DEVIL TOWN is a tabletop game inspired by Portland’s veteran raucus Folk-Rockers, The Builders and the Butchers. It was created by LONGTAIL GAMES. It can be ordered here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/longtailgames/devil-town-the-builders-and-the-butchers-rpg.
The Builders and the Butchers are releasing their seventh album this Spring, No Tomorrow. The album was produced and recorded by multi-instrumentalist bandmate Ray Rude at his own Laundry Room Studio. Here’s more about their tabletop game:
Welcome to DEVIL TOWN—Anyplace, USA— where the people are cursed, the sky is dry, and something old has risen.
You are caught in a single, ominous night that will not let go. You are not safe. Not from what stalks the grave-road, not from each other, and not from yourself.
You may live through it. But you will not leave unchanged.
Devil Town is a storytelling games based on the lyrics and music of The Builders and The Butchers.
Players will:
- Create small-town characters with nothing to lose
- Build a web of doomed relationships
- Deal with The Devil
- Gamble it all for just one card
The latest version of the rulebook is available online.
The game can be played online via the digital version.
Devil Town is a storytelling game, which means it’s the indie sibling to games like Dungeons and Dragons.
You and a couple of buddies will sit around and collectively tell a story to each other.
But Devil Town isn’t about magic swords and little plastic elves and math problems (although I love all of those things).
It’s about:
- Being down so bad you commit arson
- Growing up poor as hell in a place you hate
- Old cars breaking down at the worst possible moment
- Small town myths and ghost stories you really want to be true
- Ravens and vampires and curses and skeletons and trains to hell
- As much blood and gloom as your table of buddies want to incorporate
You don’t need any dice, maps or minis.
Everything you need to play Devil Town comes in the box:
- Playing cards with the lyrics of The Builders and The Butchers
- Fate cards to help create characters, and bind them together
- A teeny-tiny rulebook with examples of play
Devil Town is played over three rounds, recounting a single, fateful night from sunset to daybreak.
The mechanics take inspiration from Poker and Fiasco.
At the beginning of the game, players place fate cards between everybody at the table, building a linked network of (probably) doomed characters.
During each round, players take turns either establishing or resolving a scene involving their character. The Devil is an antagonistic role, and is involved in every scene.
Players use lyrics stamped on their hand of poker cards to inspire their scenes.
The active player can always decide to make a deal with the Devil by simply passing a card from their hand to them, and drawing a new one from the deck. The Devil is bound to accept the deal, and in exchange, the scene will change, improving for the character.
But be warned, every card given to the Devil grants them more power!
After the final round, players reveal their poker hands to see who has beaten the Devil at his own game—and whose end will fall into his hands.
In order to simplify this project, only backers in the United States will be able to receive ship additional merch rewards. Those orders will be shipped directly from The Builders and The Butchers HQ in the USA.
For backers in the rest of the world, only the base game will be available.
After the campaign, you will receive an email from Cardboard Monster to collect shipping. To have the best chance of receiving your reward according to the predicted timeline, please complete this stage as soon as possible.
The projected shipping rate is not a fixed price, and may change as we get closer to fulfillment.
- USA (Game only) [$9USD]
- Rest of World (Game only) [$12USD]
- All other rewards [tbc]
It’s been four years since Portland, Oregon’s The Builders and the Butchers released their sixth studio album, Hell & High Water. That album received rave reviews and led to sold out shows – including opening for The Dead South at 3,000 capacity venues across the U.S.
The Builders and the Butchers’ vocalist / guitarist / songwriter Ryan Sollee states, “it’s been an unexpected privilege to create and perform live music for over 20 years as a ramshackle band. We never could have imagined the cultural, political and social changes that have occurred in that time. Through the rapid deterioration of human connection, the denial of environmental destruction, and inept greed based leadership we still find joy. We find connection through creation. For us, making and performing music is a way to bring humanity to a world bent on destroying it.”
The band has had over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify for years now. Several of their videos have millions of views on You Tube – including “Bringin’ Home the Rain” with 19 million views. They are well known for their energized live performances and have dedicated fans that travel long distances to see them play.
“As our lives become more digital, people are sharing physical spaces less and less. The creation and performance of live music is an ever crucial, consistent, and communal space. In these spaces people can share the sounds, sights and smells of what it’s like to be moved in unison and feel connection,” says Sollee.
With glowing album and show reviews coming from Pitchfork and The Wall Street Journal, among others, their brand of folk-rock is best served live. Audiences can look forward to lively performances, where fourth wall is broken and the audience is able to participate in call and response sing-a-longs. Sometimes the band will hand out instruments for fans to play, and they’ll even get down off stage to perform right on the floor.
“The songs for No Tomorrow were written with our cultural changes and challenges in mind. The overarching message is that we can find hope in each other and still lead lives full of joy and creativity even when systems and leaders fail us. We believe we have much more that unites us, than divides us and that music is one of the best ways to create a connected shared experience for people. Live rock and roll is a church for the non-religious and religious alike. We would love to see you at a show, shake your hand, give you a hug, and talk with you. We are forever grateful to you: our strange, unique, amazing fans. We are thrilled to share this album with you and hope it brings some light into the darkness,” remarks Sollee.
“The members of The Builders And The Butchers have specialized in a kind of white-knuckle Americana: Their acoustic folk-rock sound is shot through with nervy, hellfire-and-brimstone intensity. The Portland-born band’s hometown brethren in The Decemberists provide a useful reference point — singer Ryan Sollee has a wide-open bellow and a gift for vivid imagery.” – Stephen Thompson, NPR Music
“The Builders and the Butchers make records the way the bards used to pass on stories. They’re poetic and captivating, and do to songwriting what Clint Eastwood does to movies,” and this [new record] follows the same, narrative-driven path.” – Consequence of Sound
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Album buy link: https://badmanrecordingco.com/products/the-builders-and-the-butchers-no-tomorrow-pre-order-1
