New Year's Fray (2022)

The Holiday Spirit vanishes as each new year approaches. Someone must take up the Holly Crown.

And so, the reasons for the season incarnate into their most admirable forms and engage in the Sport of Kings. These titanic bouts not only restore good cheer and inspiration to all, but also determine which forces shape the holidays until the next time they're called to battle.

Will Selfishness or Sociability rule our hearts this year?

Choose one of six Champions of Cheer to clash in the ring, winning points and raising spirits across the globe. Whoever wins transcends to become the new Holiday Spirit, spreading their brand of Cheer to all; the losers influence the new Spirit throughout the contests, having a say in the nature of the holidays even in ignominious defeat.

This is the New Year's Fray.

New Year’s Fray is a GMless tabletop RPG that casts you as one of six Champions of Cheer competing in the squared circle to become this years Holiday Spirit. Both fantastical and competitive, you cut promos, show off your unique powers, and clash in the ring in titanic wrestling bouts. Whoever wins the Tournament will become this years Holiday Spirit! However, the actions of all Champions influence which flavor of Cheer they will embody. Even in defeat, you can push the winner to be more Sociable or Selfish.

About the Game

This self-contained game is for 2-6 players and covers the events of one New Year’s Fray Tournament, which takes 1-2 play sessions to complete depending on player count and how competitive the action gets. A fully self-contained game, it Hails From World Wide Wrestling, so if you’re familiar with that game you’ll recognize a lot of what’s in New Year’s Fray.

Your Champions show off and call each other out during Interview scenes, clash in Wrestling Matches, and showcase their journey between Sociable and Selfish in Spirit scenes.

The Sociable Champions are:

• Sol Invictus, Champion of Light & Inspiration
• Old Saint Nick, Champion of Laughter & Generosity
• Good Will, Champion of Compassion & Understanding

The Selfish Champions are:

• Holly & Ivy, the Slay Belles, Champions of Satire & Duplicity
• The Nutcracker, Champion of Formality & Duty
• Jack Frost, Champion of Isolation & Darkness

To strive for victory in the ring, Champions: 

•  Use unique portfolios of supernatural powers, 
• take advantage of individual Wrestling and Cheer Moves, 
•  give and use Gifts to crash Interviews and gain advantage during Wrestling Matches, 
•  ...and more!

Pro Wrestling for the Holidays

Unlike World Wide Wrestling, New Year’s Fray is a "straight" competition - there is no booking of match results in advance, and no kayfabe layer of a wrester inhabiting a character for the benefit of the audience. Rather, the Champions are both physical and metaphysical, possessing thematic powers but still needing to gain victory in the ring in order to ultimately prevail.

Wrestling Matches follow the principles of narrative action. One Champion is in control of the match at a time, but that control shifts around depending on the fall of the dice and what their opponents do to gain the upper hand. When the Champion in control thinks they have the best shot at success they go for their Finishing Move, which could end the match in either competitors favor. 

The winner of each match gets a point towards victory, and whoever gets 3 points first wins! However, the total amount of Cheer among all the Champions determines whether the new Holiday Spirit oversees a season of Sociability or Selfishness. 

Enjoy the Fray, Champion!