TEXT: Christmas is Cancelled! 
   
  How could this have happened? Gather your family and friends, and save our beloved holiday!  
   
  Have you ever seen the old Christmas movies like Rudolph, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or 
  The Year Without a Santa Claus? What if you were in them? Who would you be? Can you save 
  Christmas? 
   
  What is it? 
   
  Christmas is Cancelled is a story game for 3-6 people where you play the role of a character in 
  a story like the Christmas classics. To play, you will need 3 or more people, at least 2 six-sided 
  dice, paper, and some pencils. You can expect to play for 1-4 hours depending on the number 
  of people and the pace of the story. One person will be ​The Spirit of Christmas​ (The 
  Gamemaster or Story Teller in role-playing game terms). That person is responsible for guiding 
  the events of the world and of all the supporting characters who are not played by the rest of the 
  players. Everyone else creates their own characters to control (The ​Player Characters​). 
  Creating those characters is covered below. One important note is that Santa Claus can never 
  be a Player Character. If he is present in the story, he actions will be directed by The Spirit of 
  Christmas.  
   
  Everyone at the table together will all craft a story guided by their character's actions, the 
  responses of the Spirit of Christmas, and a little luck. You should all work to create a memorable 
  tale that could be retold later.  
   
  Christmas is Cancelled!? How did this happen? 
   
  Everyone in the group collectively determines what caused the end of Christmas. This reason 
  can be as silly or serious as you want your story to be, but whatever it is, it means Christmas is 
  Cancelled! Was it stolen by a terrible creature? Is Santa Claus too sick to make his journey? Is 
  the Sleigh broken? 
   
  What's in a character? 
   
  Characters in this game can either be created for the game or taken from existing stories. Some 
  examples based on popular media are listed on the last page. Each character will have a ​Name​, 
  Concept​, ​Stats​, ​Special Abilities​, and a ​Connection​. 
   
  The ​Name​ can be anything you like, it's what everyone else will address you by when you're 
  playing as your character. 
   
  The ​Concept​ is the idea behind the character. For example, they may be a talking snowman, 
  and elf, a reindeer, or just a regular person. 
  
   
  The ​Stats​ are ​Body​,​ ​Mind​,​ ​and ​Christmas Cheer,​ and they're used with two dice when a 
  character needs to address a challenge or conflict. When creating your character, you choose 
  one of your stats to get ​+2​, another to get ​+1​, and the final one to get ​-1​ to rolls. You can select 
  in any order but all 3 stats will have a number, and each number may only be used once. These 
  stats are used when facing a challenge or conflict and are added to your dice roll. This is 
  covered in more detail below in ​Resolving Conflicts and Overcoming Obstacles 
   
  A ​Special Ability​ can be anything you like that allows you to do something out of the ordinary. 
  The other players and the Spirit of Christmas should approve your ability. For example, certain 
  reindeer can fly and might even have a nose that can light up. You can use these abilities in 
  some situations to drive the story in a new direction or bypassing the need to roll dice when 
  overcoming a challenge. These aspects make your character unique in the world. 
   
  Your ​Connection​ is centered around one of the other Player Characters at the table. It should 
  be a shared experience with them that ties you to each other. You might have known them in 
  childhood, had some sort of adventure with them before, or perhaps you're friendly rivals. 
  Whatever you select, it will help give depth to your characters. Each Player Character at the 
  table should have someone's Connection directed at them. 
   
   
  Resolving Conflicts and Overcoming Obstacles 
   
  In the course of their journey, the Player Characters will sometimes be beset by obstacles and 
  conflicts. Perhaps they need to convince a person to help who rather would not, confront a yeti, 
  or bring joy to someone who needs it. 
   
  When the Spirit of Christmas determines that there is a conflict in the story whose outcome is 
  uncertain, they inform the players that a roll is needed. One of the players will perform the roll, 
  and they ​describe the action​ they take as well as what ​outcome they intend​. The Spirit of 
  Christmas will tell the player which stat applies to the action described before the dice are rolled.  
   
  The player will roll two dice, add the named stat, and if the result is 7 or more, the outcome 
  described by the player happens. The player can use their imagination to narrate the results. If 
  they miss the roll, something else will happen. What happens in that case is entirely up to the 
  Spirit of Christmas, but it should always be an interesting result that drives the story forward. An 
  example of a poorly handled outcome that doesn't aid the story would be "You attempt to open 
  the stuck door by rolling your ​Body​. You've missed the roll, so you can't get it open." A better 
  example would be "You attempt to open the stuck door by rolling your ​Body​. You missed the 
  roll, so you're a little too slow -- you get the door open, but too late. Everyone else can run 
  through, but the yeti chasing you grabs you and picks you up! ​What do you do?​"  
   
  The Spirit of Christmas is encouraged to pose challenges to the players and see how they 
  
  respond with "What do you do?" Using "Yes, but …" or "Yes, and …" responses when a player 
  performs some actions will help drive the story forward and make it enjoyable for everyone. 
   
  In some situations, a character's Special Ability may allow them to skip a roll and succeed 
  without rolling dice. The players at the table will collectively determine if it's appropriate. The 
  Spirit of Christmas has the final say. 
   
  "Rule 0" 
   
  This is a game meant to be played for fun. If something in these written rules isn't working, 
  change it to suit your group. The Spirit of Christmas is free to make decisions during the game 
  that go against what's written here if it helps everyone at the table have fun together. They 
  should still try to be consistent and keep the same decision throughout the game. 
   
  Advice for the Spirit of Christmas 
   
  As the Spirit of Christmas, you will be in charge of a lot during the game -- posing challenges to 
  the players, creating and acting out the responses of the Supporting Cast (Every character not 
  controlled by players at the table), and keeping track of what might happen next. You should 
  have a general idea of possible outcomes, but the players will be using all their imagination and 
  creativity, so don't become determined on a single outcome. The other people there will surprise 
  you! 
   
  You should encourage imaginative and fun actions. Nothing will stop the fun more than saying 
  "No, I don't think that will work", or "You can't do that." Instead, say "You can do that, but …" or 
  "It works, and …". Use it as a challenge that they can roll to overcome. If it's something really 
  extreme, bump up the number they need to beat up to 8 or even 9 instead of the usual 7. 
   
  If a situation comes up that could be a challenge but failure isn't interesting to the story, just say 
  "yes", and let them succeed. Keep them engaged and in character instead of thinking about the 
  dice. 
   
  This role has a lot of responsibility, but also remember that you're at the table to have fun too. 
  Keep it exciting and interesting! Be a fan of your players; this shouldn't be competitive with you 
  against them, but rather your role serves to give the players challenges they can eventually 
  overcome, creating a good story as they struggle, sometimes fail, and eventually succeed. A 
  good story will end with everyone at the table laughing, recollecting exciting moments, and 
  celebrating how they personally saved Christmas. Break out the hot chocolate and candy 
  canes! 
   
  During the game, some players may be more talkative or outgoing than others, and this can 
  sometimes mean that people aren't feeling engaged or effective in the story. It's your job to keep 
  the spotlight moving around from player to player, crafting scenes that different individuals can 
  
  each rise to the occasion for. Encourage the quieter players to speak up and act, pose 
  challenges directly to them, and encourage the outgoing ones to support the other people so 
  that everyone at the table walks away with a happy memory. 
   
  If everyone at the table is a little older or already familiar with role-playing games, you can use a 
  slightly more advanced version of the conflict resolution system. On a 6 or less, the character 
  does not accomplish the intent of their action. On a 7-9, they succeed, but with an added twist, 
  cost, or complication. The Spirit of Christmas should narrate how they fell short or what was lost 
  on the way to the success. On a 10+ they succeed with no problem at all - the player can 
  narrate here. 
   
  Playing with Younger Children 
   
  The dice mechanics in this game might be unfamiliar for children, but it should be simple 
  enough for them to catch on quickly. Older players at the table are encouraged to help them out 
  during play, reminding them of things their character can do, helping out with the dice, and 
  encouraging their imagination. They may have a shorter attention span, so plan in some breaks 
  and keep the pace exciting and fast-moving to aim for a shorter game. Throw in some 
  Christmas music during the game, eat some candy, and make a fun occasion out of it. Some 
  well-timed videos during the game can raise a lot of excitement for it - find the Snow Miser or 
  Heat Miser songs online if they come into the story, show some pictures of the Yeti, or use 
  ornaments or figures to represent characters at the table. If they deviate from the rules, don't 
  worry about it too much as long as everyone is having fun. Treat these as guidelines and go 
  with what feels right in the moment.  
   
  Example Characters 
   
  Name: Ralph the Reindeer 
  Concept: A reindeer trying out for the sleigh team 
  Stats: 
    Body: -1 
    Mind: +1 
    Christmas Cheer: +2 
  Special Abilities: Flying, Orange-lit nose 
  Connection: ______ 
   
  Name: Stan the Snowman 
  Concept: A snowman who wants to become human 
  Stats: 
    Body: +1 
    Mind: +2 
    Christmas Cheer: -1 
  Special Abilities: Living snowman, Can make snowballs from nowhere. 
  
  Connection: ______ 
   
  Name: Suzy Acker 
  Concept: An athletic young girl getting tired of the holiday 
  Stats: 
    Body: +2 
    Mind: +1 
    Christmas Cheer: -1 
  Special Abilities: Can overcome challenging physical obstacles with ease. 
  Connection: ______ 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Kid Friendly/3. Rules Lite Collection/Christmas is Cancelled!.pdf