Tabletop RPG · since 2010 · #67 most discussed

Apocalypse World

Play volatile survivors in a broken world, driven by playbook moves, hard choices, and the GM's escalating threats.

6.1

Geek rating

From 14 firsthand play reports in 4 r/rpg threads. The threads alone average 7.0.

Player rating— / 10

No visitor ratings yet.

Discussion6.0 / 10

114 r/rpg posts named it, October 2023 to October 2026.

Rules weight

Light. Hype 3.6 for its age.

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What players say

At the table

Firsthand play reports are thin. Most of the material is rules discussion and edition news, with a handful of MCs and players describing real sessions. Those who do describe play say the MC runs the world and its threats, while the playbooks push the PCs into conflict with one another.

What works

Read a Sitch gives the MC a way to find the stakes, and something interesting happens even on a miss. (thread)
PCs with competing goals create play between players, and later sessions felt better than the early party-style ones. (thread)
Mixed-motive characters produced memorable turns, such as a gang leader's defeat and later robot-brain rebirth. (thread)
MCs who treat gangs and holdings as threats keep playbook groups from feeling safe. A player who loses a stronghold can rebuild or reconquer it. (thread)
Telling a player up front what Harm it takes to kill a PC keeps lethal moves dramatic rather than final. (thread)

What tables struggle with

Players and MCs read Read a Sitch as a D&D-style perception check. The MC also has to decide on the spot whether a situation is charged. (thread)
One commenter says the sex moves brought out the worst in their tables. (thread)
Early sessions can play like a D&D party. Groups of more than three players get unwieldy, and players spend time off-screen while the MC runs scenes for one or two PCs. (thread)
A large cast is hard to track, and one MC needs software like Miro for around 40 NPCs. Holdings and gangs can leave a PC idle when the others are away on a gig. (thread)

Who it suits

Groups of about three players who want friction between their characters.
MCs willing to follow the procedures and keep track of many named NPCs.
Players who bring their own goals rather than waiting for the MC to hand them a plot.

In players' words

"Last time we played we were all working towards a \"better caravan\" but we all had our own ideas of what that looked like" (thread)
"I cut my proverbial PbtA teeth on AW and even bounced off it on our first go round, so my opinions are hard won." (thread)
"they brought out the worst in any table where I tried to play Apocalypse World." (thread)

The threads behind it

Each thread is rated for the play it describes, from the firsthand reports in it. Load one here or read it on Reddit.

6.8

Advice Running Apocalypse World 2nd Ed.

The original poster has not yet run Apocalypse World 2e. The experienced MCs who reply describe a game that is more procedural and fiction-heavy than it looks, but one that works once you follow the text: the MC runs all NPCs including gangs, threatens holdings, and keeps the player characters on screen. Firsthand detail is thin and mostly advice rather than session reports, and one commenter notes that the 3e playtest is a different game. 7 firsthand · 22 comments

Open on Reddit

7.6

Is Apocalypse World [2e] supposed to be PvP?

The thread is mostly a rules and expectations discussion, with a few real accounts of Apocalypse World play. Those accounts describe lively, chaotic inter-PC conflict that players enjoyed, with some adjustment needed and a note that larger groups strain the format. 4 firsthand · 40 comments

Open on Reddit

7.5

Apocalypse World's Read a Sitch vs D&D 5e's Perception Check

The thread is mostly a rules and design discussion of Read a Sitch, and it later drifts into Ron Edwards' definitions and no-myth versus Bang-driven play. The only firsthand material is two MCs describing how they run Read a Sitch, and both say it works, so the sentiment is mildly positive but thin. 2 firsthand · 36 comments

Open on Reddit

5.0

Apocalypse World: Burned Over 3rd Edition coming to Kickstarter

The thread is almost entirely about the upcoming Burned Over 3rd edition Kickstarter, shipping costs and edition history, so it has almost no play reports. The one firsthand comment says Apocalypse World's sex moves brought out the worst in the commenter's tables, and a second commenter says they enjoy the system without describing any play. 1 firsthand · 41 comments

Open on Reddit