A Place at the Festival Table

120-minute plan · 4 players · Bring people together The first shared supper of a rebuilt neighbourhood has four benches, one water cart and four groups who each need something the same square cannot provide at once. Content notice: Food allocation, noise and community disagreement. All quantities are fictional meal batches; nobody is asked to justify a real dietary or access need.

GM overview

Set out six meal counters, four bench counters, two water measures and the available bell slots. Four parties each have a resource and a bottom line. The cooks commit food only after one batch is reserved for late workers. Musicians accept either a credited acoustic performance at the long table or a separate full-voice courtyard slot. Residents accept the former only with a clear lane and acoustic agreement; the latter only with separate courtyard seating. The wash crew needs its two water measures reserved and its late-worker batch acknowledged. Players make a seating layout and a service order on the cards. The long table uses two slots; split courtyards use three. The last ending defers the communal meal and returns resources to their custodians; a meeting that failed to agree is not a successful feast.

What is really happening

No group is trying to ruin the festival. The cooks need a portion reserved for late workers; the musicians need a credited performance slot; the residents need a clear quiet access lane; the wash crew needs two water measures and relief before the final bell. A rolling long-table supper fits two slots if music is acoustic and the access lane remains clear. Separate courtyards fit everyone’s preferred sound level but require three slots and a later finish.

Opening agreement and read-aloud

Agree on subjects to soften or skip. Each player names an ordinary skill and a reason to help. Evidence does not require a successful roll; uncertainty changes time, cost or obligations. Four benches stand in the square like four unfinished sentences. Ila has six covered meal batches, Ren has a programme with no time written on it, Suni holds a key to the quiet lane, and Pavo is counting the water cart measures.

Time and preparation

120 minutes: Make room for distinct courtyards Opening agreement: 10 minutes Hear all four parties and count supplies: 25 minutes Compare sound levels and walk the layouts: 25 minutes Commit the three-slot programme and relief: 30 minutes Serve, perform and close: 20 minutes Closure and debrief: 10 minutes The extra bell funds a separate full-voice performance and protected closing shift. One spare setup turn gives room to inspect both spaces, but benches and food still cannot be allocated twice. Starting information: Discover cards in play Starting state: Unallocated meal batches = 6; Unplaced benches = 4; Wash water measures = 2; Setup work turns = 4; Available bell slots = 3; Late workers’ batch reserved = false; Cooks committed = false; Musicians’ agreement = none; Residents’ agreement = false; Wash crew committed = false; Seating plan = none; Shared supper served = false With 4 players: share the roles of mapper, evidence keeper, speaker and timekeeper.

If the group gets stuck

If a party refuses, identify its unfulfilled written minimum and offer the other complete programme only while its resources remain. Missing water cannot be replaced by a persuasion check; defer-supper keeps the resources with their custodians and names the unresolved need.

Festival square

Read aloud: Someone has chalked a wide lane across the square. Everyone steps around it, but nobody has yet agreed where to put the benches. GM: The shared board makes all costs visible. Final service actions occur here only when the matching plan and all parties agree.

Choice: Put benches, meals and bell slots on the board

Ask: Which resource cannot be promised to two jobs at once? Requires: Available. Reveal Four benches and one clear lane Result: The lane and seating outlines make the competing uses concrete.

Choice: Set four benches beside the clear lane

Ask: Walk an imagined guest from home to well without crossing a bench. Requires: Seating plan is none. Spend 1 Setup work turns; Spend 4 Unplaced benches. Seating plan: long Result: The long table takes shape while the quiet access lane remains empty.

Choice: Run the two-slot rolling supper

Ask: Who changes the seating while protecting the quiet lane? Requires: Cooks committed is true and Musicians’ agreement is acoustic and Residents’ agreement is true and Wash crew committed is true and Seating plan is long. Spend 5 Unallocated meal batches; Spend 2 Wash water measures; Spend 1 Setup work turns; Spend 2 Available bell slots. Shared supper served: true Result: Two seatings share one acoustic programme. The final wash shift ends on its promised bell. Closure: A place through two seatings

Choice: Run the three-slot courtyard supper

Ask: Who announces the later finish so nobody waits for an unpromised service? Requires: Cooks committed is true and Musicians’ agreement is court and Residents’ agreement is true and Wash crew committed is true and Seating plan is split. Spend 5 Unallocated meal batches; Spend 2 Wash water measures; Spend 1 Setup work turns; Spend 3 Available bell slots. Shared supper served: true Result: The courts keep distinct sound levels and every group gets its promised slot; the festival finishes one bell later. Closure: Two courts, one invitation

Covered kitchen court

Read aloud: Ila turns one empty bowl upside down. “The people cleaning after us should not discover we ate their supper.” GM: Reserve exactly one batch for late workers, then the cooks commit the remaining five. No bargaining action overrides this floor.

Choice: Set aside the late workers’ actual batch

Ask: Who holds its key and at what bell will the crew collect it? Requires: Available. Spend 1 Unallocated meal batches. Late workers’ batch reserved: true. Reveal Six covered meal batches Result: One covered batch is set aside; five remain for public service.

Choice: Commit the five public batches

Ask: Read back where the sixth batch is waiting. Requires: Late workers’ batch reserved is true. Cooks committed: true Result: Ila commits the remaining food to whichever complete programme the table chooses.

Music pavilion

Read aloud: Ren lays a quiet stringed instrument beside a bright hand drum. “Either programme is possible. Please tell us which one we are actually invited to play.” GM: Acoustic or courtyard music each needs one setup turn for its credited programme. Neither choice is a humiliating demand to play for exposure; the festival invitation is already accepted, and the conflict is scheduling.

Choice: Post a credited acoustic long-table set

Ask: Name the ensemble and write its first-bell slot. Requires: Musicians’ agreement is none. Spend 1 Setup work turns. Musicians’ agreement: acoustic. Reveal Two possible programmes Result: Ren chooses the quiet instruments and accepts the posted shared-table programme.

Choice: Post the separate full-voice courtyard set

Ask: Name the ensemble and its second-bell courtyard slot. Requires: Musicians’ agreement is none. Spend 1 Setup work turns. Musicians’ agreement: court. Reveal Two possible programmes Result: The full-voice set gets its own court. A third bell remains necessary for final wash relief.

Residents’ quiet porch

Read aloud: Suni sets the lane key on a table. “We want the supper. We also need to get home without stepping over benches.” GM: Residents accept a clear-lane acoustic long table or separate courtyards. They need no personal medical explanation to justify the quiet route.

Choice: Walk the agreed access route with residents

Ask: Which part of the layout protects ordinary passage throughout the meal? Requires: (Seating plan is long and Musicians’ agreement is acoustic or Seating plan is split and Musicians’ agreement is court). Residents’ agreement: true Result: Suni opens the courtyard access and invites residents to join the chosen arrangement.

Wash cart and relief board

Read aloud: Pavo draws an end line under the final wash shift. “Water, a plate, and an actual finish. That is the whole request.” GM: The wash crew accepts when a late batch is reserved and at least two water measures remain. Water is spent by service, not by merely making a promise.

Choice: Reserve water and name the crew’s final bell

Ask: Name the relief pair and show the reserved batch on the food card. Requires: Late workers’ batch reserved is true and Wash water measures at least 2 and (Musicians’ agreement is acoustic or Musicians’ agreement is court). Wash crew committed: true. Reveal Closing crew terms Result: Pavo accepts a bounded shift with real water and food commitments.

Linking arcade

Read aloud: You can hear the pavilion at one end and ordinary conversation at the other. Four bench outlines fit in two separate pairs. GM: The split layout is established here. It uses all four benches and one setup turn; its third service slot is the cost of a separate music finish and wash relief.

Choice: Place two benches in each courtyard

Ask: Show the quiet route between the courts and the separate music entrance. Requires: Seating plan is none. Spend 1 Setup work turns; Spend 4 Unplaced benches. Seating plan: split Result: Two smaller courts can host different sound levels without blocking access.

Connections and changing routes

Festival square ↔ Covered kitchen court: Kitchen serving lane. Available. Covered kitchen court ↔ Wash cart and relief board: Covered work lane. Available. Wash cart and relief board ↔ Linking arcade: Cart route. Available. Linking arcade ↔ Residents’ quiet porch: Quiet courtyard entrance. Available. Residents’ quiet porch ↔ Music pavilion: Outer music lane. Available. Music pavilion ↔ Festival square: Programme walk. Available. Festival square ↔ Residents’ quiet porch: Clear access lane. Available. Festival square ↔ Linking arcade: Shared supper entrance. Available.

Ila — Cooks’ cooperative

Goal: Serve the neighbourhood without excluding the late workers. Offers: Six covered meal batches and kitchen service. Will not accept: One batch must be reserved for late workers before the five public batches are served. Voice: Move one covered bowl aside before discussing the menu. Track: Cooks committed

Ren — Festival musicians

Goal: Perform an agreed programme with a real credited slot. Offers: An acoustic shared-table set or a full-voice courtyard set. Will not accept: Will not accept an unnamed “perhaps later” performance; each choice needs a posted programme. Voice: Ask which instrument and which bell. Track: Musicians’ agreement

Suni — Lane residents

Goal: Join the supper with a usable quiet route home. Offers: Courtyard access and residents who can host table groups. Will not accept: Keep the access lane clear; shared-square music must be acoustic, or move the loud set to a separate court. Voice: Trace the route a person must actually walk. Track: Residents’ agreement

Pavo — Wash and closing crew

Goal: Finish a bounded shift with water and a meal. Offers: Washing and closing work through the final agreed bell. Will not accept: Needs two water measures, the reserved late batch, and an end slot named in the programme. Voice: Point to the final line of the rota. Track: Wash crew committed

Discovery card: Six covered meal batches

Give only when revealed in play. Total: 6. Late workers: reserve 1 before service. Public supper: 5. Write the late pickup time and the person holding its key. Reserved food is not an extra seventh batch. Player task: Allocate six counters and name the late-worker handover. GM answer: The cooks’ commitment needs the real one-batch reservation; service spends the other five.

Discovery card: Two possible programmes

Give only when revealed in play. LONG TABLE: slot 1, acoustic music and first seating; slot 2, second seating and wash relief. SPLIT COURTS: slot 1, quiet supper; slot 2, full-voice music court; slot 3, final serving and wash relief. Credit musicians by their chosen ensemble name. Player task: Place available slot counters on one programme and cross out any unaffordable alternative. GM answer: Two slots support the long table; the split courts require three and cannot be compressed by silently deleting crew relief.

Discovery card: Four benches and one clear lane

Give only when revealed in play. Place four bench counters outside the wide chalk access lane. Long table: all four along the two serving sides. Split courts: two at each courtyard. The lane from homes to well remains empty in both plans. Player task: Arrange a physical seating map and show a route through it. GM answer: A real layout commitment spends four benches and gives residents a specific access guarantee.

Discovery card: Closing crew terms

Give only when revealed in play. Water measures reserved for wash: 2. Late-worker meal batch: 1. End bell: ____ . Relief pair: ____ . Do not mark a shift finished until the programme includes its final wash slot. Player task: Assign the end bell and relief pair, then check water and food against the other cards. GM answer: The crew agrees after a real meal reservation and sufficient water; the matching service action spends the resources.

State sheet

Unallocated meal batches: 6 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 6) Unplaced benches: 4 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 4) Wash water measures: 2 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 2) Setup work turns: 4 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 4) Available bell slots: 3 (clock, minimum 0, maximum 3) Late workers’ batch reserved: false (flag) Cooks committed: false (stance) Musicians’ agreement: none (stance) Residents’ agreement: false (stance) Wash crew committed: false (stance) Seating plan: none (flag) Shared supper served: false (flag)

Event: The setup crew has one task left

Trigger: Setup work turns at most 1 One setup turn must remain for service. State which benches and programme are already committed before anyone offers another change.

At any place: Defer the communal meal and return the uncommitted supplies

Which agreement should the next meeting settle first? Requires: Available. Ila retains responsibility for covered food and any reserved batch. The communal service is postponed, and the public programme states that clearly.

Ending: A place through two seatings

Requires: Shared supper served is true The long table fills twice. Acoustic music, a clear lane, a late-worker meal and an on-time closing shift turn four separate requests into a working supper. Next: Ask each group which specific promise should become next year’s starting point.

Ending: Two courts, one invitation

Requires: Shared supper served is true One court stays quiet while the other hosts a full-voice set. The supper finishes later, with the extra bell honestly assigned to serving and crew relief. Next: Record the later finish and ask whether both courts should return next year.

Ending: An invitation kept open

Requires: Available The shared supper is postponed. Supplies stay with their custodians, and nobody’s boundary is erased to manufacture agreement. Next: Publish the missing resource or unresolved programme choice before inviting another meeting.