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The Between $15.00
Average Rating:4.8 / 5
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The Between
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Harper [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/11/2023 17:23:58

This is an intriguing game to read, for sure!

I haven’t played yet, so I’ll have to come back and update this review, but so far I have some very strong opinions after reading through the rules.

The Carved From Brindlewood system is a genuine innovation in TRPGs. Reading through each section, and discovering how each system fits in with the other systems, I begin to imagine how strange, how new, and how exciting this will be to play.

There is such strong support for narrative pacing, character development, and cinematic play in the way this game is structured that I’m guessing I’m going to really enjoy it at the table.

However… the way the book is laid out does not make it easy to reference. A lot of key concepts, referred to later in the book, that are hard to find earlier in the book. Lot’s of command-F going on.

Def worth checking out, but has it’s drawbacks so far.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Andy R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/28/2023 13:10:50

I'm familiar with the rules from Brindlewood Bay and Public Access. On the surface this is "what if Penny Dreadful?" but there's plenty more going on. While the playbooks may be familiar, the mysteries aren't. It adds up to a fine narrative game with plenty of collaborative world building that uses the fun "piece the clues together to find an answer" play-to-find-out mechanic I very much enjoyed in BB and PA. Also has some excellent guiadance on making your own threats. Will be picking up some of the supplements later this evening I think.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Sarah B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/02/2022 12:22:38

The Between is easily my favorite game of the last year. It’s laser-focused. It’s a game that knows intimately what it is, and delivers on its every promise: satisfying investigative play, and dark, dramatic stories about morally complex characters in Victorian London. Between the playbooks and the unscene, there is theme and atmosphere here in spades.

The Between’s emergent mystery resolution system–shared by the equally fantastic Brindlewood Bay–allows for almost endless replayability. I’ve run and played the recommended campaign starter threat, The St. James Street Ghost, a handful of times now, with radically different investigations and solutions each time. I’d gladly run and play it many times more (although with the breadth of new official content coming out for this game, alongside the thriving player-driven content community around it, I won’t have to).

The way threats are presented packs a real punch: each threat sheet provides a solid base for improvisational, collaborative play, with everything you need to adapt to whichever direction the players decide to take the investigation. The GM tools codified throughout the game’s design will actively make you a better GM. I can’t recommend it enough.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Dmitry Z. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/03/2021 02:40:32

Well, there is three main reasons I adore this game.
First, it's one of the best investigation games I've ever encountered and I love that genre and made some digging. Second, it's oh so very well themed and all of the touchstones really touch my heart (Penny Dreadful, From Hell, good ol' Dickens and all his gory victorian friends). Speaking of touchstones, there is one more book that really comes to my mind when I play/run The Between and it's Night in Lonesome October by magnificent Roger Zelazny, couldn't recommend it to you more than I do. And, last but not least, it's very tightly and neatly packed that is a very valuable feature beacause so many times sparkling and creative but poorly designed and written RPG book caused me and my gaming group sufferings. Luckily it's not the case here. So give it a try and don't forget Season 2 DLC - it only makes things better.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Amanda M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/03/2021 01:44:50

My first review! How exciting!

What can I say other than I am full on obsessed with this game? I've played two different playbooks in campaigns so far, and one in a oneshot. Heck, even at one point my character got sucked into a different dimension (a different The Between game run by the same keeper) and I dealt with mysteries my original team had already dealth with.... and even with the same mysteries nothing is the same! You would think a game with a set number of mysteries would have limited replayability but not with this system.

So this is a game that is based in Powered by the Apocalypse style play and PbtA games are generally not very crunchy. This game is not crunchy at all, but it has a huge amount of power behind it regardless (if lack of crunch makes you worry about lack of backbone or power!)

You have the Day Phase (where the players try and clear conditions/de-buffs by triggering certain Vulnerable Moves or find out more information about the mysteries, or really anything they want to do!). The Dusk Phase is mostly for mechanic reconciliation - some playbooks require rolls here before going into the Night Phase, like The American (who is a werewolf) who must roll to see how were-wolfy they will be in the Night. The Night Phase is where the only time players can resolve threats (the campaign goals) but choices are more risky and moves are more dangerous at night. The Dawn Phase is your reward for surviving the Night.

I love that you can choose light or heavy narrative play, especially the fact that the #1 rule is you cannot reveal backstory to anyone (not even the keeper) unless it's triggered by the game mechanisms. It adds a delicious layer of drama, very similar to a book or TV show.

The Carved from Brindlewood style of mystery solving was something that took me a session or two to get the hang of, as I'd never played anything like that before. Basically, the Keeper has a set of clues they will give the players when they manage to earn the clues, but the players are the ones that interpret them - there is no "campaign answer" to a mystery! A clue can appear in different games and have totally different meanings. It's highly effective because you can tie the clues not only into the mystery at hand, but into the greater story as well.

The playbooks are a LOT of fun - none of these people are "good" people by nature. And how could a good person operate in a place like Hargrave House anyway? You can, however, give your character solid story arcs very easily, even "questionable morality" to "good person". Or, if you prefer character light games, you can limit the dimensionality of your character. As long as you have a backstory it really doesn't matter! (Although it's MUCH more fun if you have an interesting backstory! Make a complicated character, you will have a good time with it!)

The Unscene is a fantastic element. During the Night Phase (which belongs to the Keeper) the players narrate pieces of a story happening in London that night that have nothing to do with the characters or mysteries at hand. However it has everything to do with building the tone, setting, and FEEL of the world you are operating in. The Unscene is the world building AND the timer for the Night Phase - when you as players can actually get things done. It gives the players agency over the world outside of their characters and that's not something that happens in most TTRPGs.

I could go on and on but I am not a writer or a critic (hence my lack of reviews!) but this game is really special and I can't wait to see what other people do with it!

LOL okay a quick edit: I just posted this and scrolled through previous reviews... and my Keeper has reviewed! Steph J! They said: "I keep running this game overtime, three hours quickly becomes four, and we've almost played to five".... but that is OUTDATED. Once we had a 9 hour session. It was amazing. I don't think a 9 hr session is the norm by any means for this game - just this group in this particular instance.... but, well, it was a long and bonkers session and I will never forget it because it was amazing :)



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by CODY E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/02/2021 10:43:27

This game is so slick. The tools/mechanics for gathering clues and solving mysteries are so simple, making for smooth-as-butter play. You don't have to be an Agatha Christie to run this AND your players will feel like Sherlock Holmes when they crack the case. It is a win/win/win.

This makes for a great thematic, short series and when you fall in love with the mechanics (you will) you'll be looking for ways to hack them into every other game you run.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Dmitrii T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/12/2021 11:07:40

Замечательная, необычная и в чём-то даже революционная игра. Глубокое погружение в тему и удовольствое от процесса обеспечено! Подробный обзор можно прочитать в блоге Рыжего Библиотекаря! https://telegra.ph/The-Between-Bulvarnye-uzhasy-za-vashim-stolom-10-04

The Between is an excellent, unusual, and in some ways even revolutionary game. Deep immersion in the topic and the pleasure of the process are provided!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Michael V. V. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/11/2021 11:30:20

The Between is dripping with atmosphere, sensuality and barely constrained ferocity. Every character sheet is dripping with detail and outlines a roller coaster ride of a character arc. Become a motley collection of oddballs and monsters, seek your own pleasures, and occasionally intervene on behalf of the Crown, but know that the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long. Get in all the sex, blood, decadence and puzzle-solving while you can!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Andrew C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/26/2021 16:12:18

Amazing atmosphere, very intense roleplaying. Really enjoying this, only issue may be that we sometimes felt like 4 seperate 1 on 1 roleplaying sessions.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Jacques v. H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/14/2021 06:42:57

Beautifully illustrated, professional layout and stellar writing. What more could you want? The setting and the rules are all extremely clear, and the designers go out of their way to make your first session as easy as possible. But the book also includes advice for how to write your own threats and storylines, either for publication or home use, which makes it even better than I could have expected. Stellar, stellar work. Can't recommend this highly enough.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Judd K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/16/2021 23:42:34

Evocative, innovative and fun.

I can't wait to play it more.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Stephanie J. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/25/2021 12:57:36

I just love this game. My players love this game. I keep running this game overtime, three hours quickly becomes four, and we've almost played to five. I keep getting asked how this game is this good, this early on. Every part of the game contributes to the story. My favorite phrases are "The Day is yours, but the Night is mine." and "You are not allowed to tell me(or your fellow players) anything about your backstory unless you have a move to do so.". It's such a wild approach to have a very freeform player driven Day phase while a very intense gm driven Night phase. As well as having backstory insentivised through mechanical benefits.

Atmospherically I compare this game to a fine glass of wine, mature, sensual, and a required taste. It's intense, gorey, and honestly pretty sexy. Still it's very easy to adjust the game to your comfort level of how intense it gets. All threats have the same structure, and it does take you step by step as a gm how to create everything from scratch. It takes you by the hand for running session one; it practically runs itself while making you look like a genius in front of your players. If you have struggled with gming before, I would reccomend this game as at its core is an excellent resource for understanding how games work.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Gabriel M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/20/2021 09:22:17

The Between is great. Every single part of the game adds to the story and deepends the characters. Even if you're powergaming, you have to powergame through the story. Each move, janus mask prompt, and dawn question (xp trigger) lead you deeper into story. Techniques like the Personal Quarters really force the group to listen to how each player introduces their character and builds the collaborative spirit from the very beginning. There is no fluff or wasted space.

The idea that you can only discuss characters' backstories when the game forces it is a really inspired choice and reinforces the cinematic feel that the author describes in the rulebook. We unveil relevant information only when it's relevant. As a player this also prevented me from feeling locked into a specific backstory for my character.

The book itself gives the keeper (GM) everything they need. The game itself is quite structured and the nature of the threats allow you to drop interesting and evocative details constantly. Everything is flexible enough that you can always incorporate something into the scene.

As with Brindlewood Bay the Answer a Question Move is absolutely magical. As a player and a Keeper it feels amazing to watch the group put all the pieces together and develop a story out of the various clues. The Between levels this up by creating more complex Threats where which question you answer can determine how a story goes and gives the players a lot of influence on what kind of story unfolds.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention. Each threat is so flexible that you can play or run them multiple times and spoliers are essentially impossible. Each clue can come out in different ways and at different times based on how the group approaches each threat and which side charaters they engage with. As someone who GMs a lot, this is an enormous benefit.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Shane M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/19/2021 18:57:16

I was a big fan of the designer's previous game Brindlewood Bay, and have been anticipating this one. So far I've run two sessions and am really excited for more.

This game does a great job of evoking a spooky Victorian atmosphere - with 50 atmospheric 'unscenes', sets of notable Moments and thematic prompts in each Threat, and playbook moves that are incredibly (sometimes horrifyingly) flavourful. The approach to presenting NPCs is incredibly efficient and lets me as GM create a compelling, diverse cast at the table with minimal preparation. I have started using this approach in my notes for other games I run and it works fantastically well.

As much as I hope I get to play a character in this game at some point, there is so much here for the GM to enjoy. The formalised play cycle (four phases - dawn, day, dusk and night) gives you a unique tool to pace the game dramatically. The way specific playbooks can trigger or unlock particular threats - the Pinkerton coming for the American, etc - is a really fun dynamic to run. The overarching campaign structure - the Mastermind - works like a special playbook, with fascinating questions and choices the GM gets to make as the game continues, and a play-to-find-out emergent narrative that drives toward a big dramatic climax. I really enjoy a lot of pbta games, but often find it hard to bring them to a satisfying conclusion, and I think this and Brindlewood Bay offer a really elegant and exciting solution to that problem.

I definitely recommend this game if the concept and tone appeal to you. Even if they don't, I think there's a lot of really useful mechanics and ideas packed in here that you can use or hack for other games.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Between
Publisher: The Gauntlet
by Daniel Q. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/19/2021 09:02:24

I'm really exicted about several of the creative mechanics for this game, such as the Janus Mask, the Threat Investigation, the Unscene, and the Mastermind. The posted youtube video of author Jason Cordova running The Between with a great cast is very beneficial, and he explains the mechanics as the players play for the first time.

Can't wait to run it!

Edit: This game comes with a lot of resources to run it.

  • Reference sheets
  • Mood evoking Unscene prompts.
  • Mastermind tracker to work in their clues and schemes.
  • 10 detailed Threats (some based on specific playbooks). Each threat has Questions that must be answered, side characters, locations, clues, moments to add to the atmosphere, rewards, and consequences if the threat is not defeated.


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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