A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Chasing the Ace

Chasing the Ace is a role playing game supplement written and published by Z.W. Garth.

The supplement is available as an eight-page PDF from itch for $1.50 although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers. The PDF comes in two versions, one with colour covers and one with black and white.

The opening page explains that this is a storytelling game and is Descended from the Queen, a name given to games powered by For the Queen. It requires a deck of 52 playing cards and some friends to play. First, the Ace of Spades is separated from the deck, which is shuffled. The ace is then replaced in approximately the centre, or shuffled to the bottom for a longer game.

In turn, each player takes a card from the deck. Each card has a prompt as to what to do. The player can answer the prompt from their character’s point of view, pass it to the next player and ask for their character’s point of view instead or remove it from the game. When the Ace of Spades is drawn, everyone answers and the game is over.

The next page explains that humanity has been using mecha to fight alien monsters for decades. The characters are mecha pilots and the leader of their squadron, the Ace, wants to steal their mecha and has asked for their squadron’s help. The characters will need to decide what they will do.

The prompts for the different suits and cards follow. Each is a question that needs answering. The final question is what the character will do.

Chasing the Ace in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and is short enough that they are not needed. Navigation is okay. The text maintains a single column or table format and appeared to be free of errors. There are no illustrations bar the covers. Presentation is plain.

This is a comparatively simple game to play, in that players build a world through storytelling. In can last a goodly amount of time until the final card is drawn. Whether or not such a game will be enjoyed depends on the players; this is definitely not a game for everyone. Those who enjoy purely storytelling and journaling games will probably enjoy this. Those who prefer a bit more crunch probably won’t. Chasing the Ace can be found by clicking here.