After Hours

From publisher blurb: "It was another one of those big box furniture stores. It was closing soon, but all we needed was some silverware and place mats. In and out. Right?" North Platte, Nebraska. Population of roughly 25,000 people, but the largest city for miles and now home to the latest addition to massive bargain furniture emporium chain — Freya’s. Store Hours are 9 to 9 everyday and there’s always plenty of parking. There’s even a playland for the kids and a mini-food court. Freya’s has it all. But remember, Freya’s closes promptly at 9pm and you don’t want to be left inside once the doors close… Protocol is a series of story roleplaying games that thrusts characters together into dramatic situations. Each game uses the same set of rules, with vastly different parameters, start points, characters, and finales. Players take on the roles of directors outside the action and characters inside the action, using the ebb and flow of four different scene-framing styles (vignettes, interrogations, interludes, and ensembles) to tell meaningful stories about characters in crisis. Each game in the Protocol series is zero-prep for 3 or more players. The game length is exponentially long, so games with more players take more time to complete. The Protocol Series requires a deck of poker cards as well as tokens to track drama points. The Protocol One-Sheet Series do not include rules, only charts. Each game requires players to own at least one game in the Protocol series, or Protocol Prime.