Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast is a unique, slice-of-life tabletop adventure created by Possum Creek Games, the makers of Wanderhome. The game aims to bring diversity and LGBTQA+ representation to tabletop games while delivering a magical story of struggle, acceptance, and family. With tabletop gameplay often rooted in Dungeons & Dragons-inspired high fantasy, the more casual, simulation-style mechanics of Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast are a nice break from fighting dragons and saving cities, making it a great choice for those wanting to slow down and be introspective during gameplay.
The narrative of Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast is centered around a small bed and breakfast that has become a home for wayward people. Players will be able to fish, cook, explore the building, and slowly peel back the layers of the story revealed in each chapter's playthrough. The mechanics use stickers and hidden surprises that follow through to each new session, creating a legacy mechanic that is similar to games like Pandemic Legacy but on a more narrative and character-driven level.
One of the most exciting things about Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast is the cast. Characters like Hey Kid and Amelie use gender-neutral pronouns, and the character Gertrude is transgender and has run away from her home. Inclusion that celebrates the differences of people, and allows a chance for exploration, is a rare and exciting addition to tabletop games and gives players with similar experiences characters they can relate to.
The characters in Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast also have interesting visual designs that set them apart from each other. These distinctions highlight the diversity of the tabletop, with disabilities, skin tones, and body types all included in a colorful and unique mix. Each person the players must interact with has a special story to unravel, including the "heartless" witch Yazeba, who owns the bed and breakfast. Players can also unlock a seventh character later in the story, whose influence and purpose give further mystery and intrigue as the narrative unfolds.
A session of gameplay is designed to last one to two hours, with easy set-up instructions for each new chapter, allowing players to get started in as little as fifteen minutes. This is a great method for those who may be intimidated by tabletops like Dungeons & Dragons, which require hours of careful planning and reading before a D&D session can be set in motion. It is also more accessible for younger players who want to enjoy tabletop narratives, but become overwhelmed with character sheets, dice, and complex combat. There are over 50 chapters included in Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast, and players can encounter over 50 guests who rotate in and out of gameplay depending on scenarios, keeping the narrative fresh and engaging.
The Kickstarter for Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast is planned to launch in March 2022, allowing players to support the full release of the book and obtain all content that wasn't available in the play-test release. There were also be a limited-episode podcast host Jeff Stormer with well-known tabletop players like Critical Roll's Matthew Mercer and Dimension 20's Brennan Lee Mulligan, as well as Danny Quach, Vana, and Spencer Sunboy. The podcast will showcase Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast, giving those interested in trying the unique gameplay a chance to preview the content before jumping in on the Kickstarter.
While the story and inclusion of Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast will likely appeal to those who enjoy slice-of-life gameplay or more niché storylines, the content may not work for every tabletop player. Those who prefer the epic adventures and intense combat of Dungeons & Dragons will likely be less interested in gameplay focused on running the bed and breakfast. It might also be frustrating for those who prefer gameplay based on dice-rolls, as Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast plays more like a choice-based RPG. Additionally, tabletop gamers who like building and playing their own characters may be frustrated by a narrative that is predetermined based on the already built characters.
Despite this, Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast will likely appeal to anyone looking for a diverse, LGBTQA+ inclusive story in the tabletop genre. It will be especially refreshing for those who have become weary of the limited diversity in Dungeons & Dragons that often ends in character death or is limited to minor or forgettable roles. Having the opportunity to play characters in a story where diverse backgrounds and struggles are part of gameplay is both exciting and needed in tabletop games, and hopefully, Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast will help encourage other creators to include similar themes in future projects.
Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast's Kickstarter will be available on Indiegogo In March 2022.