Rope the Mark, Tell the Tale, Take the Touch & Blow 'em Off
Welcome to The Big Store, a con game ttrpg where you're the cons running the game!
The Big Store is a tabletop roleplaying game where you play confidence tricksters running a game on a greedy mark. Each of you has a job to do building a story that entices them deeper into your false world, until you’re ready to make the sting and take off with your score!
The Basics
- A ttrpg for 3-5 players (the Manager, and 2-4 Con Artists).
- Takes about 2-3 hours/con game to play.
- Supports playing one-off cons, as well as a linked series that follows the ongoing careers of your Con Artists.
- Includes 3 example Con Game Plans and 5 ready-to-play Marks, as well as everything you need to make your own.
- $20 in print (includes digital bundle), $10 digital bundle.
The Big Store is a new game from Nathan D. Paoletta, designer of The World Wide Wrestling RPG, Imp of the Perverse and Annalise: Stories of Pain, Hunger & Redemption, among others.
Running A Con
To play a game of The Big Store, you make a crew of con artists, and then meet the greedy Mark who has more money than sense (created and played by the Manager, the GM role for this game). You then make a plan to build a false reality around the Mark that will convince them to part with their money.
Each of you has a specific job to do (like the Roper or the Insider) and a role to play for the benefit of the Mark (like the Romantic One or the Vengeful One). The success of your plan depends on the the fall of the dice, the choices you make and what the Manager does to complicate your agenda.
The fun of the con game story is in watching it unfold from the outside, guessing at what you haven't yet seen, and then delighting in the reveals as it all comes together (or all falls apart!). The imaginary viewing audience sees the plan you make, as well as the swerves that come up to change it. The story will contain conflict, but you’re all working together to entertain with your unique tale of ne’er-do-wells, smooth talkers and master manipulators.
Get Your Con On
The Big Store is available now from ndpdesign! It's $20 in print and $10 for the digital bundle. A limited amount of pre-printed playsheet sets are also available while supplies last. The digital bundle is also available via itch.io, payhip and DriveThruRPG.
The Big Store Hails from World Wide Wrestling. It's a fully standalone game that isn't about wrestling! But if you're familiar with the World Wide Wrestling RPG you'll recognize elements like the idea that all of the players are working together to tell an entertaining story, even while their characters are in fictional conflict.
