Alice is Missing
{{Short description|Tabletop role-playing game}}
{{Infobox game
|name=Alice is Missing
|image=Alice_is_Missing_RPG_cover.jpeg|designer=Spenser Starke
|publisher=Hunters Entertainment
|date=2020
|genre=tabletop role-playing game
|players=3-5
|playing_time=2 hours
|random_chance=High
|skills=role-playing, writing
|web=[https://www.aliceismissing.com Alice is Missing]
}}
Alice is Missing is a tabletop role-playing game played in silence through text messaging. Players investigate the disappearance of a high school girl. The game was designed by Spenser Starke and published by Hunters Entertainment in 2020 after raising over $138,000 on Kickstarter.{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Karen |date=2020-08-25 |title=Alice is Missing is an RPG you can play solely through texts |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/8/25/21401397/alice-is-missing-rpg-texts |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}
In 2023, Alice is Missing received an expansion, Silent Falls, which introduced 38 new cards to the game.{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Chase |date=2023-01-31 |title=Alice Is Missing expansion takes the RPG’s silent storytelling in challenging directions |url=https://www.polygon.com/23577920/alice-is-missing-expansion-silent-falls-spenser-starke-interview |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}
In 2024, Alice is Missing expanded into the digital realm with the launch of [https://aliceismissing.com Alice is Missing: Digital Edition], developed in collaboration with [https://pixeltable.net/alice-is-missing Pixel Table]. This browser-based version enhances the original gameplay by automating clue assignments, allowing for character customization, synchronizing the game timer and soundtrack, and providing a streamlined, immersive experience.
Emily St. James for Vox Media compared the game to Twin Peaks, praised its suitability for remote play, and called it "sublime."{{Cite web |last=James |first=Emily St |date=2020-11-30 |title=One Good Thing: An amazing game played entirely via text message |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/21656220/alice-is-missing-rpg-text-message |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Vox |language=en}}
Starke has stated the game’s setting and tone as being heavily inspired by indie video games Life is Strange, Oxenfree, Firewatch, and Gone Home.{{Cite web |date=2020-06-22 |title=Alice is Missing: An Interview with Spenser Starke (Hunters Entertainment) |url=https://www.enworld.org/threads/alice-is-missing-an-interview-with-spenser-starke-hunters-entertainment.672843/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=EN World D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews |language=en-US}}
Alice is Missing won the 2021 Gold ENNIE Awards for "Best Game," "Best Rules," and "Product of the Year."{{Cite web |last=Jarvis |first=Matt |date=2021-09-20 |title=ENnie Awards 2021 winners: Alice is Missing and Heart: The City Beneath named best RPGs of the year |url=https://www.dicebreaker.com/topics/ennie-awards/news/ennie-awards-2021-winners-rpg-heart-alice-is-missing |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Dicebreaker |language=en}} It also won the 2021 IndieCade award for tabletop design.{{Cite web |title=2021 AWARD WINNING GAMES – IndieCade Anywhere & Everywhere |url=https://anywhere.indiecade.com/2021-award-winners/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |language=en-US}}
Gameplay
Alice is Missing is designed for 3–5 players, with each player being assigned a character. The game begins with each player receiving a character card, detailing their character’s name and prompts about the character’s background, motivations, and relationship to Alice. The most experienced player is assigned the role of facilitator, and is tasked with running the game. The facilitator role is comparable to a Game Master, but participates in the game as a player character as well. The initial forty-five minutes are dedicated to setup; establishing characters, relationships, and important locations in the story. Following the setup, the actual game lasts for ninety minutes and is communication is held entirely through text messages on players’ cellphones. {{Cite web |title=Review of Alice is Missing: A Silent Role Playing Game - RPGnet RPG Game Index |url=https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19060.phtml |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=www.rpg.net}} The game is timed using an official “Animated Timer” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysOOFIOAy7A available on YouTube], which consists of music designed to match the atmosphere of the game.
The bulk of the gameplay consists of interacting with the other players as the assigned characters, both in a main group chat and in separate private conversations, with the objective being to figure out what happened to Alice. At certain times throughout the game, new evidence and information as to Alice’s whereabouts is revealed via evidence cards.
= Characters =
Alice is Missing has five main characters assigned to the players:
- Charlie Barnes– “The One Who Moved Away”
- Dakota Travis– “The Best Friend”
- Julia North– “The Secret Girlfriend”
- Jack Briarwood– “The Older Brother”
- Evan Holwell– “The One With The Crush”
The Silent Falls expansion introduced four new playable characters:
- Morgan Bridges– “The One Who Moved Away” (takes place of Charlie if used)
- Jordan Foster– “The Childhood Friend”
- Hollis Briarwood– “The Younger Sibling”
- Steven Yates– “The Ex-Boyfriend”
The player who takes on the facilitator role must play as either Charlie Barnes or Morgan Bridges.
Film adaptation
In 2022, Paramount Pictures announced plans to adapt Alice is Missing into a film. The upcoming film is set to be written by Spencer Starke and Becca Gleason, and produced by Ivan Van Norman and Christopher De La Rosa.{{Cite web |last=Goslin |first=Austen |date=2022-06-29 |title=A Critical Role publisher is producing an Alice is Missing movie |url=https://www.polygon.com/23188625/alice-is-missing-tabletop-game-movie-adaptation-critical-role |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}{{Rpg-stub}}