Family Andersson Web

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The Family AnderssonA contemporary drama with time pressure

A roleplaying game by

ke Nolemoand

Johan Rklander


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The Family Andersson

Thanks toThe Family Andersson was created for

the event Hjdpunkt in Sweden theautumn of 2008. A big thanks to AnnaWesterling and Anders Hultman whoorganized this fantastic event.

We would also like to thank the groupof players who were the irst to test

this game during Hjdpunkt. Thanks toall of you for your enthusiasm, energy

and input!

Emma hrstrm deserves a specialmention for bringing the game toStockholm and testing the game fur-ther in February 2009 and giving usfurther input.

Finally a big thanks to the third groupof players who tested the game duringProlog 2009 in Vsters. You gave usmany good inputs which assisted us in

writing the inal version of the game.

The text was translated into English

by Tor Kjetil Edland and Hken Lid forKnutepunkt 2009 in Norway. Design byMartin E. Andresen.

Copyright and those thingsYou may freely use, copy, change, play,squeeze and whatever else you mightuse the Family Andresson for. Theonly thing we would like from you is

that you write some lines to the cre-ators of this piece to tell about how youused it and what your experience wasin playing it.

If you want any of us to come and hostthis game at your place, contact us andwell see what can be arranged. We arequite nice people and we want the bestfor almost everyone. So dont be afraidto contact us!


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A roleplaying game by ke Nolemo and Johan Rklander

The Family Andersson is a short gamefor 8-10 participants. The focus is onexploring relationships between familymembers and testing how a game func-tions when more than one players actthe same part.

The Background of the GameThe game is about a group of siblingswho have gathered in the home of theirrecently deceased parents to discussthe inheritance. The mother died alittle over a month ago after suffering

from a chronic illness. The father dieda few days ago from a heart attack.The funeral has been settled. Whatremains to settled this afternoon arethe 700.000,- which the parents haveearmarked to an undesignated char-ity. It is also necessary to decide whatwill happen with the mansion. It musteither be given to one of the siblings or

be sold by the end of the year.

The siblings will also try to decide howto celebrate Christmas this year. Theyhavent celebrated Christmas togetherfor several years. But perhaps this yearit is time to honor their parents?

What is needed

To play this game you need 7-10participants. The game is written for

10 players, but it is possible to playit with only 8 as well. (You can evenplay the game with 4-5 people, butthen you wouldnt share the parts,each role would then be played by onlyone person. Parts of what is uniquewith the game would then disappear.But it is better to change some of theframework than not being able to playat all). Apart from the persons playingthe characters you need one personto facilitate the game. The facilitatorwill keep track of the time and play the

familys lawyer as well as the personalassistant of one of the characters.

Youll need 2-3 hours in total for thegame. At least 1 hour for preparations,1 hour for the game itself and sometime after the game for debrief andfeedback.

Youll need a room where there is sufi-cient space for 4-5 people to act. It canbe a kitchen, dining hall, living roomor something similar. Make sure thatthere is suficient room for the partici-pants to move around quickly as thechange of roles should be quite sharpand quick.

As many chess clocks or stop watchesas there are participants. You can ind

stop watches on most current cell

The Family AnderssonA contemporary drama with time pressure for 8-10 participants


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phone models.

As the game takes place the day beforeChristmas Eve it can be a nice touchto provide typical Christmas biscuits

or glgg (Scandinavian hot Christ-mas drink) to help create a Christmasatmosphere.

How this worksThe premise of the game is that eachcharacter is acted by two players.These players share equally the timethey are on stage. The game is written

to be played in one hour. This meansthat each player should be on stageacting the part of their character forexactly 30 minutes.

All the characters are divided intocouples and receives one characterwhich they will play. The characters aregender neutral and can be played by

both men and women. We recommendthough that the couples are of the samesex as this will also clearly deine the

sex of the character. If you have an oddnumber of players we suggest that thecharacter Anders / Anna be shared bya female and male player.

Each couple then gets some time todiscuss and plan their character. Werecommend that you plan 30 minutesfor this. Afterwards everyone gath-ers to present their characters and toanswer any questions the other playersmight have.

After this the game itself starts. As

stated the game should last for 1 hour,but of course you are free to changethis if you so wish.

The players who will start playingthe character gather in the part of theroom that will be on stage, the otherplayers sit or stand on the side, ready

to jump into play.

A watch monitoring the total playtime starts to run. At the same timethe watches for the individual playerswhich starts on stage begin running.When a player wishes to start playinghis role and send his partner off-stage this player starts his own watch

and stops the watch of his partner. Itis always the off-stage player whichdecides when the switch happens.The player entering the play taps his/her partner on the shoulder and theyexchange places. The player who hasjust been relieved sits observing thegame until he or she wants to enter thegame again. This process is continued

until both players have been on-stagefor 30 minutes each.

There is no solution or main plotwhich needs to be solved in the game.The game ends after one hour (if thatis the length chosen for the game), andit is time for debrief and relections

around the game.

Suggestions and ideas for the gameDuring the test runs of the game wehave received many suggestions andideas for how the game could be im-proved. Some of those can be found inthe list below:

Some have commented that the gamecan become a bit sedative. Movearound while playing your character.


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A roleplaying game by ke Nolemo and Johan Rklander

Use the fact that one of the charactersis bound to a wheelchair in creatinginteresting scenes.

Dont be afraid to to be nasty against

each others in the scenes you play. Thisis a game. Act out all your resentmentagainst other characters.

You dont have to solve your intrigues.They are there to create dramatichooks in your play. However werecommend to emphasise the troubledrelationships between the siblings as

the core of the game. Use the lists ofwhat each character wants to inheritwith that in mind.

f you need to remove a character, werecommend that you join Alex andRobin into one character or removeone of them.

You can run the game without the stopwatches and allowing the players tochange whenever they want. You canalso allow those on-stage to also de-cide when to change and not only theoff-stage player.

The off-stage players may whispertogether to plan situations they want toact out when they return as on-stageplayers.

It can be a good idea to place the play-ers so that they can have eye contactwith their partner during play and beaware of when the change of playerswill occur.

Encourage the group to discuss whattype of atmosphere they want in their

game. Are they striving for realism,comedy or drama?

After the gameAfter the game it can be a good idea to

talk about what you have experiencedand how it felt to play the way you justdid.

If youd like please send your thoughts,opinions and any suggestions foradjustments to the game to one of theauthors. You can send a mail to [email protected] or [email protected]. Or

you can call us: ke: 070-634 94 29 orJohan: 0733-56 26 76.

Dont forget that the main aim of thisgame is for you to have a good experi-ence!

Best wishes,

ke Nolemo and Johan RklanderStockholm, February 2009


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Kim has been a nurse for ten years. Isnow studying to become a priest andis planning to go to South America as a

missionary. Has a fundamental convic-tion that life is a gift from God andmust be handled accordingly. Believesthat the Bible should be interpretedliterally and that one has to live by itsrules to reach God.

FamilyTwo children. Married for ten years.Owns a villa and a car.

Opinion on your parentsPositive. Thou shall honour thy Fatherand thy Mother.

Expectations of yourselfSettle everything for the best. For

the knowledge is here and the rightanswers most often.

Opinions on your siblingsRobin: nice, a bit dim, loveable and onthe right path. Should calm down alittle.Anders \ Anna: insincere and con-fused. Always wants to be the centre of

attention.Alex: could turn out good if he stoppedlying so much. Candidate for salvation.

Tintin: Has God put Tintin in a wheel-chair for some reason? Is it perhaps apunishment? Has Tintin exploited the

kindness of the parents for too long byjust living at home?

Goal from the heritage700 000 for the church

Want to inherit for yourselfDining hall furnitureThe carThe painting with the childrenPhoto album with all the family pic-turesMrklin model railway (for the chil-dren to play with)

Wish for the houseThe house should be sold and the

money divided.Goal for Christmas EveMust bring the others to the morningmass on Christmas day then every-thing will turn out ine.

Character:

Kim


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TheFamilyAndersson


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Is in the middle of a sex change. Hasrealised that it is time to do it andis totally at ease with the decision.

Hormone treatment has started andthe inal surgery is happening in six

months from now. Lives alone but hashad several short relationships the lastyear.

Opinion on your parentsNeither mother nor father was there tosupport you. Why werent they therefor you? Now its time for them to payback by giving the largest share of theheritage to Anders/Anna.

Expectations of yourselfBecome complete and inally be you

free.

Opinions on your siblingsKim: narrow minded and confused.Does not want others to be happy. Can-not understand true love.Robin: never takes anything seriously.Is immature and cant think indepen-dently.Alex is almost always good. A bit bet-ter than the rest of us and should be

respected. A bit low self esteem thatcould use a boost.Tintin has always tried hard. Must

realise that life is not a game. Its timeto get a job and grow up now.

Goal from the heritage700 000 for the sex change surgeryand later cosmetic surgery.

Want to inherit for yourselfThe race horse Madam FatallThe carThe sofa groupDads DVD collectionThe Ming dynasty vases

Wish for the houseDoesnt care. As long as Anders/Annagets the money he/she is happy.

Goal for Christmas EveKim must accept you and not just

think of the sex change as a phase.Robin must take this seriously. NoChristmas celebration until this is ac-complished.

Character:

Anna / Anders


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TheFamilyAndersson


11/2011

Is in the middle of a divorce. The mar-riage has lasted four years and youhave one child with your partner. You

are the oldest and most knowledge-able. You have always been consideredthe successful one, but actually youhave a quite bohemian lifestyle. Youhave been leading a double life behinda faade consisting of a proper job anda good education. Your real dream is tolive in a collective in the desert. Duringweekends and holidays Alex goes awayto spend time with a group of hippieswho want to turn the world into anever-ending love parade and practicefree love.

Opinion on your parentsPositive. What would mom and dadhave chosen? Thats whats important.

Expectations of yourselfDare to realise your dreams. Buttheres no haste.

Opinions on your siblingsRobin: has a good heart deep downinside, but needs to have more empa-thy with others and start taking things

seriously. Is really the most normalperson of the ive siblings.

Anders / Anna can be an annoying

bastard, but its probably just a phasehe/she is going through. When itsover he/she will probably calm down.

Of course the hormone treatment doessomething to your mood.Kim: Stiff, pompous, conservative andreactionary.Tintin: Nice and harmless. Has actuallyhelped Mom and Dad a lot these inal

years.

Goal from the heritage700 000 to found a collective so thatyou can leave this stressful conformistworkers life.

Want to inherit for yourselfThe race horse Madam FatallThe carThe collection of hunting weapons

The photo album with all the familypicturesThe dining hall furniture

Wish for the houseSell it and share the money.

Goal for Christmas EveIt would be best if Alex, Tintin and

Robin celebrated Christmas togetherand the other two with their own lot.

Character:

Alex


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TheFamilyAndersson


13/2013

Is bound to a wheel chair. Was in anaccident at a young age and can hardlyremember how it was like not be-ing in a wheel chair. Has always lived

with the parents to take care of them.The other siblings have seldom beenat home helping out. Hopes that theothers wont treat Tintin as a childany more. You are in fact a grown upnow and have been taking care of yourparents.

Opinion on your parents

They were kind. Needed a lot of helpnear the end, and Tintin was alwaysthere for them. You hope you can getsomething back for that now.

Expectations of yourselfCan cope on your own. Is an indepen-dent person who with your assistantscan manage anything.

Opinions on your siblingAlex has pretended to care about theparents, but has only really caredabout Alexs own shallow, deceitfullife.Robin is kind and has actually visitedand cared about the parents on a fewoccasions.Anders \ Anna thinks that his/herhandicap is as major as mine. Im dis-abled for real. Anders\Anna has just a

pretend-disabilityKim: belief is just a way to justify anenormous ego. To be a missionary isonly a way to be the centre of atten-

tion and having monopoly on thetruth.

Goal from the heritage700 000 to start a charitable trustfor disabled people. This cause was,after all, what the parents were mostconcerned with. That Tintin should beable to lead a normal life. This money

can help others who are in a similarsituation.

Want to inherit for yourselfThe summer cabin in OrustThe race horse Madam FatallDads DVD collectionThe pool tableThe paintings, in particular the one

with the children.

Wish for the houseOf course Tintin shall keep the housenow that it has been rebuilt to it Tin-tins special needs.

Goal for Christmas eveDont care, as long as the others un-derstand that they are Tintins guestsnow and that Tintin can manage to bea host.

Character:

Tintin


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TheFamilyAndersson


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Self employed in the ield of advertis-ing. Travels a lot, has a new lover everymonth or so. The longest relation-

ship so far lasted one year. A slackerwho likes to joke away life. But thisis mostly on the outside. Has severeanxiety and bouts of depression thatare hidden away with the attitude thateverything is humour, everything is agame and everything is fun.

Opinion on your parentsAmbivalent. You always wished thatthey would stop ighting. You were

scared when they shouted at eachother.

Expectations of yourselfWill try to appear more serious in theeyes of your siblings. But it must still

be possible joke around a bit.Opinions on your siblingsAnders/Anna: weird but kind. Con-fused and a bit too self centred. Doeshe/she even deserve the heritage?After all he/she didnt even like momand dad.Kim: a good person who after all is

relected and despite his faith (or per-haps because of it) has answers thatare worth listening to.

Alex: kind and wise. But deceitful. Hereally wants to lead a different life.Tintin: has been pampered by the

parents all his life. Time to becomeresponsible for a change.

Goal from the heritageWhat would mom and dad want?

Want to inherit for yourselfThe Mrklin model railwayThe carThe weapons collectionDads DVD collectionThe pool tableThe paintings and the one with thechildren in particular.

Wish for the houseKeep it.

Goal for Christmas EveDesperately wish that everyone justgot along and celebrated Christmastogether in harmony.

Character:

Robin


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TheFamilyAndersson


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This is a short list of the most important items to be divided between the siblingsof Family Andersson. 10 swedish crowns is approximately 1 euro.

Item Estimated value

A house in central Hindenburg 4 500 000 krSummer cabin. Small, a bit run down with a beach 3 200 000 kr50% share of the successful race horse Madam Fatale 600 000 krA painting made by grandfather depicting the Insigniicant

grandchildren playing with their dogVarious other paintings, total value ca. 700 000 krHunting weapons 95 000 krAn exclusive collection of Mrklin model railway 100 000 krMing vases 50 000 krLarge collection of DVDs Ca 2000 titles Insigniicant

The car. Bentley Continental GT 1 500 000 krAntique dining hall furniture 200 000 krVarious other stuff in the house and the summer cabin varies

Total market value 10 855 000 kr

Also 700 000 crowns to be donated to one charitable cause that all the childrenhave to agree on. Since all law irms are closed during the week after Christmas

they have to agree on the distribution of the heritage tonight.

The Heritage


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Your responsibility as a GM is beforethe game starts to inform everyoneabout the game and the rules.

During the game you will take the roleas the family lawyer and hand out alist of all the stuff that the heirs haveto distribute among themselves. Youmust also tell them that everythingmust be divided before the new yearof tax reasons. Since all law irms are

closed during the week after Christ-mas they have to agree on the distribu-tion of the heritage tonight.

The game master can also play sup-porting characters that the playerswant to include in the game. Tintinspersonal assistant, an additional rela-tive, a public person or anyone they

might want to telephone.When 5minutes have passed you mustenter the game and ask for a inal

distribution of the heritage. They nowhave 3 minutes to distribute every-thing before you close the game.

Good luck.

Game Masters instructions


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The Family Andersson is a short game for 8-10 par-ticipants. The focus is on exploring relationships be-tween family members and testing how a game func-tions when more than one players act the same part.

A roleplaying game by ke Nolemoand Johan Rklander.

The Family AnderssonA contemporary drama with time pressure

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