Paranoia Games Masters Screen

A correction first: the photo does not point to the right edition; we played the recent Kickstarter edition. Paranoia is a favourite RPG of mine, and I have played every edition. The newest one is clearly lighter and more post-millennial in tone, but it has not lost any of its entertaining nastiness.

At its core, the game wants to put you in a world where survival and trust are probably bad ideas. Combat in particular does not stay merely within roleplaying: it brings in some board-game and hand-management nonsense, which gives the process more texture and raises the whole thing by several notches.

What ultimately matters is the interaction at the table. There is a dose of bluffing, and the group needs to be able to handle the atmosphere of mutual sabotage. If your players are up for it and Diplomacy is among their favourite games, there is plenty here for you — and plenty of reasons to look at your friends suspiciously.

We laughed a lot. Even though I was a little rusty as GM, I managed to eat eleven characters. The players only ate four between themselves, but my stars began to get the point by the end; next time we meet, I fully expect those percentages to reverse.

So yes, it is worth it, but it is a bit advanced as roleplaying goes. If you think D&D is what RPG means, do not get involved. As for me, to atone a little for the unfair slaughter of my players, I arranged a co-op game for the following week with the usual suspects, who are currently afflicted with Gloomhaven fever.