Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
An Activity is whatever the players will typically be doing during the game, at least at first.
Individual characters could be well suited for the activity, but it's also interesting if they aren't, but must do it anyway.
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
This is the place & time the game takes place. The game doesn't have to stay here, but it should start here.
Setting can come with cultural assumptions that players don't know (e.g. personal etiquette), or aren't comfortable with (e.g. racism). Make sure everyone is comfortable with playing in a proposed setting, and explain in detail what's important about the setting to you.
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
Perspective is whose side of a conflict we're seeing. In a war between two sides, each side is a Perspective, but so are the innocent civilians caught in the middle, or the visitors from uninvolved nations trapped by the fighting.
Not every player needs to play a member of the Perspective group, but that group is who the group will most often interact with.
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
Scope is the outer boundary of the game's action and conflicts. If you tell a story about WW2, the scope could be a single unit of soldiers, the entire Pacific conflict, the siege of a single city in the Ardennes, or anything in between.
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
Genre is any family of work connected in style or form. Genres come with expectations and tropes. For example, science fiction often comes with gadgets that save the day, while in horror it's common for devices like cars and phones to fail.
Genre is like a lens that colors how we see a story. The same old cabin by the lake could play host to romance, horror, or mystery stories.
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
Mood is the kind of emotion we want the game to elicit. Are we being silly? Are we being ultra-serious? Are we examining qualities of the world as observers, or do we want to immerse ourselves in the world as inhabitants?
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
This is a game based on a specific work, such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Gideon the Ninth, etc. If you are basing a game on works that not every player knows, either be prepared to answer questions, or accept that some players may take the game in directions the original work didn't go.
Frame cards let you quickly create a game to play, when nobody in the group has any strong ideas. They are like character cards for the game itself.
Each player draws a random Frame card, or picks a specific one. They then make decisions based on those cards about what to play, and the group discusses what to make of all this. The cards are the start of a conversation, not the end of it - players can draw new cards, change their mind, etc.
A "Pole Star" is an in-game element (e.g. dragons) or a general topic (e.g. war) that you want the game to be about. The most interesting Pole Star games will have characters who all have different attitudes about the thing, but who have motives to work together despite their differences.
Frame Cards help you start a game without having a specific setting or style of play in mind.