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A review by manbrarian
The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen: A Game of Tall Tales and Playing Roles by James Wallis
4.0
For what is essentially just a rulebook for a storytelling game, this was a surprisingly amusing read.
The game itself involves players taking on the roles of 18th century Aristocrats who are regaling each other with fantastical tales of their exploits - such as that time they had to wrestle a yeti while trying to set the record for fastest ascent of Everest; or that time they took their dog for a walk and almost brought about to the collapse of the British Empire. During the course of telling your (completely true) story, other players can interject (using tokens handed out at the start of the game) to try and add objections or challenges to trip up the story teller. After everyone has had a chance to tell their story, everyone votes on the best one.
The book includes some variations on the main rules - such as everyone talking about the same amazing event (at which they were all present), but each from their own (biased) point of view; or games where the storyteller must tell a story for 5 minutes WITHOUT actually reaching a conclusion, while the other players use their interruptions and objections to keep the teller on track and try and force them to reach some sort of ending.
I can't speak too the actual quality of the game (as I have not played it) but I imagine it's success will depend entirely upon the people you play with - which is the case for almost all storytelling games. What I CAN say though, is that the book itself is entertaining to read, and is unlike any rulebook I have read before. The whole thing has a very conversational tone, as it is ostensibly written by Baron Munchausen himself, and is filled with tall tales, wit, and humor.
The game itself involves players taking on the roles of 18th century Aristocrats who are regaling each other with fantastical tales of their exploits - such as that time they had to wrestle a yeti while trying to set the record for fastest ascent of Everest; or that time they took their dog for a walk and almost brought about to the collapse of the British Empire. During the course of telling your (completely true) story, other players can interject (using tokens handed out at the start of the game) to try and add objections or challenges to trip up the story teller. After everyone has had a chance to tell their story, everyone votes on the best one.
The book includes some variations on the main rules - such as everyone talking about the same amazing event (at which they were all present), but each from their own (biased) point of view; or games where the storyteller must tell a story for 5 minutes WITHOUT actually reaching a conclusion, while the other players use their interruptions and objections to keep the teller on track and try and force them to reach some sort of ending.
I can't speak too the actual quality of the game (as I have not played it) but I imagine it's success will depend entirely upon the people you play with - which is the case for almost all storytelling games. What I CAN say though, is that the book itself is entertaining to read, and is unlike any rulebook I have read before. The whole thing has a very conversational tone, as it is ostensibly written by Baron Munchausen himself, and is filled with tall tales, wit, and humor.