The best way to learn the game is to go through the tutorial (which is turned on by default) when you play a new game at play.thezonerpg.com

Role of Director

Players take turns being the Director. This is not a GM role—think of the Director more as a facilitator or a host of each scene.

The Director chooses the location variant

Each location has three different variants. Everyone can see this, but only the Director gets to pick.

The Director starts and ends the scene

There are three parts to a scene:

<aside> 1️⃣

The Setup

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<aside> 2️⃣

Collaborative Storytelling

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<aside> 3️⃣

The Ending

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The director is in charge of The Setup and The Ending, and facilitates collaborative storytelling by asking questions of the group.

You can use the questions on the card or come up with your own.

Setup of a scene

To set up a scene:

• Each location has three different variants. Everyone can see this, but only the Director gets to pick
• Decide which characters it’s about (in this case it’s everyone)
• Set up the situation described by the prompt. Where is everyone when this starts?What are they doing?
• Describe how everyone got there from the previous scene or location

Ending a scene

• The Director ends the scene (and their turn) when the prompt is resolved. In this case, it’s when everyone has shared a rumor.
• It’s better to end a scene too early than too late! If you’ve gone off-topic, end the scene!