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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.