PoetrY Combinator

PoetrY Combinator is a mini TTRPPG (Tabletop Role-playing Poetry Game) about being in the founding team of a tech startup for 3 or more players, made in an experimental games course.

The images on the itch page are a screenshot of the downloadable PDF and a photograph of the results of the first-ever playthrough of this game. I have also pasted the rules below.

PoetrY  Combinator TTRP(P)G – 3 or more players

You are co-founders of a startup pitching to investors a Product to solve a Problem . Unfortunately, you are poorly coordinated — each founder has their own idea of what is being pitched. Each team member must try to make a convincing argument for why they should get funding for their own idea AND make it sound like the whole team is on the same page.

Each player rolls 2d6 to determine what they think the pitch is. 

Product
1 - Mobile App
2 - Large Language Model
3 - Robot
4 - Cryptocurrency
5 - Website
6 - Smart Device

Problem
1 - Climate Change
2 - Poverty
3 - Hunger
4 - Unemployment
5 - Pollution
6 - Surveillance Capitalism

At the start of each funding stage (for a total of 3 rounds):

• Each player rolls 1d20
  • Players go in order from highest to lowest roll
  • Break ties by rolling 1d20 again
• Each player rolls 2d20
  • This is how many words the PREVIOUS player in the turn order can get in before being interrupted, moving on to the next player
  • The FIRST player rolls for when the LAST player is cut off

During a player's turn:

• The player will transcribe each word of their pitch as they deliver it verbally, continuing where the previous player left off from
• The NEXT player will keep count and interrupt the player when they reach the result of the 2d20 rolled earlier
• Pass on the mode of transcription (paper, phone, laptop, online document, etc.) to the NEXT player once you are interrupted

After completing 3 rounds of play, collaboratively decide on a name for your startup and a slogan based on what you transcribed. That will become the title of the pitch (poem) the team created together.