Consensus | Together

Consensus | Together is a pair of one-page narrative roleplaying games about a group of people working together to do something about the state of the world, and the importance of the rules that guide our interactions. Using an identical setup and facing the same challenges, each game has subtle variations in its mechanics and framing. These differences implicitly showcase two very different visions of what it means to work together using consensus-based decision making processes. As they play, players can use the rules to improve the game itself, provided of course that they can come to a consensus about how to do so.

Work together (or don’t) to discuss proposals on the agenda as you define and then work to achieve your goals. Will you desperately try to patch the broken process before everyone has Something Better to Do? Or will you revel in the chaos, embracing your personal hidden agenda as you gather information, build solidarity and enforce the rules through judicious use of Points of Order?

Consensus | Together is both a satirical game and an educational one, teaching people about making both decisions and games at the same time. Consensus sharply parodies elaborate consensus-for-its-own-sake cargo culting and explores the consequences of subtly terrible rules by demonstration. After your group decides this has gone on long enough, check out Together for a breath of fresh air. As you work together to make a difference, explore how good rules and structure can help keep you focused on the things that matter and resolve your disagreements.

This game is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Hack, pirate and distribute this game to your hearts’ content. If you found it useful, distressingly familiar, or even fun, please pass it along or stick it in your zines, in the hopes that our organizations in the real world can look more like Together, and less like Consensus.