I am interested in playing this, but I have shaky hands so I’m not sure I’d be able to do because of the use of the jenga tower. Is there any chance someone has proposed an alternative?
Hi there! There isn’t an official alternative printed in the game since so many aspects of the game involve interacting with the physical tower in a way that dice pools and other typical Wretched & Alone tower-alternatives can’t model (for example, choosing how many blocks to build up the tower with in each layer, and inserting tarot cards into the tower between layers). That said, here are some alternatives I can recommend you:
You can use both hands when placing and removing blocks, or use some other method to help steady yourself.
You can forgo the use of the Jenga tower entirely, ignoring all prompts to build on and remove blocks from the tower.
The tower falling is only one out of four potential ending conditions, and most playtest games ended before the tower fell. You’ll still have interesting choices to make and multiple paths towards different game-end conditions if you remove the tower from gameplay.
I played it through! I am thinking about ways to make it a two player game or how to handle the rules of there's two players. I wish to share that experience with someone else, the next time I pick this up!
Or is there already a great addition out there I simply have overlooked?
I loved it. Not reading after page 7 is strongly encouraged. Otherwise it might compromise your play experience!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed your playthrough! I haven’t given any thought to making Galatea a multiplayer experience - if you devise a way to play it with two players, please let me know how it goes!
Galatea is a Wretched and Alone game retelling the story of Pygmalion, the man who created a statue of the perfect woman, who came to life. You can choose the type of art and take the role of the masterpiece but you must remain perfect.
This game is different from most W&A games as it has you build the tower as well as removing pieces. You start out with only 9 tiers of blocks and slowly add blocks (and sometimes cards) to the tower.
There are a variety of different ways you can end the game. There’s the standard tower fall and 4 kings, but you also lose by getting 4 aces, or by giving enough secrets to the queen cards. Galatea doesn't have a “”win”” condition like some other W&A games and doesn't use tokens.
I told the story of a painting created in the image of the painter’s dead brother, meant to be a complete replication of him, but the painting has other desires and wishes. You can find it here!
I posted my playthrough of Galatea on YouTube! I really like that this ruleset takes such a departure from other W&A games with multiple ways to find an ending. It's interesting and fresh while still capturing the essence of the system!
The prompts helped me pull details out of my world and learn about my character in the process. I thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough, and see myself going through Galatea again.
I'm so excited to give this ago in the future. What's your preferred way folks play? I'll probably go for tarot cards since they're an option, but which way do you think best captures what you intend the game to do?
They lead to different game experiences - the tarot gameplay is a little more introspective and full of weighty questions, and the playing card experience is a little more about figuring how far you can trust people - so the preferred way is whichever one of those sounds more fun! Personally I would play the tarot card version.
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I am interested in playing this, but I have shaky hands so I’m not sure I’d be able to do because of the use of the jenga tower. Is there any chance someone has proposed an alternative?
Hi there! There isn’t an official alternative printed in the game since so many aspects of the game involve interacting with the physical tower in a way that dice pools and other typical Wretched & Alone tower-alternatives can’t model (for example, choosing how many blocks to build up the tower with in each layer, and inserting tarot cards into the tower between layers). That said, here are some alternatives I can recommend you:
The tower falling is only one out of four potential ending conditions, and most playtest games ended before the tower fell. You’ll still have interesting choices to make and multiple paths towards different game-end conditions if you remove the tower from gameplay.
I played it through! I am thinking about ways to make it a two player game or how to handle the rules of there's two players. I wish to share that experience with someone else, the next time I pick this up!
Or is there already a great addition out there I simply have overlooked?
I loved it. Not reading after page 7 is strongly encouraged. Otherwise it might compromise your play experience!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed your playthrough! I haven’t given any thought to making Galatea a multiplayer experience - if you devise a way to play it with two players, please let me know how it goes!
Your statement at 20:11 is indeed a sizzling hot take, haha! Thank you so much for covering Galatea and for your lavish praise!
Galatea is a Wretched and Alone game retelling the story of Pygmalion, the man who created a statue of the perfect woman, who came to life. You can choose the type of art and take the role of the masterpiece but you must remain perfect.
This game is different from most W&A games as it has you build the tower as well as removing pieces. You start out with only 9 tiers of blocks and slowly add blocks (and sometimes cards) to the tower.
There are a variety of different ways you can end the game. There’s the standard tower fall and 4 kings, but you also lose by getting 4 aces, or by giving enough secrets to the queen cards. Galatea doesn't have a “”win”” condition like some other W&A games and doesn't use tokens.
I told the story of a painting created in the image of the painter’s dead brother, meant to be a complete replication of him, but the painting has other desires and wishes. You can find it here!
Thank you so much for playing! I loved the subtlety of the delicate overtones you brought to your playthrough.
I posted my playthrough of Galatea on YouTube! I really like that this ruleset takes such a departure from other W&A games with multiple ways to find an ending. It's interesting and fresh while still capturing the essence of the system!
The prompts helped me pull details out of my world and learn about my character in the process. I thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough, and see myself going through Galatea again.
Thank you so much for your fantastic stream and your beautifully heartbreaking playthrough! It was such a mindblowing experience to watch!
I'm so excited to give this ago in the future. What's your preferred way folks play? I'll probably go for tarot cards since they're an option, but which way do you think best captures what you intend the game to do?
They lead to different game experiences - the tarot gameplay is a little more introspective and full of weighty questions, and the playing card experience is a little more about figuring how far you can trust people - so the preferred way is whichever one of those sounds more fun! Personally I would play the tarot card version.