The Game Design Round Table

Season: RPG - Ben Robbins on GMless Games

Apr 29, 2025
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ANECDOTE

Ben Robbins' Microscope Origin

  • Ben Robbins created Microscope to share the fun of worldbuilding collaboratively.
  • He observed quiet players become highly creative, finding the game addictive and transformative.
INSIGHT

Microscope's Turn-Based Creativity

  • Microscope encourages players to add history pieces with a single move, working from the outside-in.
  • Players contribute silently on their turn to maximize originality and surprise in the shared story.
INSIGHT

Shared Ownership and Nonlinear Play

  • In Microscope, no player owns any part of the story; narratives belong to the group.
  • Destructive acts like 'nuking Atlantis' are normalized since time is non-linear and revisiting past events is possible.
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