Yohan Leminnier and Kristoff Valla are here to solve a problem. And that problem is what people think they’re getting into when they pick up a roleplaying game. Their answer is the boxed starter RPG Critical. “The way Critical helps you play means you don’t have to commit hours, and you can play and learn quickly,” says Valla.
They’re an interestingly aligned pair. Valla is a novelist, roleplaying game designer and translator. Leminnier is a board game designer, best known for Captain Sonar, and also works as part of Asmodee’s events department. As you’d expect then, the first Critical box, Foundation (with a fantasy version, Sanctuary, coming later after a February release in France) is filled with stuff to make it a physical almost board game experience, with a big focus on narrative.