In the far reaches of the PPC General Store, beyond the shelves we know, something lurked. Dust-covered, lit only by flickering fluorescence, it waited for a foolhardy adventurer, an outstretched hand, the curiousity that would kill not only the cat, but the dog and budgie too. It was patient; it could wait for years, decades if it had to-

"Oh, cool!"



Agent Kaitlyn grabbed the box off the shelf and waved it at her partner. "This is like that film, right? The Robin Williams one? I love that."

Agent Selene paused in her search through the clothing section (she refused to say what she was looking for). "I think there's a sequel now," she said. "A computer game or something."

"Well, this isn't that." Kaitlyn turned the box over and studied the picture. "Definitely the original. I'm getting it!"

"As long as you don't expect me to play it with you." Selene pushed a rack of coats aside and peered through. "Oh, someone stuck a lamppost and some fake snow back here, how droll... Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn was already gone, heading for the tills with a determined expression. Five minutes later, she was on her way to the Cafeteria - and in the way of things at HQ, a crowd of curious and foolhardy agents was already forming behind her...

---

Let's play Jumanji! Here's our gameboard:



We have two teams in play, and since red and blue always get the attention, I've made them purple and orange. There are also two pieces already on the board, mysteriously fixed in place: yellow is on its space 11, and teal on its space 17 (which is also orange's space 24). The board in the picture isn't exactly symmetrical, but for the purposes of our game, each track crosses another on its spaces 17, 22, 24, and 31. You cross the player to your right on the first two, and the player to your left on the latter two. Purple and orange will never cross (if they stay in their tracks).

The goal is simple: be the first team to reach space 33, ie the centre. On your turn you roll two six-sided dice, and move the number of spaces given. As the board says, doubles gets another turn. Play goes clockwise, if there are ever more than two players.

But... this is Jumanji. It was never as simple as that.

To take a turn:

-Post a story segment reacting to what's just happened. Don't write other people's characters except as part of a crowd (eg, 'everyone ran away' or 'the Purple team were engulfed by bees'). Exceptions: free-to-use characters are, y'know, free to use, and for the purposes of this game only, anyone can write Agent Kaitlyn. Ultimately, someone on the active team should get hold of the dice and roll them.

-Give the two-line poem which appears in the middle of the board after the piece is moved. This (and more particularly its effects) will be for the next player to react to.

-Give the current state of the board and whose turn is up.

A given agent should stay on the same team unless a reason to switch crops up, but a Boarder can play agents on multiple teams. Try not to monopolize the game though! Permission is not required. (And I'm only starting the game off and participating; there's no plan, so do whatever comes to mind.)

---

Turn 1 [purple]

"A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind." Kaitlyn bounced on her knees, grinning wildly. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Timbledim, a nurse from Medical's Emergency Division, peered over her shoulder. "Is it really a good idea, though?" he asked, looking as though he wished he had a beard to fidget with or spectacles to polish. "I don't like the look of those stuck pieces..."

"It'll be fine!" Kaitlyn picked up the dice and shook them; they made a hollow sound as they rattled in her hand. "It's just a board game, right? What could possible go wrong-"

A collective groan rose from the assembled agents, and Kaitlyn scowled at the lot of them. "That's worse than usual for this place, I was going to say; honestly, how genre-unsavvy do you think I am?"

"Hanging a lampshade on it doesn't make it less dangerous," Agent Aella muttered, then raised her voice. "I said, hanging a lampshade-"

"No need for the RDR here!" Kaitlyn winked at her to take the edge off, then flicked her wrist and sent the dice spinning across the board. "And here... we... go!"

The ivory cubes came down with a click: a three and a six. The purple piece slid smoothly along its path. And in the crystal at the centre of the board, ghostly words appeared:

If you sit upon the ground
Beware what underneath is found...

[Purple: 9. (Yellow: 11) Orange: 0. (Teal: 17). Orange up.]

hS