The Job’s dice stacking capitalizes on tension at the table
Stressed and loving it.
I love theater of the mind-style roleplay. Not having to bust out battle mats, miniatures and a double handful of terrain frees my brain to visualize as many apple-shaped kobolds as possible. Unshackling play from the physical table means the players look at each other instead of their character sheets and phones, greasing the wheels of collaborative storytelling.
But sometimes a tabletop RPG wants your attention fixed on a specific element intentionally placed on the table like an unspoken threat. Every action the players take revolves around this token. They sweat and gnash their teeth, petitioning each other and this plastic entity. Plans are made, deals struck, contingencies planned. With all the inherent threat of a paperweight, this object warps a roleplay session around its gravitational pull.
Quite powerful for a tiny tower of dice.
Enter: The Job. This heist-based tabletop RPG from the Portuguese team at Games Omnivorous. Designed for electric, 3-hour sessions, The Job claims to emulate the cinematic excitement of your favorite heist film, from Ocean’s 11 and The Italian Job to Thief and Logan Lucky. Players choose between archetypal roles such as the Con Artist, Greaseman, and Pickpocket; and their characters have a limited amount of space for gear purchased from a shared budget. Sure, you can share your tragic backstory over a cigarette in Act 2, but all that truly matters is you tripping that lock in less than eight seconds.
