Indie Spotlight: ‘Bringlewood Bay’ is ‘Murder She Wrote’ Meets Agatha Christie for RPG Players
If you ever watched Murder She Wrote and thought, “This needs more cults and eldritch elements,” Bridlewood Bay is the game for you.
Remember Murder She Wrote? How about Golden Girls? How about H.P. Lovecraft? What if somebody took the essence of all of those and combined them into a tabletop RPG about elderly women, mysteries, and a touch of supernatural forces and cults for good measure? Sounds awesome, right? We’re taking a trip to Brindlewood Bay.
“Brindlewood Bay is a roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries. They become increasingly aware that there are supernatural forces that connect the cases they are working on and, in particular, a cult dedicated to the dark, monstrous aspect of the goddess Persephone will come to vex them.” – The Gauntlet Gaming Community Official Website
Bringing Brindlewood Bay to Life
Like many smaller tabletop RPGs right now, Brindlewood Bay first found life as a Kickstarter campaign. And it did well! The concept was one that intrigued a lot of potential players, and of their $10,000 goal, the game was more than fully funded with 7,748 backers pledging a total of $477,517.
The creators pitched the game as Murder She Wrote meets H.P. Lovecraft – so it’s frankly no wonder it did so well, that’s a perfect concept. Their goal was to produce two hardcover books with the rules and sixteen unique mysteries, and after providing a few examples of the art, sample pages, and a basic breakdown of the game, tabletop gamers were sold. It was time to solve spooky mysteries with some old ladies in Bridlewood Bay.
Character Creation & Game Play
Another thing that really common in tabletop RPGs right now is utilizing the Powered by the Apocalypse system as its base. And if you’ve been around here for a while, you probably know that I love PbtA games. I wish there was a little more diversity in game mechanics right now. But also, sometimes you land on something that works great and why mess with what’s working?
PbtA games are characterized by simple mechanics, simpler character creation, and an emphasis on roleplaying, relationship, and good old fasion having fun around the table. Plus, it’s an incredibly easy system to learn; I was able to teach my parents mid-pandemic for a zoom game session in less than fifteen minutes.
In the case of Brindlewood Bay, character sheets are a one-page affaire where you are given a collection of options for your character. Are they more of a Martha’s Vinyard lady, or a older Hippie? What’s their favorite cozy time activity? What special moves will you pick for them? When done right, character creation can be a five minute exercise that results in a wonderfully tropey character.
To play you roll standard two D6 and add or subtract whatever modifier your sheet says to determine if you succeed or fail. Or do one of those things spectacularly. Often the DM never has to roll at all.
And I’d Have Gotten Away With It Too, If it Weren’t For You Pesky…. Old…. Women…
This is a game of tropes, silliness, and fun. Sure, the mysteries may get a little spooky with some Lovecraft influence. But at its heart, this is a genre game meant to remind you of watching TV on a rainy day. Only you’re helping write the episode. It’s campy, it’s a little weird, and it’s fun. If you’re leaning into the camp of it all, you’re doing it right.
If you’d like to check out Brindlewood Bay for yourself, you can learn more and pick up a copy for yourself at the Gauntlet Gaming website.
Have you played Brindlewood Bay? Did you contribute to the Kickstarter? What kind of mystery-solving old lady would you play? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
