Table-Tested Review of “Last Train to Bremen”
I recently got my copy of “Last Train to Bremen” (shoutout to the Paradice Store for getting it to Europe for a reasonable price!) and promptly ran it twice at Fantasy Con! In it, you'll portray four musicians trying to outrun a deal with the devil, all while playing rounds of Liar's Dice. It’s definitely one of those games that do something refreshing and new.
Some quick facts before we dive in.
- Game Designer: Caro Asercion
- Publication Year: 2024 (digital), 2026 (print)
- Page Count: 59 (A6 booklet)
- Content Warnings: Sex, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll, band hookups, debauchery, betrayal, vulgar language
A New Edition
The game has been around for a while, but the new edition now has more artworks as well as a new layout. The text is otherwise mostly unchanged, from what I could see.
The character sheets are little folded pamphlets now, which works especially well with the secrets and can double as a screen to roll your dice behind.
The Rules
This is a GM-less game: there are four premade characters and the game will always need to be played with exactly four players. There are character secrets to choose from, which will make the game somewhat replayable with different outcomes, although this definitely is a one-shot experience.
The gameplay loop is playing Liar’s Dice (everyone rolls dice secretly and makes a wager how many of a certain number are on the table) and whenever someone loses a die (either by being found out lying or falsely accusing someone of lying) they will narrate a memory. Each character sheet has memory prompts, which will guide the story arc being told.
Everyone starts with three dice and as soon as you’re out of dice, you’re out of luck and the devil claims you. You’re out of the game for a while, but you’ll still have some more chances to participate. There will be a winner, and without giving too much away, there will be a final scene that decides this characters fate. As this character might lose less dice than the others, this charcter will narrate fewer memories.
Being the first one out of the game can be kind of a bummer, as you'll spend a part of the session watching a lot more than participating. The game does provide opportunities to stay involved, but I found they didn't fully make up for losing a seat at the table, even if it’s just temporarily. The next time I run the game I’d encourage being in each others memories a little more, so everyone can still participate in meaningful ways. This might also benefit the player who “wins” the Liar’s Dice game and thus narrated less memories than the others.
There are some more mechanics at play, with character secrets giving special abilities down the line and a Devil’s Die influencing how numbers of the dice rolls are being counted.
Running “Last Train to Bremen” takes roughly 1.5 hours. I recommend taking the advice and playing a round of liar’s dice before starting the game proper, as it will prevent many confusions.
The Vibe
This is where “Last Train to Bremen” really shines. There is something about just playing Liar’s Dice and also telling a story while doing it that really clicked for me.
Even with inexperienced players, the game easily evokes highly emotional scenes of drama and betrayal along the lines of “Ex-fucking-cuse me, you did WHAT?!”. The memories along with the secrets connect these four characters in the course of the game.
Conclusion
This is one of those games that does something new and clever and I love it for that. It can be played in under two hours, it’s a great example how narrative games work and the emotional depth they can have and it looks pretty doing it. I can warmly recommend it to anyone.
The only real downside for me is the price of the physical version. 45 bucks is a lot to spend on a small booklet and thirteen standard six-sided dice. But the boxed set looks lovely and I'm happy to support inventive games like this. If you're primarily interested in the experience, the PDF version is a completely viable option, though.
