Playset Style Games

The defining trait of a playset style game is "designed to simulate specific actions in a set environment." Typically, you take a larger class of actions, such as "dungeon exploration" and design a game around the action. Instead of the design focusing around a hero, the design focuses around the action and the people involved. The scope is broader, but still lives within a narrowly defined set of activities. If a playset-style game was a vehicle, it would be a car - good for getting people around, but flexible enough to carry a little cargo, go on a long trip, drive in bad weather, and many other things a motorcycle would be less useful for.

Think of your childhood, and pick your favorite playset. The set may come with figures, vehicles, buildings, weapons, props, and other toys. The focus of the playset is "here is some stuff, now you make up a story." A playset-style RPG is similar, and has the same design goals. You can pick any figure in the box, and use it in any way you can imagine. There is no "built in focus" of an action-figure RPG here, although there is a "built in environment." In an action-figure RPG, there is a set conflict with a set group fo good guys and bad guys. In a playset-style RPG, there is a large potential group of heroes, and a large, undefined set of "bad guy pieces" you can use any way you want.

One of the defining playset-style games is Basic DnD, or even Labyrinth Lord. These games give you a large set of hero types (classes) you can use to create the heroes with, and a large list of bad guy pieces (monsters) you can use to create any conflict you can imagine. Maybe a lich is sending undead at a village, or a tribe of unholy sea monsters is pirating ships in the harbor. You create the conflict out of the pieces supplied.

Equipment and powers in a playset-style game is similarly wider focused. You need many pieces of gear to cover the wide variety of stories, and also rules for vehicles and towns - you never know what you will need in creating your next story. The selection can't be too broad, and can't fall outside of the premise, such as rules for airships in a "dungeon exploration" focused game. Also, there is not too much support for rules covering actions outside the theme, such as horror or romance in our "dungeon exploration" game. Those types of things lie outside the bounds of our playset, and don't really add anything of value to the premise.

Often, there is no defined conflict in a playset game, you need to create that with the pieces supplied. These games are typically more difficult for new players to understand, since there is no 'built in' clear direction of play. Of course, you could create a beginner game with a 'go clear the dungeon and save the town' adventure, and mimic an action-figure game, but the larger questions remain. Who am I? What are these monsters doing here? What is the world like? Why do we fight them? In an action-figure game, these are built into the rules. With a playset, you decide.