A Penny for my Thoughts

by Paul Tevis

Two women and a man, all dressed in white jumpsuits, sit around a table with a bowl of pennies in its center. Each of them has a small stack of pennies and a printed form. In front of the older woman sits a scrap of paper with the words "a taffy stretching machine" written on it. "... and my father looked down at me and said, 'If you don't want to ride the roller coaster, you don't have to. You can wait here in the candy shop while your brother and I go,'" says the older woman. "I was scared." As she speaks, the remembered terror creeps into her voice. Her expression suddenly goes blank. She turns to the man. "What did I do or say then?" she asks, offering him the single penny in front of her. The man considers for a moment, his brow furrowed. Staring at her, he replies, "You said, 'No, I want to come with you.'" She turns to the younger woman. "Or was it..." she begins, offering the same penny. "You stayed there in the candy shop, chewing your taffy," the other woman says. She pauses before speaking again. "Yes, I remember now. I said, 'No, I want to come with you.'" She hands her penny to the man. "And I had a fantastic time. It was so thrilling, so wonderful. That's when I knew what I wanted to do with my life. And that is what I remember." She smiles as she writes on her sheet of paper, "When I think of taffy stretching machines, I remember how I discovered what I wanted to do with my life. I'd never felt such a sense of purpose before." After she finishes, she takes a penny from the bowl. "A penny for my thoughts," she says. Have you lost your memory? The Orphic Institute for Advanced Studies can help, with its revolutionary Mnemosyne treatment process. By ordering this useful treatment guide, you can learn how to get your memory—and your life—back. Order today. The Orphic Institute for Advanced Bringing the Truth out of Darkness.

Genres: Role Playing Games

Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a game for me I think.

Without getting into defining what is a roleplaying game, this doesn't feel like a roleplaying game to me. It feels more like performance-playing or improv-playing. There isn't any roleplaying between playerse. It's telling a story, prompted by the other players but not interacting with the other players stories or characters. The whole system, played straight, seems very much like performing via storytelling only. And it's default state is a very toned down world, so not world-building either.

Not that I wouldn't try playing the game, just not going to try and seek it out.

The writing itself, the layout and so on are nice and it's easy to grok. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't some meta narrative in the book. One or two of the strange photos (like the cover) kind of hinted to me that there was something weird or sinister, but actual no, there isn't. It reads like a therapy exercise and you play it like a therapy exercise... and that's it.

[Moe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read. I can see why it was so groundbreaking when it came out. A very different view of what a Roleplaying Game can and should be.

Really hoping to try this out sometime. It's very different from anything I've ever played.

[Jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept, but the procedural tone doesn't mesh for me very well. I'd like to try it out, though!