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Author Topic: Morton's List: The End to Boredom  (Read 3592 times)

KrakaJak

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Morton's List: The End to Boredom
« on: November 09, 2006, 02:42:26 PM »


Is it Live Action Roleplay? Sometimes, A board game? Kinda. Controversial? Absolutely.

In the box you get everything you need to play. The Morton's List book (paperback), a boulder (30 Sided die) and Six 6-sided dice and a bag to hold the dice in.

Morton's List is the ONLY game I've ever heard of that was kicked out of Gen-Con (as the game has real witchcraft in it). It was alsokicked out of Hot-Topic and other stores(because it teaches you how to build a bomb). Morton's list calls itself "The End to Boredom". If you play it right, it certainly isn't boring.

Morton's list is definitely a game. However, what kind of game changes every single time you play it. When playing Morton's List you have to be ready to do absolutely anything. It's part of the oath you take before you play the game: You agree to actively pursue whichever quest you are given for at least one hour.

After taking the Oath, you become a member of the Inner Circle. The inner Circle is comprised of all people playing the game. Anyone not a member of the Inner Circle is asked to leave, as no-one besides the Inner Circle is allowed to witness the dice rolls.

The Inner Circle then decides their Table-Master. The Table Master is the arbitor and decision maker. His decision is final in any and all decisions that need to be made (barring the breaking of anyone in the Inner Circles personal moral code). She is also the only one allowed to touch the Morton's List Boulder (the 30 sided die used to determine your quest). The only thing is, the tabl master is chosen at "random". A quick dice roll-off is held and the winner becomes Table-Master.

After the Table-Master is determined, you determine your quest. You start on the table Morton's List, from here you can reach all the other tables in the game. There are 13 tables of 360 quests, and the 2 quest modification tables Mutations and Deviations. There are a few other results as well (like Eye of the Crow, which says you cannot play Morton's List until the next sunrise and the far worse Crow-Pocolypse).

The quest tables are seperated by theme (Chaos, Nightscape, Solar Rise, Vision Quest, Lore Galore etc.). Quests range from going to play golf, starting a vigilate police force, or writing poetry. Each of the quests has a detailed, inspirational entry for it, offering sugestions on how to succeed in your quest. Some of the quests have warning labels that suggest why a quest might not be do-able (danger, requires good weather, illegality in certain regions), however, a creative Inner Circle should be able to complete any quest at any time.

Muatations and Deviations can change the way your quest is played. Mutations change the rules of Morton's List. It may change the amount of time you need on a quest, how a quest is determined, or enabling a rotating table master. Deviations are things added on to a quest. Side games or additional quest requirement. Deviations may have you speaking in a superhero voice, or making you only capable of making left turns.

The combination of Mutations, Deviations, random Table-Masters, and individual Inner Circle interpretation are all the different factors in how you pursue your quest. This means that you can roll the same quest twice and not do the same thing.

I've loved every game of Morton's List I've played over the last 6 years. I'm going to admit that This isn't a fair review because I've actually been a huge fan of this game for years.

This game is not for everyone though. Some of the Hardcore Gamer friends of mine didn't have fun playing. The reasons they cited is that they "play games to escape from reality, not be in it". It is a real life game, with real life risks. However, with it you can gain real life experiences, doing things you never thought you would do in your whole life on a regular basis.

The other half are the guys, like me, who are obsessed with the game. I'm not the only one I know with a Morton's List tattoo.
 
-Jak
 
 "Be the person you want to be, at the expense of everything."
Spreading Un-Common Sense since 1983