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It's Been A Long, Long Time

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55 views10 pages

It's Been A Long, Long Time

Uploaded by

jiyeshisi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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it’s been a long, long time.

a reunion game by riley rethal.


metagame.itch.io / @jaceaddax
it’s been a long, long time is a game by riley rethal. you can find all
her games at metagame.itch.io and her twitter @jaceaddax.

cover art is by lu, @smallpolar_bear on twitter.

thank you to my playtesters: eliot, kales, lena, bri, and ennis.

the mechanics of this game were inspired by: memoirs of a


barbarian by morgan mtimewarp, the quiet year by avery alder, and
for the queen by alex roberts.

the story of this game was inspired by: captain america: the first
avenger and captain america: the winter soldier, friends at the
table’s counter/weight season, and black sails.
to start,
you will need: a standard deck of cards, jokers removed.
optionally, some notecards, paper, or a shared google doc to
write things down.

take out the ace of hearts from your deck of cards, shuffle the
deck, then shuffle the ace of hearts into the bottom half of the
deck. it will be the signal that you finally reunite, and the game is
over.

consent and good practice,


it’s been a long, long time is a highly collaborative and
interpersonal game. it may delve into personal and uncomfortable
territory, or your play partner may just say something you don’t
think should be in your story.

to make sure that you both are having a good time and telling a
story with which you’re happy, make sure to use good practice
at the table. when you have an idea that may take your story or
character(s) in a new direction, frame it as a question as opposed
to a statement. “how about...”, “what if...” and “do you think...”
are all good ways to frame scenes and add details in a way that
creates a conversation. it’s always more fun when everyone is
excited and engaged with the story!
your characters,
you may want to discuss aspects of your characters and their
relationship before you begin playing the game. don’t fill in too
many specifics, as you want to give yourselves lots of room
to play to find out the specifics of your relationship, but there
are three things you want to answer before you start: how your
characters met, how they were separated, and how much they
knew of each others’ affections before they parted.

you may want to keep a record of your characters, scenes, and


timeline, as the flashback nature of this game can get confusing.
however, you may find that you don’t end up using it at all. that’s
okay too.

the cards,
in this game, you will take turns drawing cards with prompts for
scenes that take place at different points in your characters’ lives.
each suit represents a different era; red cards represent your
time spent together, and black your time apart.

clubs represent your time spent apart, before and during your
relationship.

diamonds represent the lives you spent together, the people you
used to be when you knew each other once upon a time.

spades represent your past apart, after you were separated; the
lives that changed you into the people you are now.

hearts represent your reunion, fitting together again in each


other’s lives after all this time. when you draw a heart, instead of
reading the prompt, put it aside until you draw the ace of hearts
and begin your reunion.
to play,
to play, take turns drawing cards from the deck. after you draw a
card, read the prompt to which it corresponds. narrate or roleplay
a scene inspired by that prompt.

if the card is a heart, put it aside for when your reunion occurs. if
one person ends up drawing a heart two turns in a row, they can
put it aside like normal, then draw another card to make sure you
both have the chance to contribute to the story.

for some prompts, it may feel more apt to roleplay the scene,
talking in character with each other, and for others you may want
to narrate the scenes or abstract them out. feel free to use any
combination of these feels comfortable as you play.

the reunion,
when the ace of hearts is drawn, you move from the flashback
phase to the reunion phase.

if you don’t already know, decide how and where your reunion is
taking place. don’t go into detail yet, but make sure you both are
on the same page as to how this scene begins.

take turns answering your hearts questions to describe how your


characters feel in the moments they finally meet again.

after the last heart question is answered, the game is over. you
can talk with your partner about what happens to your character
after that moment if you’d like, or leave it open-ended.
playing online,
it’s been a long, long time can be played in person, with a real
deck of cards, through voice or videochat online, or in a play-by-
post format through direct messages.

if you plan to play online, you’ll need a way to draw cards online.
i recommend playingcards.io, which lets you place cards in a
bottom box where they won’t be shuffled back into the deck.
while there’s no way to make sure the ace of hearts is shuffled
into the bottom half of the deck, if you place all your used cards in
that bottom space, you can simply hit the “recall” button and draw
a new card if you feel you’ve drawn the ace too early.

in a play-by-post format, you may also want to change the rule


about drawing hearts so that you always draw another card after
you draw a heart, to keep gameplay moving.

variations,
while this game was written with a specifically romantic
relationship in mind, it wouldn’t be hard to use it to tell the story of
another sort of relationship: family, friends, rivals. simply change
the prompt on the 2 of diamonds card to be something else, such
as “the time you realized they would be an important person in
your life”, “the time you realized you were stuck for good”, or “the
time you realized you hated them.”
clubs,
your lives before & apart.

A: a warning from someone close to you.


2: encouragement from someone close to you.
3: the time you defied society’s expectations of you.
4: the time you conformed to society’s expectations of you.
5: thinking about what you wanted with your future.
6: the time you rejected an important opportunity.
7: the time you accepted an important opportunity.
8: the time you felt the consequences of a mistake you made.
9: the time you felt the consequences of someone else’s mistake.
10: a private moment of doubt.
J: a private moment of joy.
Q: the time you made a new friend.
K: the time you made a new enemy.
diamonds,
your life together.
A: your first meeting.
2: the time you realized you were in love.
3: the time you told them something you’d never told anyone
before.
4: the first time you fought.
5: the time you realized your separation was coming.
6: the time you made them a promise.
7: the time you bonded over a shared interest.
8: the time your relationship got you into trouble.
9: a time you talked about your future together.
10: the time they changed your perspective on the world.
J: the time you stopped them from doing something dangerous.
Q: the time they encouraged you to do something risky.
K: the last time you saw each other.
spades,
your lives separated.

A: the separation itself, or your learning of it.


2: the moment it hit you that they were really gone.
3: the time you heard the other in your head and did not listen.
4: the time you heard the other in your head and listened.
5: the time you saw something that reminded you of them.
6: the time you lost something important to them.
7: the time you found a token they left you.
8: the time you lied about your past.
9: the time you told someone else about your past.
10: the time you stepped back and realized you’re not the same
person you once were.
J: the time you felt yourself transform for a moment back into the
person you once were.
Q: the time someone spoke of your past and got it wrong.
K: the time someone knew too much about your past.
hearts,
your reunion.

A: the reunion happens; answer your hearts questions.


2: what is one thing you notice in the other that has changed?
3: what is one thing you notice in the other that hasn’t changed?
4: what is the first thing you say to the other?
5: where are you? is it somewhere familiar to you, or new?
6: what is something you notice in your surroundings?
7: is anyone else here with you? why?
8: what is something you notice in yourself that haven’t felt since
you last saw each other?
9: what is something you notice in them that you had forgotten?
10: who sees the other first?
J: what about this reunion fears you?
Q: what about this reunion calms you?
K: how do you greet them?

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