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About Burning Wheels Backyard
I first stumbled across Burning Wheels Backyard at a friend’s game night and was immediately struck by how it turns your own backyard—or any stretch of grass—into a sandbox for big, imaginative storytelling. It’s like taking all the clever narrative mechanics of Burning Wheel and shrinking them down so you can play under the dappled shade of a tree, with lawn chairs and lemonade at your side. You’ll still find those familiar traits and compelling conflict resolutions, but with extra guidelines for using sticks, stones or even water balloons as stand-ins for abstract “obstacles” and “reputations.” It practically invites you to raid the garage for props.
The core rules lean on a quick, narrative-focused test system: flip a coin or roll a d6, add your character’s skill, and see how you did against whatever backyard hazard I’ve improvised this session—could be a mischievous squirrel, a perimeter of flowerpots, or a well-guarded cooler of cold soda. There’s room for dramatic shifts when someone calls for an “Arbitrary Challenge,” like trying to jump the garden hose without waking up the dog. Characters still evolve through shared moments of victory and failure, and every twist feels grounded in that golden-hour energy of childhood games.
What really sells Burning Wheels Backyard is how it embraces low-prep, high-imagination play. We once staged a siege on the picnic table fort with nothing but chalk to draw walls and functionally declared a “magic moat” around it. The kids (and adults) were roaring with laughter as they described their daring maneuvers, and I barely needed more than a handful of index cards for NPC stats. It’s a beautiful reminder that you don’t need a massive rulebook or fancy minis to have a deeply memorable story night.
If you’re the sort of group that loves freeform collaboration but still craves the satisfying crunch of character advancement, this hack is a solid afternoon investment. Two to five players is a sweet spot, and an afternoon in the sun is all you need. By the time your snacks run out, you’ll have a couple of heroes with wild backstories, a few ruined flowerbeds, and memories that beat any indoor campaign for sheer delight.