Night Café

“In my picture of the ‘Night Café’ I have tried to express the idea that the café is a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad or commit a crime.” -Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh

“…one of the ugliest pictures I have done…” -Also Vincent van Gogh, on ‘Night Café’

Night Café is a GM-less tabletop roleplaying game for 5 players where you guide the actions of the patrons of a café like the one described by Vincent van Gogh in his painting. Players will have a main playbook representing one of the aspects of the setting, but will portray multiple characters including the patrons themselves. The setting elements, the patrons and the obstacles they struggle with are generated by the players over the course of play. Night Café is inspired by games of belonging outside belonging and the principles of Powered by the Apocalypse. To play you need this zine, a single six-sided die, some index cards or scrap paper, a good amount of coins or beads, a few pens or pencils, and a single paintbrush.

This game touches on issues of mental illness, addiction, self-harm, and violence.