Triangulation: a Psychological Horror Game About A

 Triangulation

A GM-less game for 4-6 players.

Requires a tarot deck and explanatory book (or knowledgeable card reader), pens, and paper.

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

This is a psychological horror, dark comedy game about a dysfunctional family having a very bad time.

Note: this game is emotionally intense! Be kind to each other during play, establish safety tools and make use of them, and go out for ice cream with each other after you're done.

Everyone plays as a member of a family. Decide collectively on everyone's role in the family. Name your character and pull a tarot card to flesh out their personality. Then, in collaboration with the other players, each person should answer these three questions.

1. What secret do I know about the character to my left?
2. What do I admire about the character to my right?
3. What ongoing resentment do I have against one other person in the group?

Start the game by pulling a tarot card and using it to collectively interpret the family's starting situation. Everyone add one detail to the mix. Don't worry too much about this step; things will get worse for your family. 

The game consists of rounds representing a year of life. Each round, each player takes a turn to draw a tarot card. The starting player is the one playing the youngest character. Play goes counterclockwise from there.

Stressors

Each turn someone pulls a tarot card to add a stressor to the family. They interpret what the stressor is and the group decides who it affects (at least two people per stressor). You may always volunteer to take a stressor, but you may not reject one. 

Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Every time you hit three stressors, you develop an unhealthy coping mechanism. Write your unhealthy coping mechanism down on your sheet. You can have up to three unhealthy coping mechanisms total, and you should roll a d3 to see which coping mechanism slot you are using (or deepening). These coping mechanisms have three levels: mild, moderate, or severe. If you roll the same coping mechanism a second time, it becomes moderate, and a third time, severe. If you roll it a fourth time, you're dead (or at least no-contact).

Triangulation

At any time, you can lose a point in your unhealthy coping mechanisms by taking it out on the people around you. You pick one other person to ally with and one other person to target, then role-play out a scene of conflict. If you don't have any ideas for what to argue about, draw a card. After triangulating, you lose a level of unhealthy coping mechanism, your ally loses a level of stressor, and your target gains a level of stressor.

The game ends after twenty rounds or someone abandons the game, whichever comes first.

Optional Mechanic: Family Therapy

If the entire family agrees to it, the family can go to family therapy. Roleplay through a scene of family therapy, talking through the issues you have had so far. At the end of the scene, someone pulls a card. If the card is upright, everyone loses a level of unhealthy coping mechanism. If the card is reversed, everyone gains a level instead.