Best Friends
A role-playing game about girlfriends and all their petty hatreds.
Front • Back • Sample • Corrections
• Appendix
• Character Sheet [73 kB] updated (20 Feb 09)
• 15-min Demo Pack

Talk about it on the Forum

Winner of Best Modern Day Game (2007) at UKroleplayers.com

RPG.net review: 4 (Classy) / 4 (Meaty)
RPGnow review: 4

“Here are highlights from my 2006 Gen Con tribute pile. My objective here is to spread the love by making you want to know more about them, too... Best Friends. Teen queen bees vie for social supremacy. My fave element of this is character generation, where the other players vote on your various stats. Nice clean visual presentation.”
–Robin Laws

“Best Friends is one of the most genuinely innovative role-playing concepts I have come across in a considerable time.”
–Hendrik Little

“Even though the game is about conflict and hatred, it lends itself easily to a humorous, tongue-in-cheek tone.”
–Michael Erb, Graffiti

“I enjoyed the Best Friends demo immensely ... I also think that Best Friends will promote dialogue about exasperation with women (from both women and men) that doesn't have to become contempt, and how parody can be a source of insight rather than silliness.”
–Ron Edwards

“Best Friends may not be the most testosterone-filled RPG in the market, but dang it if it's not one of the most creative to come along in a long time. ... for the pure RPGer ... unusually polished for a new system.”
–Nathan Collins review: 4/5

“...we had an amazing game...”
–Jeff Lower, Sons of Kryos

“Teksten er underholdende med en stærk og tydelig forfatterstemme, som med overskud formidler reglerne klart og overskueligt. Det tager vel næppe mere end en halv time at læse bogen og der er ikke mange uklare steder. Specielt SL-delen er imponerende. De tips og tricks, som forfatteren beskriver er både velvalgte og godt forklarede. Faktisk er Best Friends værd at købe bare for denne sektion, som tydeligt viser, hvordan denne type spil skal køres.”
– Peter Dyring-Olsen, review: 4/5 (Danish)

Out of Print [was at IPR]

Download the APPENDIX for free
(716 kB PDF; this is additional material now included in the 4th printing).

Fourth Printing [cover]

• 64 b/w pages plus colour cover
• Digest sized (5.5" x 8.5")
• Matt Laminate cover

First to Third Printings [cover]

• 48 b/w pages plus colour cover
• Digest sized (5.5" x 8.5")

PDF on RPGNow and DTRPG
Price: $7.50

Availability
Apart from IPR and in many friendly hobby games stores.

The Sons of Kryos recorded a demo of the game at Gen Con 2006, and I've put some AP online too.

Actual Play threads (most useful ones marked ***):

• [Best Friends] Hard Times in ... Forge Thread (30 Aug 07)
• [Best Friends] Hard Times in Loveless Gulch ... Story Games Thread (30 Aug 07)
• [Best Friends] 80s Style (24 Apr 07; along with some answers from me)
• [Best Friends] Senate Frosh at JiffyCon (13 Nov 06; and here)
• *** [Best Friends] Thor is no damn good (30 Oct 06; follow up to Larceny...)
• [Best Friends] In a pub (16 Oct 06)
• [Best Friends] New to gaming... Bring It On! (6 Oct 06)
• *** [Best Friends] Larceny, hatred, and supportive actualization (10 Sep 06)
• [Best Friends] Gen Con 06 (23 Aug 06)
  

MP3 of my Gen Con 06 demo:

• Gen Con 06 Demo (Sons of Kryos)
• a copy of the MP3 file on my server
• a Story Games thread about the demo

General Interest Threads:

• Michael Erb's scenario: The Red Rose Society (29 Jul 07)
• Best Friends Blurb (2 Nov 06)

Adverts:

• Portrait
• Landscape