Big Eyes, Small Mouth is possibly the best roleplaying system on the market today, and the new Fast Play Rules provide the perfect introduction for you and your players.
Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is possibly the best roleplaying game on the market today. It succeeds at being a clean, simple system which leads to fast-paced, fun gaming sessions without sacrificing the level of detail necessary to accomplish everything you need it to. At the same time, Big Eyes, Small Mouth is the easiest generic game I’ve encountered. By that I mean that the task of adapting it to a new genre or campaign world is a quick and easy process – unlike other generic systems (such as GURPS or FUZION) which need to be thoroughly tweaked and customized to fit each iteration of your gaming needs.
And, on top of that, Guardians of Order has supported BESM with a remarkable line of high quality support products, including a plethora of licensed anime games: Big Robots, Cool Starships; Hot Rods & Gun Bunnies, Sailor Moon, Dominion Tank Police, Demon City Shinjuku, Tenchi Muyo, and many others.
In other words, this is a game you should be playing.
In fact, the only difficulty I’ve had with BESM is – as with many high quality systems – convincing people to give it a try. Guardians of Order is not the first company to attempt to rectify this with some sort of introductory package, but I have to admit that I am particularly impressed with their Fast Play Rules: Between the low price (only $1.95) and the high production values (glossy full-color), it will not only impress my gaming buddies – I can cheaply pick up multiple copies to hand out.
So, what has Guardians of Order crammed into this slim little pamphlet?
First, you have some standard introductory material (“What is a roleplaying game?”, “What is anime?”, “What is Big Eyes, Small Mouth?”, etc.). This, coincidentally, also makes this an attractive package to pick up if you’re looking to “convert” someone to RPGs – cheap, yet highly alluring (particularly to existing anime fans).
Next, an abbreviated version of the BESM rules are provided – including character creation (with the exception of the optional skill rules from second edition), action resolution, and combat.
The package is then rounded out with four brief samples of potential game ideas and themes (Journey to the East, Magical Bug Hunter Keko!, Legend of the Galactic Empire, and Voyagers of the New Dawn).
CONCLUSION
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is an excellent game. The Fast Play Rules are an excellent introduction to an excellent game.
Style: 5
Substance: 5
Authors: Mark C. MacKinnon and David L. Pulver
Company: Guardians of Order
Line: Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Price: $1.95
ISBN: 1-894525-28-0
Production Code: 02-100
Pages: 22
Surprisingly, however, I never wrote a full review of the second edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth. I actually have a half-finished draft of one which I apparently started in September 2000, but it became one of those reviews that sat for too long after I read the book until it reached a point where, to do a meaningful review, I would have needed to go back and do a fresh cover-to-cover read of the book. And it just never happened.
I had written a review of the 1st Edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth back in 1999. As I noted back then, it quickly became one of my go-to RPG systems. It’s been a long time since I played it, but I still have fond memories of its 2nd Edition and wouldn’t hesitate to grab it again if the need arose.
I’ve never picked up the 3rd Edition or the 4th Edition of the game. I actually know very little about them, having remained quite content with my copies of 2nd Edition.
For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.
