I've been fighting off some anxiety this evening by keeping myself occupied, first with the gym, then with some light RPG rules reading. My weekly GM was talking about planning for a session as "Rotating the Cow," and it struck me as a funny literalism. So here's a one-page RPG/Brainstorming game for everyone.
ROTATE THE COW
A Collaborative Planning Game of Bovines and Brainstorming, by GreenIntern
You knew this day would come. A Cow is blocking your path forward, and there’s no way you’re turning around now. You will have to come up with a plan to shift the beast and then execute on it. You will need a stack of index cards and writing implements.
First - Go around the table and decide where you are
Second, Name the Beast.
The player who most recently ate a wholly vegan meal goes first. You are free from the corrupting influence of the Cow.
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The player whose turn it is describes one aspect of the cow, and how it is preventing your passage. Write that down on an index card
-Anyone else can say how complex that sounds to overcome in a single sentence; add that to the index card. Ex: “The big big horns sound pretty fuckin gnarly”
-Another player should expand on that with another sentence. Ex: “Yeah getting gored by horns sounds super depressing” -
Whoever wants to go next can go next. Repeat the process until everyone has gone at least once, and you have at least 4 or 5 Troubling Aspects on index cards
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It’s time to solve for Cow.
-Randomly give everyone at least one index card. No takesy backsies.
-Each player should spend about a minute (or however long you want) coming up with a plan to overcome the vile and terrifying aspects of the beast that blocks your path. They each write that down on the appropriate index card. -
Bring it on back to the group. Go around the table, and give your brilliant idea for how to
defeat the beast. Everyone’s plan needs to be included when you make your attempt. At the end, everyone should narrate themselves doing their best to enact the plan, in order. -
Do you defeat the Cow, or do its many aspects stymie and break you? Regardless:
Congratulations. You have Rotated the Cow. The next Cow will be easier.
