i have a character in a bitd campaign i’m running who is going to be defending a dissertation and i would love to do a different game for when that happens. do you have any recs that have the vibe of thesis defense or an interview, public speaking/presentation, etc? Thanks!
Hello friend. There are not a lot of debate games, but I found a few that might give you the structure for something that you can rebuild to meet your needs. Some of them even work for more than two players! I’m also going to include one game that is about duels, in case defending your thesis is more about protecting a position, and I’m going to slot in a recommendation for a game where bantering back and forth represents a pre-duel sort of duel, in case you find it’s system more to your taste.
ANTological Theory, by Adira Slattery
ANTological Theory is a GM-less tabletop comedy game for 3-5 players, who take the roll of ant philosophers debating in the Hive. You will debate about a variety of randomly chosen topics; the nature of Food, an ant's sense of self, the importance of the Queen, and even the trolley problem. Gameplay can be fast paced, or players can spend a lot of time debating one of the random topics at their leisure. The entire rules fit on a single page, and you'll just need two six-sided dice.
This game will probably need a bit of re-working to make it about your chosen topic than to be about ants, and the rules are pretty loose as well. The bulk of the game is a list of roll-tables and a series of mirrored statements that your characters will take stances on. If you bought the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality back in 2020, you already own this game so it might be worth checking out. You can also check out the One Shot Podcast’s episode of this game to hear what a game session feels like!
Salads N’ Sandwiches: An Absurd Debate Game, by aghostofeli.
Every dish you have ever eaten was either a Salad or a Sandwich. What that means is only limited by your imagination and how well you convince everyone else. Players compete to have their arguments and rebuttals heard by a judge of their peers. The first to rack the most points wins.
This is a debate-tournament style game in which you argue about items and what category they belong in. The initial game is about sorting foods into the category of Sandwich or Salad, but you could likely replace it with any other two categories! The game is designed off of Caltrop Core, so you’ll only need d4s to play.
Meeting God on a Park Bench, by Owlsten.
Meeting God on a Park Bench is a small game about discussing things in a safe environment using card-based mechanics.
This game is meant to simulate an argument, but you don’t literally have to have an argument with God. It has two roles: Attacker and Defender. You will use cards to determine what happens with each round of discussion to determine whether you will remain as Attacker and Defender, whether you move on to a new topic, state something you like about the other player, or change the topic. This is an argument game that has built-in safety tools to ensure that the disagreement stays civil, to ensure that the players behind the characters don’t feel personally attacked.
The biggest downside to this game might be the looseness of the rules. If you’re going to be defending a dissertation in an academic setting, you might want to change how some of the cards work, or add in a few extra rules to make sure the game properly simulates a defense.
A Duet of Steel, by Adrian Thorn.
Throughout your life, throughout generations of your family, throughout the various fronts of your war, you have had one great rival. Again and again you clash with them, one walking away the victor of the battle, but bearing the scars of your war.
Whatever the setting and scope, the focus of A Duet Of Steel is the two Duelists, their climatic duels, and the aftermath of these confrontations. The Duet Of Steel is a dance of antagonism, with an ebb and flow of conflict and recovery. But it is a Duet, with the two parties playing off each other. It takes two to tango.
A Duet of Steel is a game about two rivals going head to head, but their conflict doesn’t necessarily have to be physical, which is why it might be a candidate for this kind of game. You will build your duelists, your setting, and decide what is at stake. You’ll also have to agree on a Victory Condition. You’ll then move through a timeline in which your Duelists will use a deck of playing cards to determine what you might lose or gain. The cards will also be used as modes of attack or defense, and will help you determine who wins and whether or not an opponent gets to counter. Out of all the games on this list, this game has the most concrete rules and the most well-defined play structure.
Games I Have Recommended Before
I Have The High Ground - for a duel of words where emotions are more heavily involved - and you wear capes!
