Review - For the Badge (playtest)
By Alex White
- 16 minutes read - 3276 wordsI've finished four playtest sessions of a campaign of For The Badge bby Colin Mancini of Sociable Turtle Games. My team mates were Camilla Zamboni, Jen Adcock and Ariele, a lovely Italian chap who was with us for initial planning and game one, but had to drop out.
The Basics
It isn’t a mere football game simulator, but focusses on individual footballers in a club during a league season. I’m not a football fan, but I really enjoyed playing the game, both on the pitch and off the pitch.
We created our club (AS Obispo, The Bishops) and agreed what kind of archetype our club was following. As our players included Americans, Italians and Brits, we decided it would be a French club. We had the “Fallen Champs” archetype: we used to be great, but have fallen on hard times since our star player left. Our fans are disillusioned, and our hope for the season is to place above our great rivals, Loup-garous Var (the werewolves). They are sponsored by tech-bros and are rolling in money.
We then each picked a footballer archetype. I was “the controversial”, other players were “the dependable backup” (Jen), “the young upstart” (Camilla) and “the past is behind them” (Ariele). Each archetype gives us certain talents, milestones, and relationships with other people. We then picked a position for our character which gives another skill that can be used in the game.
The basic flow of the game is alternating between matches and off-pitch relationships.
A match involves rolling dice each 15 minute period to see how we are doing against the opposition, and making choices like whether to pay to use a special ability, whether to commit a foul of some kind, how long we want to stay on for and whether we will take the risk of injury.
Between the matches are narrative scenes which develop the lives of our characters and serve as a focus for introducing (or handling) stress in their lives. These help us care about all the players as people.
Playing the Game
We alternate playing matches and then doing off-pitch scenes.
Matches
A match is played in six 15 minute periods, with a half time. Each player rolls 1d20 for their contribution during that period, with modifiers if special abilities come into play. The Bishops are a strength 3 club, so we have three people rolling for us. Your total is matched against the opposing club who roll a number of d20 according to their strength (typically between 2 and 4).
Compare the totals, and that tells us how closely we are matched, and gives us another table to roll on that tells us whether goals are scored that period and by whom.
As the match continues, there is an ebb and flow, sometimes with dramatic turn arounds!
Each player has conditioning which is used up by staying on the pitch and by using your special abilities. You can spend yourself into the negatives, but pushing yourself increases the chance of injury. If you are carrying stress (physical, emotional, or financial) you might find at half time that it will cause you problems. If you are carrying emotional states (Angry, Jealous, Demoralised, etc) then it reduces your effectiveness, giving a penalty die to subtract from your d20.
At the end of the match we use a simplified system to see how other matches in the league went that week, and update the overall league table.
Off-pitch
Players can request scenes or other players can suggest scenes for them (you get xp for suggesting scenes for other people, which helps us spend time thinking about what would be fun for the other players and not just focussing on yourself). There are a wide range of constituents outlined that you can interact with - coaches, media, family, physios, supporters, executives, and more. There are plenty of hints and tips about how to get the most out of them.
Most of these off-pitch scenes will introduce stress or problems of one kind or another!
Why I like this game
I love the alternation of match and off pitch scenes. I think the mechanics of the players, especially the archetypes with related skills and talents really draw me into the game. While I don't watch much football at all. this game really drew me into it on both a club and player level.
I like the match mechanics, with the die rolls, the comparison tables and results tables. They retain enough swinginess that the results are never a sure thing, and sometimes there are real underdog turn-arounds.
We've played four sessions and I would happily play to the end of the season to find out what happens in Tony's complicated life, and to see whether the Bishops beat their hated rivals - or even end up top of the league!
Normally I would have said I didn't have any interest in a sporting ttrpg. I was happy to be involved in playtests for Colin because I like to help out friends... but the passion and skill that he has brought into this game have converted me!
I would absolutely commend this game to you, whether you like football (soccer) or not. I think everyone who plays it will have an amazing time, and I can't wait for it to be finally released.
Where can you find the game
I think an ashcan is due to arrive on itch here, so follow Colin for notifications!
https://sociable-turtle-games.itch.io/
Would you like to see a story?
With many thanks to Colin, who captured most of these details in a thread on bluesky
AS Obispo start their season with a friendly visit from English club Northbrampton FC, before starting their season wearing their home green and purple kit against Lumière. Our players are:
- Julien Saunier (Jen), a Dependable Backup Attacking Midfielder, who acts as a reliably if understated facilitator when brought on during matches. He hopes to be able to support his teammates from the bench, while also seeking to engineer an opportunity for more playing time.
- Tony Cooper (me), our Controversial Striker. He's a poacher, often in the right place at the right time, but when he's not, it looks like he's doing nothing at all. He runs his mouth on and off the pitch to any and all comers, & has even had his relationship issues in the paper.
- Connor Williams, a Young Upstart who's finding his niche as a Box-to-Box Midfielder. Under a spotlight from a young age, he's earned to protect himself first and foremost. He is absolutely determined to become a star and get attention for the national team, but at what cost?
- Laurent Cournes (Ariele), a Wide Backer whose prime is behind him. Known for crunching tackles, he still has opportunities to start, but not as often as he used to. Despite what others say, he's convinced his decline is due to confidence and mindset, rather than physical capability.
Match against Northbrampton FC (friendly)
Our first match is a friendly with English club Northbrampton FC.
The Young Upstart Midfielder Connor Williams, had the best overall performance and was promoted from a Rotation to a First Team Player, whereas the Past Your Prime Wingback Laurent Cournes only increased the skepticism around him with a mixed performance.
Controversial Striker Tony Cooper got to do both of his favorite things: score winning goals (they won 2-1) and get attention while mocking someone else - providing the nickname for NPC Pierre "Derriere" LaCroix, an 18 year old Left Back who came on and scored an own goal in his first appearance.
Dependable Backup Julien Saunier is the emotional core of the team, as literally everyone has some kind of connection with him. Which is good, because he played badly!
Off Pitch
Julien Saunier, our Dependable Backup Midfielder, was called into the coaches office and told that, despite the poor preseason performance they're going to trust him & give him opportunities this season. It is unclear whether coach Gonzalez OR Julien himself truly believe in Saunier's abilities but he'll have a chance.
Tony Cooper the Controversial Striker learned via a tabloid journalist that his girlfriend is clubbing with Saudi princes & that the media knows he's paying to keep his ex hush hush.
Connor Williams the Young Upstart Midfielder, balked at the team's doctor suggesting he MAYBE tone it down to avoid straining himself, which he gets in his own head about.
As the team is training before the first match of the season, they learn the media has not only predicted they flounder, but their rivals will win the league. The air deflates from the grounds. Hopefully their first game against Lumiere shuts them up.
Julien spends his time preparing, and learns that their opposition are known to finish games strong and double team problem players. Connor comes to Julien for advice, and builds trust with him as they discuss strategy and tactics for the match ahead.
Tony then talks to Connor, telling him they need to work together and link up on the pitch if they're going to succeed; Connor admits he looks up to Tony, which Tony agrees is a smart thing to do.
AS Obispo plans to come out of the blocks sprinting to avoid their opponent's late game strength.
Match against Lumiere
The starting 11 is announced, and no one is surprised to see Tony and Connor, but the fan pages EXPLODE upon seeing Julien start; what are they thinking?? He was terrible in the preseason! If this doesn't go well, we'll know who to blame.
The game kicks off: beautiful plays by all 3 PCs lead to not one, but two goals within the first 15 minutes of play! The fans are ecstatic by what they're seeing, even though Tony's hip thrusts were not taken well by the traveling Lumiere fans. Connor's TikTok dance with his teammates was charming!
The next period is shambolic, as if Obispo had fallen asleep; Lumiere successfully double teams Julien, and dominate the next 15 minutes... except they leave their back line vulnerable, and despite it feeling undeserved, the Bishops go up 3-0, as Connor has a breakaway against a flailing keeper.
The rest of the half is close and tense, with both sides having chances; Tony pings a shot off the crossbar just as the whistle for halftime blows. In the locker room, Connor feels a slight tug in his hamstring, but chooses to ignore it and play on.
The start of the second half has Lumiere playing well, but unable to capitalize on their performance. Julien subs off, and with only 30 minutes left in the match, they try to tap into their Finisher style, and....concede an own goal off of a corner. 4-0 to AS Obispo.
With the game truly in hand, Coach Gonzalez takes off both Connor and Tony, & both teams relax until the final whistle blows, for a big 4-0 win to open up the season.
Following the match, Julien starts second guessing his performance and the double teaming; was it because he was good...or bad?
Meanwhile, as he was heading off the pitch, Tony sees a woman in the stands who looks like his girlfriend, and she's all he can think about now.
The results from around the league are as follows:
- Olympique Rococo 1-1 AS Barbebleue
- Le Petit Prince FC 0-0 Biopouvoir FC
- Michelin AC 2-1 AS Nocturnes
- And finally, their rivals, Loup-garous Var 1-1 Olympique Darc
This puts the Bishops in first on goal difference, and already 2 points ahead of those hated wolves! We ended the session calculating experience and doing feedback.
Off Pitch
Julien do a media interview, which starts off strong, with Marie Dubois of Football Today giving some softballs. Jaques Blanco, a tabloid journalist however, poses leading questions suggesting there's growing animosity between him and Tony, which rattles the midfielder and causes the coach to pointedly shut it down.
Connor Williams is having a one-on-one training with hardass coach Schmidt, who tells him that the way for him to reach his goals is to push himself harder & further. We watch as he trains. And trains. He grabs the back of his knee after each rep. At home, Connor gets a visit from his father, who tells him he's proud of him. He also tells him he should call his mother more. And that rent is tough. And that his mom is getting older with health issues. Connor, overwhelmed, agrees to do what he can, and watches his account numbers dwindling.
Hot shot striker Tony meets girlfriend Sharon at a swanky hotel, who has the room set with mood lighting & a VERY expensive (revealing) dress. After some play, their conversation escalates; Tony calls her a "tart" after she admits she has "admirers", and she accuses him of wanting a homemaker. Tony's ex was indeed a loyal, stay-at-home kind of gal. His usual confidence is shaken as he storms out into the hallway.
Later in training, Tony sees Julien crushed and struggling. Thinking of how AS Barbebleue could ruin him in their next match, he provides some words of encouragement. Julien pays it forward with Connor, as they vent and have an emotional moment...while avoiding too much vulnerability, staring at the wall while they pump some iron.
Connor studies the tape, and learns the upcoming match is against a team of exhausting, rough and tough bastards.
Match against the Bluebeards
As the boys sit in their lockers, mentally preparing for kickoff, all of their phones light up. BREAKING: Sources close to the club suggest Julien Saunier has been using performance enhancing substances. The vibe in the room sinks like a stone.
Before heading out of the tunnel, Tony reminds Julien he's got his back, in an attempt to stave off the guilt he has from dropping the media tip.
As predicted, the Bluebeards play tough, and bring the Bishops down to their level. Fouling, stoppages, and tackles abound.
Julien gets baited into retaliating & while he gets away with it, his thrown shoulder isn't enough to prevent the Bluebeards from taking a 0-1 lead. Tony gets in on the action a few minutes later & gets given a yellow card for taking another player's legs out (barely avoiding the team mascot).
Tony's foul leads to a scuffle, which Connor uses as a distraction to quickly get past and behind the other team, and level it right before halftime! Despite decidedly being the worse team, AS Obispo are still in it, which Coach Gonzalez reminds everyone of.
The Bishops push through the (literal & metaphorical) noise around them & come out flying. AS Barbebleue cannot get out of their own way (despite rolling 4d20 each period they don't roll higher than a 29 the entire second half) but the Bishops struggle to capitalize on their advantage.
Not long after Julien is subbed off, Tony overexterts & injures himself. Infuriated, he shoves the team mascot into a railing as he heads into the tunnel for evaluation. Rolls later told us that Tony avoided anything long term, whereas the poor mascot was going to be in the hospital for a while. (Tony hit his milestone 'badly injure team mascot'!)
In the final 15 minutes, Connor feels the pressure on him. He follows in his teammates footsteps, copying the fouling technique Julien showcased in the first half, not only getting away with it, but scoring an 82 minute goal to take the lead! Connor rips off his shirt as the stadium rocks.
The Bishops have a few minutes left to finish the upset; the Bluebeards push to tie it, & are punished for it, as Connor plays a sweet pass to substitute Anton James, putting it away at 3-1. AS Obispo have officially announced themselves, retaining ownership of first place with two matches played.
Off Pitch
Our final moment saw Connor get a call from a "Phillipe" from Hype Media & Marketing; they want to connect him with some clients & opportunities following his man of the match performance. Connor is stunned, smiling to himself after hanging up the phone.
There is a statement from Julien regarding the allegations of performance enhancing substance use; he does have an asthma inhaler under a prescription, without such would OTHERWISE be unacceptable. The media tries to bait him into blaming his teammate Tony Cooper, or suggesting that Julien is dating Tony's girlfriend Sharon, which Julien bats away. The meeting ends shortly after another journalist suggests that Julien can't stay on the pitch consistently because of his asthma.
Later, Pierre "Derrière" approaches Connor for some mentorship, in awe of how he's performed at his relative young age, and wonders how he does it? The answer is through training: they workout the next morning at 5am sharp, & Connor spends some money he doesn't have buying the kid some equipment.
After training, we see Coach "Emotional Intelligence" Gonzalez call Tony into his office, suspicious of who (likely) leaked the story floating around the team. He can't prove it, but tells Tony he has an open door, & stuff like this affects the whole squad. Tony plays dumb & gets defensive, saying he hasn't felt supported since Connor & Julien have gotten the spotlight.
Tony then visits his girlfriend Sharon at her place, as she has gotten dinner ready for him, and has a heart to heart with him, building trust as he opens up to her. As he's telling her about how he's upset about Connor's attention, or thinks Julien's girly, or how appreciates Sharon's exact color of eyeshadow, he doesn't realize the entire conversation is being recorded. While there's no specific plan, Sharon thinks having a backup plan is always good.
Before their upcoming game against the underdog Le Petit Prince FC, Tony builds Trust with Connor as he warns him of the danger of the media and getting PR wrong after Connor confides in him his knee strain issues.
Julien blows off some steam by being Toxic(tm) while playing football online.
Match against The Little Princes
As they're getting ready for the game, Connor checks in with Julien, and tells him about the conversation he had with Tony, feeling the timing was odd given the reports out there in the media. He doesn't go as far as saying watch your back, but something's in the air.
As the match gets underway at The Chessboard (their home pitch), after a droll start the Bishops kick it into high gear and....fail to capitalize. Shots ping off the post on both ends of the pitch, and it's 0-0 at halftime despite AS Obispo clearly being the better team.
After a halftime pep talk, the Bishops come out strong again, dominating the Little Princes. Unfortunately they let in an unbelievable goal, as their goalie comes way too far out, & are completely punished for it.
Down 0-1, Connor (who has been unbelievable today despite the team around him) wills his team to an equalizer, after Tony leaves a ball for him on the edge of the box, planting a postage stamp in the top left corner. Tie game with 15 minutes to go.
The Little Princes sense the opportunity here, and go all out in the final 15 minutes, taking control of the game for the first time all afternoon. The Bishops get cynical, fouling repeatedly until they've successfully killed the game off in a disappointing 1-1 draw. The visiting fans love it.
The session ends with the players leaving the pitch in disappointment, as Connor checks his phone to notifications of overdraft fees from his bank. He's going to ask for some favors to get out of this one.