Bluebeard's Bride

Bluebeard's Bride is a gothic horror tabletop role-playing game based on the Bluebeard folktale. It was designed and written by Whitney "Strix" Beltrán, Marissa Kelly, and Sarah Richardson, and published by Magpie Games in 2017. Players represent five aspects of a woman's mind as she explores the mansion of her frightening new husband.[1]

Bluebeard's Bride
DesignersWhitney "Strix" Beltrán, Marissa Kelly, and Sarah Richardson
IllustratorsRebecca Yanovskaya, Juan Ochoa, KRING, Jabari Weathers
PublishersMagpie Games
Publication2017
Genrestabletop role-playing game, gothic horror
SystemsPowered by the Apocalypse
Players3-5 plus gamemaster
Playing time2-4 hours
Age rangeadults only
Skillsrole-playing, storytelling

Gameplay

Bluebeard's Bride uses an adaptation of the Powered by the Apocalypse system. Players take on the roles of feminine archetypes that together form the mind of one woman. Matt Baume for Vice describes these as "Animus, which embodies strength; Virgin, representing obedience; Witch, suggesting sinfulness; Fatale, for sensuality; and a Mother who soothes."[1]

Reception

Bluebeard's Bride was funded by a Kickstarter campaign in October–November 2016 that raised $129,820 from 1,745 backers.[2]

Awards

Bluebeard's Bride won the IndieCade Grand Jury Award in 2018.[3] It won the 2018 Indie Game Developer Network awards for "Game of the Year" and "Best Art." The expansion Book of Rooms also won the 2019 award for "Best Art."[4]

Nominations

Bluebeard's Bride was nominated for the 2018 ENNIE Awards for "Best Production Value."[5] The expansion Book of Lore was nominated for the 2019 ENNIE Award for "Best RPG Related Product." The expansion Book of Rooms was nominated for the Indie Game Developer Network award in 2019 for "Product of the Year." The expansion Book of Mirrors was nominated for the 2019 ENNIE Awards for "Best Cover" and "Best Layout and Design."[6]

Reviews

Rebekah Krum for Comic Book Resources called it one of the ten best Powered by the Apocalypse games.[7] Jaina Gray for Wired (magazine) recommended it as one of the six best games to play remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] Rachel Beck for Dread Central writes, "The story itself has the elegant simplicity of a fairytale," and it "is an explicitly feminine horror piece, and at its heart it's a game about systemic social and physical violence towards women."[9] Sharang Biswas for Dicebreaker praised the game mechanics as an expression of the Bluebeard fable's theme: "The game delivers its central ideas of feminist and feminine horror, using powerlessness as a game mechanic and employing supernatural hyperbole of real-world misogyny to highlight anti-feminist thought."[10]

Expansions

Magpie Games released Bluebeard's Bride: Book of Rooms in 2018, Bluebeard's Bride: Book of Lore and Bluebeard's Bride: Book of Mirrors in 2019, and Bluebeard's Bride: Booklet of Keepsakes in 2020.[11]

References
  1. "Diving Deep into Gothic Horror in 'Bluebeard's Bride'". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  2. "Track Bluebeard's Bride's Kickstarter campaign on BackerTracker". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  3. "IndieCade 2018 festival nominees named". Shacknews. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  4. "Previous Award Winners". Indie Game Developer Network. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  5. "2018 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards". Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  6. "2019 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards". Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  7. Krum, Rebekah (2023-01-28). "10 Best Powered By The Apocalypse TTRPGs". CBR. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  8. "6 Great Board Games You Can Play With Friends Over Zoom". WIRED. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. Beck, Rachel (July 29, 2018). "BLUEBEARD'S BRIDE Review – No Way Out; Only Forward". Dread Central. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  10. Biswas, Sharang (February 17, 2021). "Indie RPGs show roleplaying can - and should - be far more than Dungeons & Dragons". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. "Bluebeard's Bride". RPGG. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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