BitW is for 2-5 players and a gamemaster (with additional rules for gm-less play!). It is designed to be accommodating to both single session play (like a movie) or short term campaigns (like a TV series or serialized comic book). With just two six-sided dice and this book, fill your group with Big Kids, Lil Kids, Critters, Toys, and Woodschildren and be on your way, facing your fears and chasing your dreams through the mysterious Wood.
BitW is inspired by stuff like Over the Garden Wall, Wizard of Oz, Adventure Time, and more kid-friendly media that rings more surreal & eerie when viewed through adult eyes. This game is Powered By The Apocalypse.
The game mechanics encourage creativity, exploration, friendship, jokes, and consolation:
Sessions are primarily made of visiting varied Hollows, locations in the Wood where curious people live their lives outside of time. In each Hollow, Kids will have opportunities to interact with the strange goings on in the forest, offering their help and creative problem solving skills to those in need. When playing for multiple sessions, you visit many Hollows and help all sorts of people, learning about yourself in the process.
Between Hollows, the group Wanders the Wood, and based on dice rolls and stats, either come face to face with the FIEND (the embodiment of fear that lurks in forest depths waiting to take advantage of weak willed wanderers) or are offered calm moments of respite during which they tell stories and confide in one another, strengthening their friendships.
The more afraid the Kids are, the more likely Fear and the Fiend appear in the story, but the more confident and hopeful, the more likely it is they'll have fun instead. The game involves a tug of war between these resources that players interact with to create scares, compassion, drama, and humor in equal parts.
