

Only one rule tripped us up– and that only briefly– so it was an excellent first performance from a new system. We used the standard questionnaire and played it straight. The group involved three players who had never seen the game before, guided by me as Dr. Their strange histories were revealed one woman had escaped to Mexico fleeing her domineering wife, but couldn’t leave things there a young man landed in prison after puking on a judge and punching his mother– years later, he blackmailed his old cellmate and boss on the dude ranch and the third patient smashed his head after horrific loss. Peter Tompkins guided the three patients through their treatment. It made for a more interesting session for me I was taking the test with them, not just proctoring it.

I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing it that way until Kevin pointed it out. The second session I took a seat as a fellow patient, treating the prompts read out of the book as Dr. Tompkins– that’s how I ran the first time.
#A penny for my thoughts full#
(I read the whole thing, then reread the Treatment chapter.) Grab some old business cards, a pencil, box, and a bowl full of pennies and you’re ready to roll.ĭuring the session, the GM can just be a guide– reading the book and staying separate from the group as Dr. Read through the book– the whole thing or just the Treatment Procedure. Preparing for the session was the easiest experience I’ve ever had. As other reviewers have commented, the game takes practice. The third play included several players who had played at one of the prior sessions, so some of the opening jitters and system tests weren’t as much of an issue. We weaved around some of the same problems, but managed to avoid a few more. Later, I played a pair of games on Halloween Eve and Halloween.

It was a good session– with prep so light I could never complain– but many of the pitfalls the author warned about did come true in our session. I ran the group straight from the book, following the written guidance and cues. I finally played A Penny for My Thoughts for the first time at a recent RPG meetup.
