Great British Bake Off-inspired tabletop RPG lets you roll up a star baker
Roll for Britishness.
A new tabletop RPG inspired by the Great British Bake Off will turn your next games night into an episode of the TV cookery show.
Ethan Bardoe’s Exceptional English Bake Off turns the hit baking series - known as The Great British Baking Show in the US - into a rules-light RPG that lasts around two hours.
Three to six players create their would-be star bakers from three key stats - creativity, experience and Britishness, naturally - and an additional perk ability that defines their baking style and personality. Given examples include having a Stiff Upper Lip - helping avoid disastrous meltdowns and adding to Britishness checks - or being Good On Camera, which can save a baker from potential elimination through the power of their charisma, but players are encouraged to create their own custom perks.
Like the TV show, players must face three challenges presented by the game’s Host, progressing from a signature bake to a mystery recipe and, finally, the baking spectacular. Each round, players describe their bake before rolling to see how their creativity and experience fare against the difficulty level of making their creation.
Failing a roll builds up worry points, which can eventually cause a meltdown - leading to a recipe gone wrong, be it through being undercooked, overcooked, missing ingredients or structural compromise. In the collaborative spirit of The Great British Bake Off, other players can offer to help save another contestant’s wayward bake to avoid it dropping in quality level - from “Quite Scrummy” down to “That’s Really Not Good Is It”.
Once everybody’s bakes are completed, the host judges their creations to determine a star baker and/or decide which contestant goes home.
Exceptional English Bake Off is Bardoe’s debut roleplaying design, with the designer telling Dicebreaker they are considering ways to apply the game’s format to other cooking shows. The RPG can be downloaded for free from Bardoe’s website.