Welcome to the magical Land of Skcos, where anything can happen and it often does! A game unlike any you've played before!
Download the 8 page preview PDF!
Welcome!
The land of Skcos is inhabited by all manner of things, but primarily its inhabitants belong to a race of ever changing, always interesting creatures called Soppets. Soppets are a magical breed of intelligent, funny, thrill seeking socks.
Yes, you read that correctly. Socks. Soppets start off as simple socks, laying about the land with little purpose and less life. It takes the creativity and individuality of a person to give a Soppet life.
All you need to enjoy Land of Skcos are a few socks, some magic markers, and various items you’ll find around the house or classroom.
Early Buzz
Wired Magazine's Geek Dad column recently featured Argyle & Crew!
The Sages of RPG have also reviewed the game.
Who am I
My name is Ben Gerber. I'm a game developer who's published a number of PDFs for the Pathfinder RPG system. I've also created a print & play board game called Mi Gato se Incendia! (My Cat is on Fire!).
In addition to this, I created and write on my table top game devoted website, Troll in the Corner.
I'm no stranger to gaming, having played both RPGs and board games for the past 21 years. I'm also a parent to two young girls, a husband, and I have a Masters in Education. All of this life experience has gone directly in to creating Argyle & Crew!
The game is complete
At this stage, the game is fully developed, completely written and nearly ready to go. It contains a large number of public domain pictures and is a complete, self contained, cooperative storytelling system with an optional rules-lite RPG system.
What's missing? A lesson plan developed for grades K-5 that meets national educational standards (currently in progress) and a few more editorial touches.
Beta readers and play testers have been very enthusiastic about it. Most importantly, their kids love it! A few quotes:
"My child really liked it and quickly took over. It turned into an outer space adventure." -Tristan
"Playing with a soppet was a blast for them and me. I love the fact that you took this to a whole new level as we now enjoy playing an RPG together. This is an awesome idea!" -Liz, mother of three.
Why a Kickstarter Project?
The purpose of this project will be to raise money to make this game a bit broader, a lot prettier and much easier to use. Goals will be to allow pre-orders of the finished product, pay professional artists to enhance the look of this game with amazing art, including a new cover page. In addition to this, I'll be bringing on a professional graphic artist to lay out the game in a way that will make it a joy to read. Lastly, to add a whole gaggle of extras should we go above and beyond our fundraising goal.
One example would be the Land of Skcos short story turned in to an illustrated children's book (and bundled with this game).
How is the game played?
At it's most basic level, the game has a Guide (usually an adult), who creates the basis for a story, and then facilitates it's telling by giving the players a Goal, and Challenges that they must overcome.
Both players and the Guide make their own Soppets (a contraction of "sock puppet") with which to facilitate storytelling. Each Soppet begins life the same as all other Soppets, until the players and Guide add a few unique elements, called "Extras".
Extras allow your Soppet to do things that others can't. Want to fly? Add wings. Turn people into frogs? Here's a wand. Really, the only limit is your imagination.
Additional rules allow for more complex play with limited options for each player, right through to a d6 based, rules-lite Role Playing Game system that can be implemented in minutes.
This game is not long - the final illustrated edition should weigh in at under 50 pages. It's perfect for kids, a quick gaming session, conventions, classrooms and more.
Watch the updates for examples of game play and previews! I update this project on a regular basis with news, snippets from the game itself and interesting developments!
This game will be released under a Creative Commons licenses allowing it to be distributed by educators, professionals and interested parties without legal restrictions, so long as the CC license stipulations are followed.
Custom dice for the "Instant Sock Puppet Level" by Dicecreator - http://www.dicecreator.com/store/
Custom dice bag from the "Comes with a Bag Level" by Dragonchow Dice Bags - http://www.dragonchow.com
A dramatic reading of "Soppets and the Land of Skcos" by my 8 year old.
While I was still developing the game, I of course tried out a number of concepts with my own kids (ages 5 and 8). Here's my 8 year old performing a dramatic reading of the short story "Soppets and the Land of Skcos", which is included in the game.
The Wayne Foundation
This 503(c) organization is just getting off the ground and it will be doing important work! Founded by Jamie Walton, with help from Kevin Smith, the Wayne Foundation’s vision is for a world without child slavery. Their mission is to provide young women who have fallen victim to commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking with a means of leaving the sex industry for good.
I’m proud to say that 25% of any money made from the sale of this game will go directly to the Wayne Foundation.
The Wayne Foundation is committed to fighting human trafficking, child prostitution, & child sex exploitation one victim at a time by providing individuals with a safe home environment that will empower them with the tools they will need to stop the cycle of abuse. It is our intent to end commercial sex exploitation within the United States through direct victim assistance, public outreach, and by directly working with those who shape the policies and statutes which impact victims and their abusers.
"We believe that all victims can be rehabilitated through a program that provides education assistance, mental and physical health services, housing, and a support staff who are dedicated to assisting these girls reach their full potential. It is our objective to aid these young women until they are capable of reentering society on their own as happy and healthy adults."
I have a question
Do you now? Well please feel free to email me at ben@trollitc.com with any questions, concerns thoughts or suggestions!
FAQ
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Well, the answer is two-fold. Yes, and no.
In its simplest form, Argyle & Crew is a cooperative storytelling game, in which the Guide helps the players create a story with a definite beginning, middle and end.
Optional rules are included for turning Argyle & Crew in to a rules-lite Role Playing Game for people who'd like a bit more structure in their play.
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Not a lot! Everything for the game written and in place with two exceptions.
The first is a lesson plan that complies to national educational standards for grades K-5 (United States). This is currently in the process of being written with the help of several teachers.
The second is a bit of that old editorial touch. Some layout issues, a few images that just are not in the exact right place, that kind of thing.
The preview version of Argyle & Crew has already been released, minus these finishing touches, and is ready to go in to the hands of reviewers and interested parties!
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I primarily designed this game for children ages 4 to 12 - however, every single adult I've had read this (and a few have play tested it as well) have gotten just as much enjoyment out of it as the kids it was originally made for.
I'm honestly surprised at the number of times I've heard grownups say things like "Oh I LOVE sock puppets!" and "I'm played this with the kids and it was great. I'm going to spring it on my gaming group this weekend!"
I think there's a ton of applications for this above and beyond simple gaming as well. It can be used as a teaching aid, as a learning tool for adults who aren't teachers, as a way to explore feelings in a comfortable setting, for therapy and much more.
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Soppet Level. Here's where you can pre-order this game as a PDF. Your name in the book as above, and a copy of the completed PDF (both full color and printer friendly) as soon as it's available.
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Earlier Riser Level. All of the above and, on successful fundraising, you will immediately receive a fully playable preview PDF of the game - essentially the full game without the fancy artwork and layout, and no lesson plan.
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Dragon Rabbit Level. All of the above, and you'll receive the scenario "Dragon Rabbit" as a PDF before the game is published (playable with the preview version of the game).
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Throw the Book at Them Level. All of the above, and you'll receive a physical copy of the completed game as a softcover book. Pledges outside of the USA will be responsible for an additional shipping fee (unless we manage to double our funding goal).
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That's the Story So Far Level. All of the above, and you'll be named as a Guide in the final product. Also I will be writing an exclusive scenario and short story, which will be dedicated to anyone at this level and above. This scenario will be released to them before the game is finalized. You can use the Beta PDF to play it! Once the game is finalized, this scenario will be included in the finished product.
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Instant Sock Puppet Level. All of the above, a personal note from me, and a Soppet Creation Kit (including a sock, and all of the materials you'll need to create your own Soppet) shipped out to you. Again, if you're outside the US, you'll have to pay an additional shipping fee. This will be shipped separately from the book, and the fee shouldn't be too much. As an extra bonus, the Soppet Creation Kit will also contain a custom Argyle & Crew six sided die.
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Hand Crafted Sock Puppet Level. Holy cow you're generous! In addition to all of the above, I'll personally make you your own Soppet. This Soppet will come with two extras, and two detailed cards. One of them will be usable in the base game, the second will comply with the rules-lite RPG rules. I'll also feature an image of this Soppet on Troll in the Corner's Land of Skcos page.
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Comes With a Bag Level. Wow! I mean...wow! All of the above, and I'll include you in the credits of the game as a founding member, listed on a special page dedicated to this pledge amount and upwards. You'll also receive a book signed by me, with no worries about any shipping costs. As another bonus, you'll also receive a custom Argyle & Crew dice bag.
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Super Awesome Art Lover Level. Okay, now you're making me blush! This is incredibly generous of you! You'll get everything above, and I'll include an original piece of art from one of our artists, signed by them. You'll get yourself two copies of the book, signed by me as well.
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You're in the Book Level. I love you, in a deeply spiritual and profound way. Seriously, you've just helped get one of my dreams off the ground in a BIG way! All of the above, plus one of the unique pieces of artwork will be both featured in the book, and either a portrait of yourself, or a piece done under your art direction. Four copies of the book, sent anywhere you want (anywhere the USPS send things like books) as well. All to you, to friends, relatives, schools - you name it. Plus, if you're ever in the Boston area, I'll take you out to a nice lunch, or dinner. And you'll know, in your heart of hearts, that you rock.
Funding period
- (36 days)
