"-U-: The Game of Stories" is a very basic and flexible rules-light role-playing game, especially well-suited for players who have never experienced a role-playing game before. I could easily imagine introducing friends (depending on their personalities) at a party, or playing it with younger kids.
Each "main character" (PC) is defined by three attributes, Action (physical prowess), Thought (mental prowess), and X (whatever you need that doesn't fit the other two categories, be it magic, spirituality, or whatever). Each is rated on a scale of "dots"; you just fill in boxes on the character card. Each main character also has a budget of 20 "Player Points" to buy Studies (things your character has practiced), Items (objects your character uses), and Abilities (like magic or super powers). Suggested Player Point costs are listed in the book, though GMs can easily "price" an unlisted ability using the listed ones as benchmarks. Combat is handled through a simple system of "Wounds"; each main character can survive five Wounds before being removed from the story.
The default mechanism for task resolution is to roll 3d6 and look for duplicates. Higher values on the associated attribute give you multiple attempts. Five alternate check methods—cards, dice pools, guess-a-number, dots + die vs. difficulty number, and story descriptors are also offered. Personally, I would probably use the dots + die vs. difficulty method while playing this game; however, this method requires d8s rather than d6s.
It's all very abstract, and will not likely satisfy dedicated role-players. Although the rulebook mentions recurring characters, the game doesn't really seem well suited to an ongoing campaign. For one-off games, or for groups where you like to change genres a lot without investing hours in character creation, though, the game seems to work okay. I could see playing it in the car on long road trips with my two sons, ages 6 and 12, for example—it's that simple, and you needn't do a lot of bookkeeping.
The layout of the booklet, I must say, is not very attractive. The artwork is amateurish, and I was really, really tired of looking at circles by the time I got to the end of the book. In the end, though, I'd say there's a decent chance I'll use "-U-" as a vehicle for playing quick, simple RP scenarios with my kids, and maybe with non-gamer friends.
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