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Hi all,

My future wife (end of the year in sight if all goes well) and both like lore, World building, and fantasy a lot. However, the main by-product of this for a long time for me has been tabletop to give life to said stories, but she's not quite keen on the combat part.

Because of this, I was wondering if anyone had advice or ideas to share the world building together as a couple, or to find non/little "violent" games that could suit her best.

This one's easier or harder, depending on whether it's got to be a miniatures game or not. There's a ton of great world-building games out there, but I think the majority of miniatures games tend to involve at least a little combat.

(Having said that, I haven't played it, but Joseph McCullough's Hairfoot Jousting looks like good lighthearted fun, and the violence in there is restricted to halflings having a good-natured joust with blunt lances!)

Some of the worldbuilding/setting games I've had fun with or been interested in:

Worlds Without Number - my favorite fantasy RPG system at the moment. A full role playing game, but half of the book is full of systems and tables for the GM to build worlds, civilizations, histories, communities, important figures...just sitting around and playing with that is absolutely doable, and the free version has everything you'd need for that, I believe!

Microscope - haven't played this one, but I'd like to. An RPG fully dedicated to making a history/world/universe/whatever. Might play better with more people, but I think it's worth checking out.

Dawn of Worlds - might be the best fit for you two, although it also plays well with more people. A 'god game' where you build a world together - terrain, species, basically everything. No violence necessary!

Beak, Feather, and Bone - I think this would also be a good one for you two. You design a city of bird-people. Maps are provided, but you can also make your own! It also doesn't have to be bird-people, but it helps. It's about establishing the history and relationships of different guilds and factions, but again, no violence necessary.

How to Host a Dungeon - This one does have some simple combat to it, but it's a really fun little 'dungeon simulator' where you track it from its origins (an old dwarfhold, a dark elf colony, etc) through a catastrophic fall, and into the 'dungeon era' and beyond. Worth a look, although I don't know if it'll be a perfect fit.

1990s Mighty Empires - If you can get a box, you don't have to play out the empire-conquering part of the game. You can just set up the tiles for an hour or two and roll to see where the cities are :3

Would she be more open to combat if you two were playing cooperatively?

The One Page Rules "Quest" games are designed to be solo or co-op vs mutual enemies.

Mice and Mystics is a cooperative game of adorable mice adventures.

Dawn of Worlds is not so much a game as a cooperative experience in world building. A cool experience though. Years go we used it to build a world for a couple of Song of Blades and Heroes campaigns.

Have you considered Moonstone? Its honestly one of the most fun, well designed wargames I have ever played. There is combat, but its done in such a whimsical way that it doesn't feel like it.
The miniatures are lovely too and a very small model count so quick to get on the tabletop.

As a haggard grognard of wargaming it takes a lot to make me smile (and enjoy myself!) while playing a game, Moonstone managed it.

Cozy Wargame..... hmmm......

I think something where you move around the board and collect items and face complications. I honestly think you could play a game of Pulp Alley in that manner if you wanted.

 Pacific wrote:
Have you considered Moonstone? Its honestly one of the most fun, well designed wargames I have ever played. There is combat, but its done in such a whimsical way that it doesn't feel like it.
The miniatures are lovely too and a very small model count so quick to get on the tabletop.

As a haggard grognard of wargaming it takes a lot to make me smile (and enjoy myself!) while playing a game, Moonstone managed it.

Another vote for Moonstone. The mechanics of its combat are so very different that it is really worth considering. Plus the models are absolutely beautiful, and you only need a handful each (standard game size is 6 characters per player for 2 player games).

If you're looking more for story-driven stuff that has a lighter emphasis on combat, Five Leagues From The Borderlands might be a good call, too. Yes, there's combat encounters, of course, but there is so much more to the campaign system that can lead to some great emergent story telling. And you can use whatever minis you want, really. And I mean, the Compendium expansion includes a pretty detailed system for going fishing.

Generally I've found the women I've played with preferred RPGs to wargames. 1 on 1 RPGs can be sort of hard work but there are some good resources out there on how to do it well.

My wife loves fantasy as well but I had to accept she just doesn't like playing wargames. She doesn't mind hearing about it, especially some of the funnier background from WFB, but she found the games excruciating!

have you considered a co-operative game, like the Lord of the Rings Living card game by Fantasy Flight? Something allowing you two to work together, with a goal beyond combat?

 Da Boss wrote:
Generally I've found the women I've played with preferred RPGs to wargames. 1 on 1 RPGs can be sort of hard work but there are some good resources out there on how to do it well.

My wife loves fantasy as well but I had to accept she just doesn't like playing wargames. She doesn't mind hearing about it, especially some of the funnier background from WFB, but she found the games excruciating!

Lol that's literally it brother!

Lots of great advice here, I'll look into some of the games you talked about. She's already fleshed out her own mini universe also so I suppose we could have fun replicating it with on of these Systems.

I haven't thought about co op games but that's a good idea too because when I made her try out 40k (Well in fact OPR) she preferred to team up with me against my brother.

My wife prefers coop games as well.

 Easy E wrote:
My wife prefers coop games as well.

And the Lord of the Rings one is so damn good. You can get a hundred hours of enjoyment just out of the core box. I actually bought the revised set, just in case I can get it on the table again (I played it originally about 10 years ago. With the woman / partner I lived with at the time).

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:


Lots of great advice here, I'll look into some of the games you talked about. She's already fleshed out her own mini universe also so I suppose we could have fun replicating it with on of these Systems.

I haven't thought about co op games but that's a good idea too because when I made her try out 40k (Well in fact OPR) she preferred to team up with me against my brother.

If she's already tried OPR and has her own mini universe, the OPR Quest cooperative games are probably a great place to start. They're miniature and setting agnostic and as you already know they're easy to play.

 Eilif wrote:

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:


Lots of great advice here, I'll look into some of the games you talked about. She's already fleshed out her own mini universe also so I suppose we could have fun replicating it with on of these Systems.

I haven't thought about co op games but that's a good idea too because when I made her try out 40k (Well in fact OPR) she preferred to team up with me against my brother.

If she's already tried OPR and has her own mini universe, the OPR Quest cooperative games are probably a great place to start. They're miniature and setting agnostic and as you already know they're easy to play.

I'll download that because it she would probably love it. Her universe is barely fleshed out but I know she'd love to extend it

Are you focusing on character model-vs-model stuff or more unit-vs-unit stories?

What do you mean easy?

I mean, is her world about individual characters like in a skirmish game where 1 model = 1 character?

Or is she doing more world building where the action on the tabletop represents the armies forging history or the story of a unit navigating the politics in the world? I.e. not focused on individuals but groups of people?

 Eilif wrote:

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:


Lots of great advice here, I'll look into some of the games you talked about. She's already fleshed out her own mini universe also so I suppose we could have fun replicating it with on of these Systems.

I haven't thought about co op games but that's a good idea too because when I made her try out 40k (Well in fact OPR) she preferred to team up with me against my brother.

If she's already tried OPR and has her own mini universe, the OPR Quest cooperative games are probably a great place to start. They're miniature and setting agnostic and as you already know they're easy to play.

I had no idea OPR had a cooperative rule set option...
That's exciting.

 Shrapnelsmile wrote:

 Eilif wrote:

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:


Lots of great advice here, I'll look into some of the games you talked about. She's already fleshed out her own mini universe also so I suppose we could have fun replicating it with on of these Systems.

I haven't thought about co op games but that's a good idea too because when I made her try out 40k (Well in fact OPR) she preferred to team up with me against my brother.

If she's already tried OPR and has her own mini universe, the OPR Quest cooperative games are probably a great place to start. They're miniature and setting agnostic and as you already know they're easy to play.

I had no idea OPR had a cooperative rule set option...
That's exciting.

Tabletop Minions did a little video about it that's a pretty good introduction.
https://youtu.be/5zYOg2sSXDo?si=xw1ppumY7Js4AGxh

 Easy E wrote:
I mean, is her world about individual characters like in a skirmish game where 1 model = 1 character?

Or is she doing more world building where the action on the tabletop represents the armies forging history or the story of a unit navigating the politics in the world? I.e. not focused on individuals but groups of people?

I'd point her focus around building the landsacpes and the setting (races, places, maps...) rather than events first

I see. Then I stick with my recommendation of Pulp Alley.

If you pick up 2nd edition, be sure to grab the event card deck as well. It has been a while since I have looked, but there maybe a more Fantasy and Magic focused one now-a-days.

Got her realtively interested in trying out opr quest and maybe one day WWN, I'm working on the rest... She's got an exam shortly but I hope to try something by mid summer!

Good luck and have fun. Keep us updated please.