Tag Archives: Fiasco

GOTW Reflection: Fiasco Week 2

Playing Fiasco this week was a little easier than when we initially started out. I began to understand, for the most part, what the game was meant to look like. My role was clearer, and I was able to effectively use the relationships and tools we had picked out the previous week to play the game better. We were also able to expand our creativity and imagination, now that we had become more familiar with our teammates and the game was more exciting overall.

One challenge of the game was getting into the specific character I had chosen and thinking about the different scenarios from that perspective. The character that I had chosen and the relationships I was working with were very different from my usual reality. The conversation we had after we wrapped up the game got me thinking about the values and motivations that influence the compromises that we are willing to make when we fill certain roles, particularly leadership roles. From now on, I hope to pay more attention to what these values are and how they influence the things I choose to do or not do, depending on the situation.

Overall, this game was initially difficult as we were trying to undertstand it’s aim and the best way to play as a group. But as we got comfortable with each other and the game guidelines, it was interesting to see the directions we took the different storylines we chose.

GOTW: Fiasco Pt 2.

Class Date: 2/19/2026

This week we concluded our playthrough of Fiasco, a GM-less improv game focusing on characters facing the consequences of different escapades going disastrously wrong. At the end of the first week, my group left off in a story with two characters trying to kill the other two. Due to absences between weeks, my group had two replacement players.

In Fiasco, the second act is defined by the tilt, two aspects that players are encouraged to include as much as possible. My group’s tilt was “Love rears its ugly head” and “Something precious is on fire”. The hardest aspect of this week was figuring out how to include them throughout the act. My group only had two or three scenes that really related to something precious being on fire, but we did use the Love tilt as a prompt to rekindle the relationship between the two characters who were former lovers. At the end of my group’s playthrough, three of the characters died while fighting inside a plane that crashed with the final character still inside.

The game had a lot of collaboration as an improv storytelling game, but also had players practice understanding. The characters in Fiasco playthroughs are almost always very different than the people acting as them. This game forces players to try to see things from another person’s point of view, even if they would never agree or condone that person’s choices.

GOTW: Fiasco Pt 1.

Class Date: 2/12/2026

This week was the start of our playthrough of Fiasco, a GM-less improv game for 3-5 players. This game focuses on getting the players to act out different escapades that are likely to go disastrously wrong. At the start of the game, players take turns choosing dice to define their relationship with one another based on a dice table in the rule book. After each die has been chosen, the game moves to Act 1, where the players take turns having a scene focused on their character. That player either describes the scene they are in or decide whether this scene will and positively or negatively for their character. If they define the scene, the other players will decide the outcome.

My group decided on the On Ice Playset. We imagined ourselves in some barely inhabited, frozen area where a body had just been found. Two of our characters are secretly trying to drive people away from this area by killing others, while the other two are former lovers, trying to figure out what is going on when one of them is framed for the crimes.

The hardest part of the game from my point of view was deciding where the story was going to go during Act 1. Each player had to take ownership of their character and their place in the story. I could have easily just acted on the other players’ suggestions, but then I would have zero agency in the story. My group helped include everyone in deciding where the story would go by taking suggestions for what possible scenes could come up next. This collaboration got us all excited to help tell the story while making sure everyone had a voice.

This was a very fun first session, I very much enjoyed the character creation portion. Describing characters through their relationships with each other was very interesting and made for entertaining dynamics between each player’s character.

Game of the Week Blog Reflection 3: Fiasco Week 1

This week we started our game of Fiasco. It is a group improv acting game. The hardest part about the game is not actually playing the game, but setting up location, character motives and relationships. You are just surrounded by choice and do not know exactly what it all means for you and your character until you start playing. Once the game starts you come up with scenes to drive action between the characters and to push the game forward. In the game I was kinda the evil scary “mob boss” character. People owed me money and my weird relative, who is also into crime, has a serious drug problem which I tried to help. My character’s goal was to get back at my high school enemy for stealing my true love. 

In my real life my friends from high school would love this game. They were all in the theaters and musicals so improv is a lot easier for them. My friend Cate would love this game most since acting has always come easy for her and she would be good at helping lead the scenes. In my group we struggled a lot of progressing the scenes into something else and were caught up on the scene in the moment. It takes someone to lead the scene to a new discovery to progress the game. I could see my personal values of family come to play when I emphasised getting help for my weird relative because the other relationships did not stay loyal throughout the scenes. Additionally, the value of having fun came out once I stopped being anxious about acting, we all just had fun with it and laughed even if it did not make the most sense.  

GOTW Fiasco pt.2

This week we finished up the act 2 of Fiasco. Unfortunately, I had to miss act 1 and the start of the game, so I joined in half way through the game which was a little difficult to start. This game in general is very difficult. You need to follow the rulebook the entire way through and basically have it out the whole time. I think that this game is very fun when you have the right people around you and you can connect easily with those playing with you. Because most of the game is basically improv and acting through scenes and made up scenarios, it is very helpful if you are able to go along with whatever comes out of your partners mouth as things can and will take a very odd turn in another direction.

I think that if you are not able to flow easily with the story that you are making it can be very difficult for you. Also, if you are not able to play as another role and act as someone else it will be difficult or uncomfortable. Luckily, the rulebook and the videos are great ways to help you get into character. They are also very easy to follow along to help you stay on track. It is very easy for someone to step in as the leader role in this game just like in my game, those who were there for the first act were able to catch us up so that we could continue with the second act. We were very confused with what we were supposed to do and who we were supposed to be, but with the help of those leading the group it made the game session much more enjoyable.

I think overall our game session was great. We kind of went along smoothly with our individual characters. Unfortunately, in the end, we all ended poorly. We had someone die early on, so we ended up having another side character that that person was able to play as and I think that it added a little more to the story. I enjoyed the little final battle at the end where the real FIASCO happened where we basically crashed a plane and everyone died or was seriously injured.

Overall, would definitely play again with my friends and family.

Fiasco week 2 reflection

To start off I will say the hardest part of the game was not the games fault more that I was sick the first week so I had to get the run down of what happened so far and was thrown into the action. I would say another hard part is coming up with ideas and staying in character. I kept laughing at the absurdity. I did enjoy the game and think my friends Adrian and Libby would enjoy it.

I started by being in a cave with my character’s lover who was naked after escaping prison and we were being hunted by two eco terrorists who wanted to kill him. We decided to walk back to town and my lover fell in the ice and a polar bear showed up. I saved him from the ice and immediately threw him to the polar bear and ran. Then the killers found his body and told their motives of one character wanting to take the CEO job of Big Ice. I ran into another character named the Iceanist, who was an arsonist who kept making ice one-liners in an Arnold voice, and he tried to melt the escape plains keys. I save the keys and find out the killers are trying to sabotage the plane, I then lock them in a shed when they go looking for tools. I start flying the plane and they end up getting on. One player kills the other cause he wants the plane to crash, then my character kills the other terrorist, but no one was steering the plane so it crashed. I survived the crash, but I broke all my bones and heard the polar bear outside the plane.

I would say the leadership skill was guiding the flow of the game. There were many times where I pitched funny ideas in order to steer the game into a funnier direction. Another leadership skill would be being a team player. The game is about making a fun story, not about whether your character is the winner.

Game of the Week: Fiasco 1

This week, we began the game Fiasco in groups of 4 and 5. Our team selected the Suburbs as our scenario, and then we went on create the relationships, select the locations, objects, and themes that we needed to keep the game going. It was interesting because after picking out the scenario, relationships, objects, themes, and locations using the dice, we had the freedom to take the game in whatever direction we wanted. At first, it was difficult because the book did not have specific and clear directions to follow, and we were in charge of creating the game. But once we started, we got the hang of how to continue.

This game was mostly connected to collective leadership, where we all had to take responsibility for the different parts of the game; otherwise, our progress would have been stalled. We also had to give each other space to express how they wanted the game to be played and what their character represented as well. We also all had to contribute for the game to move along. If one person decided not to contribute, then our progress would also be stalled.

This game is great to play with friends or family because it is pretty low-stakes and not as intense as some other games that require one person to win the entire game. It’s not really a game that involves intense competition, as we all seemed to be working together to get the game going. One personal value I saw play out was autonomy, as I really enjoyed not having to follow a strict guideline to get to the end of the game.

Fiasco! Conclusion

This week we finished our game of Fiasco! Once again the hardest part was getting the act started, but once we began the scenes flew by. Our scene pace was much faster in the second act, as we began to resolve the conflicts. This act was far more action packed and full of twists and turns. In the second act there are two twists selected ahead of gameplay. Our twists involved plans going wrong and someone going on an uncontrollable rampage. I think that we struggled a bit more with communication and pacing this week. Part of this was simply due to having less setup needed before getting into the game. As far as communication, I am not sure why we seemed less in sync this week but I’m sure it was just a natural variation in how we interacted.
As the story approached its conclusion, it seemed there were less options for how to manipulate the plot, however there were several surprise events. I loved the improvisation aspect of this game because it encouraged creativity and discouraged obvious endings. For example, there were many surprise double-agents in the second act of the game. It was fun to see how each teammate would respond to each other and the plot developments. In our specific case, it seemed everyone but my character was secretly involved in the illegal fur trade mystery that defined our narrative.
As we discussed at the conclusion of class, it can be difficult to navigate situations in which each person has a different opinion on how to proceed. This was not a huge issue for us, but there were some moments where our miscommunication was leading to a bit of frustration when we probably should have taken a step back to get back on the same page. We did manage to keep the game going, but in hindsight it may have been better to simply fully pause the game to have a conversation instead of trying to push through gameplay while explaining ideas.
Overall, I enjoyed this game experience and how every player had the opportunity to lead scenes. It allowed for every individual player to experience being an actor, director, script writer, producer, etc. This game encourages you to go out of your comfort zone and try new things. Teamwork is necessary and yet everyone gets to have a stake in the plot and major decisions being made. Fiasco highlights the importance of leading as well as being active listeners and followers. This game would be good as an acting exercise or a way to teach communication and the different roles in a team. While cooperation may not have meant agreeing on the same plot, it was important to be able to interact with one another to progress the story. I had a great time playing this game and getting to know my classmates!

Fiasco Week 1 Review

We played the role playing game: Fiasco. My group chose to play the Ice edition, however there are different “playsets” or settings to choose from. This game relies heavily on character building and player decision making. As is the case with many role playing games, the hardest part was actually getting started. When reading through the directions and setting up the game, it seems a bit overwhelming. Many decisions are made before gameplay occurs and these initial choices will impact the plot, characters, and relationships of the entire game. All this to say that game setup was a daunting task and I felt a bit unsure how to initiate the improvisation scenes.
Once we actually dove into the gameplay the experience was much less intimidating and seemed to flow naturally. I enjoyed the player interaction and the way that we bounced ideas off of each other to create a scene. It reminded me of the improv game “yes and” in which players do not reject each other’s ideas but rather add to and twist their interpretations. Some of my classmates expressed their preferences for games in which there is more randomness and less player decision. Personally, I felt like this game had randomness because you never knew how your teammates would react or interpret a scene.
Fiasco requires communication and cooperation between characters, while leaving room for individuals to create unexpected plot twists. One thing that makes this game unique, is the need for different players to take a leadership role depending on the scenario. This ensured that all players were able to take charge of certain parts of the overarching storyline. I believe that our gameplay went pretty well as we were able to trust each other and have fun with our situations. I believe this game would help with confidence in acting classes while making sure that all players got to design, participate, and lead certain scenes.

Fiasco Week 2

On the fourth week of class, we finished up Fiasco. My group and I zoomed through it. We finished up the game in 45 minutes and spent the rest of the class time watching the other group play theirs. It was a very fun experience, and all our stories were hilarious.

Our story ended with my character shooting my crime partner. But to retaliate, my crime partner shot me back, but only grazed me from two feet away. I couldn’t have him live, but I felt so guilty killing him, so I decided to erase his memory with a device that was hidden in the pile of guns. I failed, but I didn’t know I failed, so I called the ambulance over (even though we are in the Antarctic) to take us out and treat us. Our third player was having a life in another dimension because they got trapped in their owned portal experiment. Because of that, I framed them for blowing up the science building we all worked at (even though I planted the bombs) and for shooting me and my crime partner. For the montage at the end, I ended up being great. Injuries were fully recovered, I made a book about the whole incident and got a lot of money from it. I was rich. Meanwhile my partner was in two comas which lead to him forgetting his memory. But I paid for his medical bills because I felt bad.

This week was a lot easier. Since we had practice from the first week. We all had an easier time creating scenes. I pretty much learned the same things I did last week (improve skill development, teamwork, communication). But I think a new thing I considered was storytelling. I was conscious of how the story was progressing and tried to create twists and turns to make it more interesting (i.e. me shooting my partner…but then I felt bad, so being evil didn’t last long). Although I wasn’t too successful at it, I was conscious of the story progression, which can be a key skill when communicating with other people.

The hardest part about this week was finishing up too quick. We didn’t know what to do with all that free time, so we ended up watching the other group and having a blast. It was a week of fun and laughter.