In times of desperation and suffering, letters can be powerful things. They can be records of both the pain of the moment and the lingering spark of hope that resides in people’s hearts, showing that even in the darkest moments, wonderful things can be born. Beyond the Barricades is a TTRPG that taps into this, asking players to embody two soldiers who, despite being on opposite sides of a conflict, have fallen in love and are doing their best to maintain communication via a secret letter-writing campaign.
Beyond the Barricades is a letter-writing TTRPG for 2 players. Naturally, before the game starts, the players must spend some time creating their characters and the situation they are currently in. To do this, Beyond the Barricades has the players work together to answer a series of questions, which cover everything from what sparked the central conflict and where the current battlefield is, to what defines your character’s personality and what event caused your two opposing warriors to fall in love.
A TTRPG Of Letters
After this, the letter-exchanging phase of the game begins. This phase sees each player exchange four letters before creating a final letter that concludes the story.
However, the letter exchange isn’t totally freeform; each one has a specific structure. The character receiving the letter spends some time thinking (and writing) about how the letter was recovered. The other player picks a theme from the included theme list and then writes a letter using that theme as a jumping-off point. Once the letter is written, they send it to the other player.
As this process continues, both players will create their keepsake. In Beyond the Barricades, the keepsake is an object made from, or inspired by, fragments of the various letters you’ve sent and received, acting as a visual representation of how your characters’ relationship has changed over time.
After both players have sent and received letters four times, players move on to the final phase: the last letter. The players should discuss if they want the game to have a happy, tragic, or bittersweet ending before breaking off again to write and trade one final letter that sums up the characters’ experience during the game. Once this is done, the players swap their keepsakes to end the experience.
A Game That Captures Pain And Beauty
Beyond the Barricades is a really memorable letter-writing TTRPG. My favourite element of the game is the keepsake system. Having players make an active record of their story helps players flesh out their characters and keep track of the story while they’re waiting for the next letter to arrive. Plus, the keepsake trade at the end is a really moving and fascinating experience, as you get to see how your intentions and ideas were interpreted by the other person (in both of my test games, the other person pulled out and focused on lines that I didn’t really think about when writing, which was really interesting).
I also love the letter trading structure. While it may seem a little convoluted on paper, it works really well in practice. Not only does it keep the game moving, but having a phase where the receiving player thinks about how they find the letter encourages the players to actively flesh out their character and engage in active world building, something that enhances the game’s atmosphere and helps players write more moving and in-depth letters.
Another nice touch is the fact that the game comes with two versions. The default version has a fancy, calligraphy-inspired font that really suits the game’s vintage war-letters theme. However, there is also a simple version that changes the main font to a simple block one, which is less thematic but much easier to read, making it perfect for people who struggle to read the original font or are reading on a screen that renders it poorly.
If you plan to play this game, I suggest following the game’s suggestion and exchanging the letters via email or actual mail (if you have a decent, trustworthy mail system in your area).
While the experience is fine in-person, the friction of not being able to see the other people (which allows you to get more information from them by looking at their body language or by talking as you write) and having to wait an unknown time for each letter really adds to the game’s atmosphere. Which, in turn, makes the emotional beats hit so much harder. Plus, this separation also makes the final keepsake trade all the more impactful, as it means you won’t see it until it’s finished.
Similarly, I would suggest following the game’s suggestion of having the game run “over several months,” if you can do so (either by using real-world mail systems or waiting before reading and replying to letters), as this also would enhance the game’s atmosphere and make each of the letters hit harder.
Beyond the Barricades is a wonderful letter-writing TTRPG that really captures the pain of people ripped apart by circumstance. The designer clearly put a lot of thought into the game’s structure. Thus, while players have total narrative freedom, the structure gently pushes them towards emotionally raw and moving moments. Meaning that any Beyond the Barricades game is sure to linger in your mind longer after you finish playing.
