and so on, until everyone has been introduced.
Each player will then take a turn creating a scene in the Movie. The most important thing to remember is that you are SETTING UP A SCENE - not resolving it. To properly set up a scene, it should involve your character, at least one other character, and a location. These two players should both want something, or need an answer to a question. This simple mechanic should drive us immediately into action. "Okay, so the Cheerleader and I are having a fight in the parking lot about leaving town."
When the scene starts, the players can start role-playing their characters, or narrating activity in the scene. Anyone that is not directly involved in the scene acts as additional "uncredited" characters and background effects.
When one of the following happens, ANY PLAYER should yell CUT!
A Character is about to get the thing they want.
A Character is about to get the answer to a question.
Anything stupid, weird, or dangerous occurs.
Things are getting slow or boring in any way.
Whenever someone yells CUT! the active player takes the SLASHR deck, cuts it, and flips over the top card. Depending on the card, the scene is then resolved in a specific way. After resolving the scene, shuffle the deck and play passes to the next player clockwise.
FEAR, LUST, LIES, GREED, or STUPIDITY(THE RED CARDS) If the player cuts to a RED CARD, they resolve the scene in their favor using the prompt on the card, then return that card to the deck.
MURDERED (BLACK CARDS)
When you pull a BLACK CARD, you got Murdered. In the game, this means that this scene - no matter what it was about - ends in your grisly murder at the hands of the SLASHR KILLR. Only the ACTIVE PLAYER dies, and they always get to narrate their own death! If the Slasher has not been revealed yet, the death should be laden with mystery.
When you die, you flip over the remaining cards in the SLASHR deck and take one of the 5 RED CARDS out (Fear, Lust, Lies, Greed, and Stupidity) and plays it face up in front of them.
When your character has been eliminated, you are still playing. If it becomes your turn again, instead of setting up a scene with your character - you set up and narrate a quick scene using your prompt as inspiration. You are encouraged to be the unnamed people in the other player's scenes in the movie, to add narration, to make sound effects, and to shout encouragement from your theater seats.
Don't forget to put the BLACK CARD back into the deck.
DON'T TURN AROUND
If the player cuts to DON'T TURN AROUND, they have a brush with Death, but don't die. Early on in the game, when this happens - the player should narrate their "jump scare" or "cheap heat" moment - cats jumping out, car crashes, kids pretending to be the murderer, etc.
After the SLASHR is in play, this card should always result in a near death experience with the SLASHR KILLR. Put the card back in the deck.
SLASHR
When you flip the SLASHR card - you are the SLASHR. You should resolve the scene as the SLASHR, revealing your identity and motive. You get to resolve the scene in your favor - but as your can only die when you are the active player, your opponent in the scene does not get killed.
YOUR INEVITABLE GRISLY DEATH
As you play, you will be removing cards form the deck, and making it MORE LIKELY that the next player is going to die. With either (a) the deck runs out of RED Cards, or (b) there is only the SLASHR. and one other person alive; the game ends. Each player that was eliminated during the game gets a chance to "pitch" the ending of the movie to the remaining player(s). The ending should involved the survivors defeating the SLASHR or getting away. Afterwards, the SLASHRget to add a "sequel clause" scene where they show how they actually survived for the next movie.
Card Game, Movies / TV / Radio theme, Murder / Mystery, Party Game · Acting, Cooperative Game, Voting
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