Table-Tested Review of "Ten Candles"
With Halloween soon upon us, this is the last spooky post. And I have kept one of my favourite horror games for last: Ten Candles.
The basic premise is that ten days ago, all stars - including the sun - went out. Humanity lit up the world at once and consequently crashed all electricity grids. Five days ago They came. Who are They? That's up for the table to find out, which makes this a highly replayable game.
Played with tea candles as part of the mechanics, it's one of those games that does things different; it offers a unique way to play, without feeling gimmicky just for the sake of it.
Some quick facts about the game.
- Game Designer: Stephen Dewey
- Publisher: Cavalry Games
- Publication Year: 2015
- Page Count: 89
The Vibe
Ten Candles is played in the dark; and not just drawn blinds: it plays best when there is absolute darkness around you. The room is only illuminated by tea light candles. At least until it's not anymore, and the game is over.
You'll burn index cards, there’s a voice recording; the absolute silence at the end of the game as you sit in the dark and ponder on the story you've just witnessed - it's such a unique experience I've never seen another game do.
Players not only regularly get narrating rights for rolls, but can also establish truths in between scenes. These truths are handled in a ritual of the GM establishing the first truth “The world is dark”, followed by the players' truths which propel the story forward, the last of which is always “And we are alive”. Players have a lot of narrative power, especially at the beginning of the game. This makes running the game easy and playing it a lot of fun.
It's zero-prep and all you need to get started is an initial hook - which the book offers aplenty.
The Rules
The game starts with character creation and you'll start lighting some candles right away, which immediately creates a sense of urgency. Character traits are not only given to your own character, but also to the characters of the players left and right of you - which sometimes even includes the GM and Them. As soon as the last candle is lit the game starts.
Dice are rolled as a pool of six-sided dice and you start each scene with as many dice as there are burning candles. A roll of 6 is a success and a roll of 1 takes the die out of your pool for the scene. The dice that are not in the players' pool at the beginning of a scene are in the GM's pool; and whoever rolls more 6es, gets narrative rights for the roll's outcome. A failed roll leads to an extinguished candle and the truth phase starts, as described above.
The shift of the mechanics as more and more candles are being extinguished, is what makes this game special. At the beginning of the game scenes take longer and players get a lot of narrative rights. They can flesh out scenes and get to speak many truths about the topics they are excited about. As the game comes to a close, narrative rights slowly start falling into the GM's hands more and more and you can tie a neat bow around the bits, pieces and strands that the players have handed to you. And it works incredibly well.
How to Run Good Games
This is a game that wants to be taken seriously. It’s an intense experience, sitting in the darkness, telling a horror story, and people tend to tell jokes, even subconsciously. I urge everyone to try not to - or at least try to keep them in character.
If you’re the GM, my main advice is to know your rules and be prepared. It will be dark and looking up rules on the spot might break the immersion of the moment, much more than in other games.
Conclusion
Completely darkening a room works much better in autumn and winter months and their early setting sun, so this is a game I love to bring out around Halloween. It’s a bit more work to set up and commitment to play than other games, but always worth it.
Other Spooky Posts
Hungry for more? Check out my other October reviews.
Horror One-Shots: Read, Played, Reviewed
Table-Tested Review of "Fight or Fright!"