Love for the Love Gods! "Cabin in the Wood" but for Hallmark Movies (a tabletop RPG)
Premise
"Love for the Love Gods" is a queer collaborative comedy storytelling game about tweaking the delicate balance of corny kitsch. Too much affectionate chemistry, the ritual fizzles. Those enemies never become lovers? The Gods' Fury Cometh!
Like “The Truman Show”, characters are living through a manicured and manipulated experience on an elaborate set. They are ever watched by The Love Machine, or simply, The Machine: the vast shadowy international organization seeking to shape, with scalpel and hammer, the fate of those within.
Why? BECAUSE THE LOVE GODS DEMAND LOVE.
"Love for the Love Gods" is written and designed by Graham Gentz with layout by Cenza Della Donna.
Create the Cutest Town!
Ever wonder why all those Hallmark Movies are so formulaic? Well, there's a reason for that! A huge, cosmic, reality-shattering reason! The Love Gods demand Love! And only you can maintain the ritual!
Trite and True! The Saccharine Sacrifice!
Only YOU can Beget the Gimmick!
Why? BECAUSE THE LOVE GODS DEMAND LOVE.
TENETS OF THE LOVE GODS
Post-structuralism We work to actively critique heteronormativity, exposing and breaking down traditional assumptions that sexual and gender identities are presumed to be heterosexual or cisgender. (Are the gods good or bad?)
Gender and identity are more than who you are or are not attracted to We are not here to define anyone else’s queerness or queer experience for them.
Queer love that isn’t tragic! This is not a game about forbidden love or horrific loss. Queer love stories should be able to be as boring and escapist and revelatory as heteronormativity itself.
Tone and Tunes Music deeply influences the games I write and the sessions I facilitate. The style and character of the “Perfect Small Town Romance” practically pleads for its inclusion. I always incorporate music into my games, and this playlist is songs chosen by players during playtests! (Reach out with your songs from your games and I might add them to the list!) And as this is my first BackerKit Project, I see no reason not to post the playlist right here!
Queer love that isn’t tragic!
THE GAME
First, generate the CUTEST TOWN!
Each player comes up with one of the following, such as:
A landmark
A lore or legacy of the town’s past
A dish the town is known for
(Everyone in town loves it)
A broad theme embraced by the town (Christmas, Purple, Snails, etc)
An adorable local cryptid
An large annual tradition
The Town’s Theme Song
Name of the town
Each player chooses a different element from each other. Players have full narrative and descriptive control over the element of the Cutest Town they choose. No need to “check-in” with other players on what element you choose. It is yours to decide.
Create the “Players of the Love Game”: The Pursuant & The Perfect
The Pursuant comes to the Cutest Town from elsewhere.
The Perfect is local to the Cutest Town.
Both are named and given secret theme songs that will be played during their first entrance!
NEITHER CAN KNOW ABOUT THE RITUAL OF THE LOVE MACHINE
The player of the Pursuant will stay consistent throughout play.
The player of the Perfect may shift.
A NOTE ON IDEALIZED BEAUTY STANDARDS The Perfect is Perfect, as we all are. By adhering to heteronormative ideals of beauty, we actively skew what is or isn’t possible. Be conscious of your choices. By reframing what is Perfect, we recreate the world anew.
The Love Machine
Players, from the perspectives of their characters, may freely create and describe details seen or experienced in the environment. Play other characters as needed. They MAY be secret double agents of The Machine. The rest are Behind the Scenes, assumed to be watching through hidden cameras scattered throughout the Cutest Town.
During the scene, in a moment of the Love God’s choosing, they will declare, aloud:
“STOP.”
All players must respond:
“IN THE NAME OF LOVE.”
In the scene, Time Freezes. The Love God has full narrative control. They may alter any detail, embellish any detail, or contrive any causal absurdity which leads directly to the current moment.
In the broadest dramatic sense, the Love God must create a Crisis.
Fixing the crisis is dealt with by the characters in the Machine during that scene.
Why?
BECAUSE THE LOVE GODS DEMAND LOVE.
Cabin in the Woods but for Hallmark Movies
Team Member Bios
Graham Gentz (he/they) is a board game expert, game designer, educator, comic book writer, event facilitator, master dungeon master, and all-around bringer of fun. With over 20 years of experience for deep love in discovery and curation, Graham prides himself on finding the right game for every person and each occasion. Some notable achievements include the Mythworks Presents project “Under the Autumn Strangely,” a pastoral horror game of anachronistic Americana in a land that Never Was, the comic book “Wyrdspace“ with artist Jacob Peifer, the creation of the safety tool “The O-Card,” and facilitating MegaGames for three consecutive Shut Up and Sit Down Expos (SHUX) in Vancouver, Canada.
Cenza Della Donna (she/her) is a nerdy illustrator and typographer inspired by cute videogames and snack foods. You canfollow her on Instagram.
What People Are Saying
"Love for the Love Gods is the best one-shot I played in 2023. I can't say enough good things about it. I played for two hours and wanted to buy it on the spot!"
— Kevin Kulp, award-winning game designer (Swords of the Serpentine, TimeWatch)
"Love for the Love Gods is a game that fires on all cylinders. This game is brilliantly designed, and I'd be crazy jealous that I hadn't thought of it first if Graham wasn't such a delightful human being."
— Ash Kreider, TTRPG designer and soon-to-be self-published author of trans fantasy romance
”Love for the Love Gods is an absolute delight for cozy horror fans such as myself. What better than to make the Perfect Town with your friends…and then make it WEIRD.” -
"I really loved playing with romcom tropes in this game in a way that feels affectionate rather than dismissive. The romance gods demand their due and I was never so happy to give them their love and laughs in tribute."
— Jennifer Adcock, designer of The Price of Coal and Dollhouse Drama
"All the tension of Hitchcock; all the comfort warm apple pie."
This crowdfunding campaign will enable new layout and art for the current game, as well as the printing of a physical version. The rules are complete, so thanks to BackerKit, I will be able to make the book and get to the people who want it.
The game itself will be printed on A5, incorporating beautiful pinks, yellows, and blues, with stunning Layout by Cenza Della Donna. It includes:
Core rules
Rules for Generating The Cutest Town
Overarching Story Rules and Scene-to-Scene Structure
How to be the bestest, most capricious, most ineffable Love God you can!
Safety tools
Play examples
Tone Words and Prompts
A Top Secret Section Explaining what to do in a World Ending Scenario...!
I am the first and last lines of contact and creation for this project! So there will be a ton to do and I plan to be as responsive and public-facing for the ongoing process. I also plan on using Backerkit to collect shipping, even though this is a small project, since it will also let me take late pledges as I sort through the logistics of my various tasks.
Risks and challenges
This is my first BackerKit campaign on my own! I only used it for shipping collection previously. I have been involved in other projects, but largely just as a writer/designer. Here I’m going for everything! The idea will be to share the process as we go. I’ve always backed during past Zine Quest/Zimo projects. It’s the beating heart of our loving subculture! (Also please send me your favorites and others you find!)
