Plot Thickens

This is a game about pitching and developing story ideas.

Pitch Movie Ideas

One player becomes the Narrator, their goal is to make a short (1-2 min) pitch for a cool movie idea.

The other players take turns, each player suggests one of the key story elements to the Narrator: Setting, Character, and Objective.

Setting Examples

Wild west, magic library, spy school, abandoned spaceship, post-apocalyptic wastelands.

Character Examples

Enthusiastic princess, broken robot, unlucky viking, nerdy pirate, well-meaning cult leader.

Objective Examples

Defeat a monster, find treasure, deliver an item, go on a rescue mission, capture a creature, escape from captivity, sabotage an event, defend a location, survive a disaster, seize power, negotiate a deal, investigate a mystery, solve a crime, go undercover, do a heist.

The Narrator pitches a movie based on these elements, trying to make it as exciting as possible:

Describe the world of the story, the main characters (protagonist and antagonist), and the central conflict (an exciting but difficult problem the main hero must solve, or the goal they will strive to achieve and the biggest obstacle on their path).

You can also describe some dramatic or cinematic moments from the trailer.

The other players can ask questions about the story, or suggest ideas to incorporate into the pitch.

Take turns pitching movies, listen for the most fun ideas, and vote on the one we’d like to develop.

Pitch Scenes

Then we’ll pitch the three most exciting and memorable scenes we’d like to see in this movie:

An exciting beginning of the story

A scene that introduces the main conflict and draws the heroes into action.

A dramatic crisis in the middle of the story

A big obstacle the hero must overcome on their path towards their goal. An unexpected complication, twist, or reveal that will escalate the conflict and raise the stakes.

An awesome climax that resolves the conflict at the end

The final, most important and dangerous challenge the hero will face. The biggest obstacle they must overcome to achieve their goal and resolve the main conflict.

One player becomes the Narrator, their goal is to make a short (1-2 min) pitch for a cool scene.

The other players take turns, each player suggests one of the key scene elements to the Narrator: Location for the scene, Characters who are in the scene, and the Challenge the protagonist will strive to overcome on the path to their objective (what do they want, and why is it difficult to get).

The Narrator pitches a scene based on these elements, trying to make it as exciting as possible:

Establish the scene and its main conflict

Vividly describe the location where the scene takes place, and the characters who are in it. Describe the challenge the hero will strive to overcome on the path to their objective. (what do they want, and why is it difficult to get)

Escalate the conflict

Progressively escalate the conflict and raise the stakes. Describe the various attempts the hero makes to get what they want. Describe the setbacks and complications they encounter, and how they overcome them.

Resolve the conflict

End the scene by describing whether the hero has successfully taken a step closer to achieving their goal, or failed and suffered some setback taking them farther away from what they want.

We “win” this game if we can create a fun story that makes sense and resolves in a satisfying way.