# Despair Dilemma tags: #game/rpg/despair-dilemma ![[Despair Dilemma (cover).jpg]] *Despair Dilemma* is a GM-less tabletop roleplaying game designed for the kind of people who watch *Squid Game*, *Danganronpa*, or *Zero Escape* and think, "You know what? The people trapped in the murder-maze have it too easy. I want to be the one pulling the strings." Rather than playing a traumatized victim, players take on the roles of the masterminds and abstract narrative forces—like "The Massacre’s Edge" or "The Traitor’s Sabotage"—actively plotting the demise, drama, or unlikely survival of the cast. You spend the game squabbling with your fellow masterminds over who gets to inflict the most compelling psychological damage on a disposable cast of characters. Despite the rulebook politely asking you to bring six-sided dice to the table, the core resolution mechanics run almost entirely on a standard, joker-less deck of playing cards. Narrative control isn't a given right; it's a fiercely contested commodity. At the start of a chapter, players draw hands of cards. Becoming the narrator or triggering massive, scene-altering actions—like introducing a new character, forcing a risky maneuver, or springing a lethal twist—requires discarding specific cards from your hand based on your chosen Plot Book. If you don't like the story the current narrator is spinning, you can violently seize narrative control from them mid-sentence by playing a card of equal value, or burning any two cards from your hand. This creates a cutthroat resource economy where hoarding your cards and managing your hand is the only way to ensure your specific brand of misery makes it into the final script. As for multiple editions, there aren't any full-fledged legacy versions to dissect yet. The game currently exists in the liminal space of a recently funded prototype—having evolved from early v0.2.1 playtest demos to a fully backed project. The primary changes between the initial free demo and the impending final release involve expanded Plot Books, more detailed Death Game sheets, the inclusion of community stretch goals, and a newly bolted-on Solo Mode for those who prefer to orchestrate their tabletop atrocities without an audience. You can pick up the completed game right now on Itch.io. ## References - [Despair Dilemma: A Death Game Mastermind TTRPG - BackerKit](https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/double-summon-games/despair-dilemma-a-death-game-mastermind-ttrpg "null") - [Despair Dilemma preview — a death game inspired TTRPG - GamingTrend](https://gamingtrend.com/previews/despair-dilemma-preview-a-death-game-inspired-ttrpg/ "null") - [Despair Dilemma: A TTRPG Take On Squid Game - Library Of Words](https://libraryofwords.com/despair-dilemma-a-ttrpg-take-on-squid-game/ "null") - [Despair Dilemma by Double Summon Games - Itch.io](https://doublesummon.itch.io/despair-dilemma "null")