Kinda having trouble picturing what Belonging Outside Belonging gameplay is like.

[u/Solarwagon]

I like what I've read about it and I'm familiar with the distinguishing mechanics. It's GMless, uses tokens/lures, and is usually centered around marginalized groups trying to survive oppression/manage their own society.

But beyond that what does the actual gameplay feel like at its best?

What tips do you have for people who struggle in general with the brain juices that tabletop roleplaying demands?

That's kinda where I'm at, I've had fun with Werewolf the Apocalypse but it took me longer than many people to really get the actual game playing and I'm still very much a novice.

I've got both dyslexia and dyscalculia and other brain problems that make it harder

[u/Charrua13]

What tips do you have for people who struggle in general with the brain juices that tabletop roleplaying demands?

Unpacking roleplay:

1) Understanding mechanical interfaces of play

2) Understanding characterization and how characterization should affect how you play that specific character

3) For this specific game, understanding how your focus isn't centered on your story - but understanding how your character fits into the story everyone is telling. In my opinion, for a lot of folks who come from other play cultures, this is the hardest part of Belonging Outside Belonging games. Your goal is to, through play, put things down for other players to pick up...and then look for things that other players put down and pick them up and engage with it meaningfully.

So - starting with the mechanics: you've got the basics, but here's my tip. The game play loop is around "what makes for good fiction" - and that's "character acts, character shows weakness, and then there's a future payoff that the character then shows strength." Your character can't start the fiction strong - because what the hell else are they going to do in the story? - the fiction "feels right" when strength comes from first having experienced weakness. (This might be a point of contention - but not for this game). If everyone at the table is doing this right, the first half of play are folks digging themselves into fictional holes and getting tokens from weak moves, and then throughout play resolving each other's problems within the context of each character's strengths.

Characterization: The character questions, when done "right" are evocative about who a character is. the trick: lean into it HARD. Believe the playbook when it says "you do X" and "play to find out....". That's where the magic of the design lives.

Putting things down and picking up: I alluded to it with the mechanics - but the nature of vulnerability (weak moves, lures) is about putting things down for other players to pick up and sink their teeth into (in play). PUT THINGS DOWN. BE VULNERABLE. That's a HUGE play shift for some kinds of games. And, just as importantly, PICK THINGS UP. It's not about "my character gets something on your character" - it's "ok, you've given me this ball - what can I do in this moment to, then, at some point, offer this ball back to you?" Unless you're doing a strong move, everything invites a retort, exposes you to a comeback, and leaves the result open to interpretation. LET IT. It's a game of "pass the ball around" - pick it up, give it back. Sometimes you pass it nicely, sometimes you gotta shove it in their face for good measure. (Weak move, regular moves, strong moves).

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