DADDY ISSUES
A downloadable RPG zine
Have you heard the story of the father who "went for cigarettes" and never came back? You play as that guy.
Don't get me wrong, you have nothing but the best of intentions! All you need to do is get a pack of cigarettes and come back home—but that's easier said than done!
The city is full of dangers, fat pigeons, criminals, and... werewolves?
DADDY ISSUES is a printable RPG released during Zine Month 2022. It is a highly thematic solo game that combines dark humor, procedurally-generated narrative, and light management elements.
Each run through the city is completely unique, as you roll the dice to explore, fight, and even draw your own map!
The longer you take, the more desperate your family becomes... Tick-tock...
You will immerse yourself in a dangerous world of crime and the paranormal.
You will be navigating the mean streets day and night while receiving texts from your worried family and making tough decisions.
Time is not on your side, so make every choice count!
Trust me, you really don't wanna miss your anniversary!
- 1 Player
- Ages 16+
- 5-20 min
The game is meant to be printed on three double-sided A4 sheets and folded/stapled into a nice 12-page, A5 zine.
You will also need a pencil and two six-sided dice.
Purchase
In order to download this RPG zine you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $1.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this RPG zine at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies
If you can't afford the game, help yourself to a Community Copy!
This is a limited pool of free downloads. I'll be adding +1 to it:
- Every time somebody leaves a helpful comment or rates the game
- For every $2 worth of tips over the asking price
- Every time I buy a game on Itch.io
Download demo
Development log
- New game in the style of DADDY ISSUES!Feb 24, 2023
- Let's Disappoint More Families!Feb 17, 2022
- Even Newer Version Available!Feb 12, 2022
- New Version Available!Feb 06, 2022
- It's Zine Month 2022... So I Made an Awesome RPG!Feb 06, 2022
Comments
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Very interesting
Hola Nikola Petrov, hace pocos minutos he adquirido Daddy Issues. Gracias. Desde que leí sobre este juego he tenido mucha curiosidad y ganas de jugarlo. Lo probaré y te haré llegar mis comentarios.
Gracias! Let me know how it goes :)
This solo game is pretty great! The layout is clean and the art is effective, and I like the mechanism of the roll tables and the map. John Hardy ran from a pack of wolves, got beaten up by a hobo 3 times, and was ultimately downed by a punk in the street. RIP.
Oof, that's a terrible way to go.
Thanks for the lovely comment, which in turn means +1 community copy!
Johnny died so another Dad can be born...
(originally written for a Facebook group)
TODAY I PLAYED "Daddy Issues", a game by Nikola Petrov made for Zine Month 2022. Ever wonder what happened to your dad when he said he was just going out for a pack of smokes and he'd be right back? Maybe he left with the best of intentions but then had to fight a werewolf???
It's a roll and write where you procedurally generate the map of your neighborhood as you spend time looking for a store that sells cigarettes. There are event tables to roll on, people to meet, and monsters to fight. They're all d6 tables, so you're not going to see a ton of stuff, but it's fun enough for a couple playthroughs.
My first playthrough was anticlimactic. I saw all those tables full of thugs and zombies and feral cats and thought I was going to be in the shit before long. As luck would have it, I walked around the corner, found the shop right away, and bought my cigarettes. I even ran into a friend who owed me $12, so it's like I didn't even spend my own money.
After turning around to head back home, I rolled on the "Backtracking Table" to see if any events happened. Nothing happened at first, but then, right as I was about to reach my house and consider the game won, I rolled that I met someone on the street. Shit, here we go. I knew that seemed too easy.
But no, it was another friend who owed me $5.
It plays fast enough that I'm not disappointed by the fact that I just sat down, ready for a no-doubt fantastical adventure, but walked away from the game with only a story about leaving to buy some smokes and returning richer than when I left. All that only took five minutes or so. I'm actually going to head back in and see if I can get abducted by some aliens or something.
Man, receiving money really sucks! I mean, so I'm told, I'm an indie game designer so I wouldn't know...
In all seriousness, thanks for taking the time to post this and spreading the word on Facebook! Not only is your feedback highly appreciated, but it already made it right into the new version.
Thanks!
I love witty games, this was lots of fun! Awesome job mate :)
So glad to hear that!
A pretty funny "roll & draw" game. Well, I get lost for 10 in-game days but seems family wasn't worried.
To anyone reading comments: I recommand you this short game! Took me 30 minutes to play.
I get luck I survived and got a lot of Good news! Even did a good action when giving a cigarette to a hobo (few days ago he punched me – that's not cool). I only met drug dealers and cats. I can say my neighborhood is safe... even with loaded guns in bushes.
Thanks to the author for this game!
PS: Do I want to play again just to meet that werewolf? Yup!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing your experience & the picture! Made my day! It's true that your neighborhood seems suspiciously safe... you must be one very lucky "dad", haha!
Gosh this place is too safe! His wife went for cigarettes and came back the 4th day. No encounters except in the non-stop shop ahah.
Doubts on table results:
That was a SHORT game (writen in black ink in the picture). Next time I'll send their son. If he doesn't meet the werewolf (or at least another bad encounter), that would be the luckier family in the universe!
[Champ, 21 yo, killed by a mugger. Parents will move, this city isn't as safe as they thought]
This game was pretty cool. Still no surnatural events, but I truly liked the experience!
RIP Champ, we hardly knew ye...
So young... so reckless...
I guess your family was way too lucky at the start and this gave poor Champ a false sense of security. I'm sad that you weren't attacked by aliens or werewolves (now that's a sentence you don't say every day!), but rest assured they'll come for your family in their sleep!
If you ever decide to replay the game, you have my official written permission to fudge the dice and "arrange" a little werewolf visit ;)
Hmm, I'm not super sure what went wrong there.
- Turns are supposed to be 90-degree in a direction you choose. An early version had separate left and right turns, but this wasn't really adding anything to the experience.
- When you enter a brand new region (empty place on the map), you generate a street and yes, that could be a dead end. If you backtrack, you just move on the street you've previously drawn and only roll for a chance to meet somebody/find something. In this sense, you can never lock yourself, because you can always walk back all the way to your house.
- There is a hilarious, extremely small possibility of rolling 4 dead ends on the 4 ends of the house. In this case, technically, you'll need to "backtrack" across them until you find cigarettes or run out of time. I thought the possibility of this was too small to justify including a special rule.
I really am not sure if this is answering your questions, so please let me know!
P.S. Your enthusiasm for the game is inspiring! Thank you!
Sounds like I misunderstood how to move… ahah. When I got "right/left/go ahead/turn back" result, I was moving according to the orientation of the character, not the map! I'm not used to map-crawling but had a great time with this lucky
familycouple! (RIP Champ, you may come back later as an alien-zombie-who knows)