From the game's introduction: So, you remember the first person you really loved? The first person you really hurt or hated? The way it changed you? That's what this game is about. Carrying a Torch is a story about how your relationships can have really pervasive, intense effects on your psychology, even long after those relationships have changed or moved on. To play, you need a group of people who are pretty close, and some writing instruments, a number of smallish moveable markers such as Parcheesi pawns, and character sheets. The character sheets are laid out to support at most six characters, but in principle there's no reason not to play with more. Each player will have one character; you get to say what that character says and does.