When I first encountered an early developmental version of Brindlewood Bay, I was delighted by the core concept of pitting characters drawn from The Golden Girls mixed with Murder, She Wrote against mysteries involving cultists and Lovecraftian horrors. But, in a very “WTF Stu?” turnabout, once I got the Kickstarter version of Brindlewood Bay (2023), I found that I wished the game was more focused on the emulation of TV mysteries and that the supernatural stuff was minimal or not there at all. The gall of this game, giving me exactly what it promised.
Which is not to say the supernatural stuff is bad. The Midwives of the Fragrant Void reskins the typical cosmic stuff in a way that is interesting both on the level of horror and on the level of camp. But I think the game actually embraces the language and rhythm of TV mysteries so well that I don’t think it needed the extra spice. On the other hand, Cecilia Ferri’s art does such a unique and wonderful job of balancing the cozy with the Cthulhu-y, I also suspect I am just being a curmudgeon.
Anyway, Brindlewood Bay is a Powered by the Apocalypse game in which all the Move actions are arranged around the storytelling tropes of TV mysteries. The Angus MacGuyver move allows you to improvise with found objects, the Sonny Crockett lets you wow folks with your wardrobe, etc. After being presented with the mystery at hand, the players must Meddle their way into revealing Clues. Unlike most investigative RPGs, though, there are no canonical solutions here — players theorize their clues into a sensible solution and, if approved by the GM, roll to see if it the correct solution. This is the make-or-break of the game; if the lack of a “true” solution bugs you, or if generating solutions on the fly makes you feel like you’re framing someone for murder (a common complaint I’ve seen), then this is not the game for you.
That doesn’t bother me and I think it’s extremely interesting. It manages to have the players actively participate in the narrative while also retaining the sense of watching the surprises of a TV mystery unfold. I do think the construction necessarily leaves the GM somewhat out of this fun by rendering them more a viewer than an active participant, but that’s probably meant to be alleviated by managing the meta mystery involving the cult. Alas, as the guy most likely to be GMing Brindlewood Bay for my groups, that’s the bit that appeals to me the least.
