You’re probably all sick of me talking about Snakes on a Plane, so today I will be talking about Snakes on a Plane.
There is one aspect of the Snakes on a Plane roleplaying game in particular that elevates it to the level of a classic game. During character creation, the players must write a one sentence story that explains what they hope to accomplish while on the plane. Examples include “Snuck onto the plane to pitch my script to a producer” and “Escorting a witness to testify in a federal trial”. Alone, these short descriptions mean very little. What makes the game so special is a rule found further along.
Once the time remaining elapses, the plane arrives at its destination. Everyone who accomplished the task stated in their Story is a WINNER. Everyone who did not accomplish that task is BITTEN BY A SNAKE and DIES.
It seems obvious that the primary focus of Snakes on a Plane would be snakes on a plane, but the snakes on the plane are in fact only complications in resolving the main objectives of the characters. Unlike most goals set during a roleplaying game, these objectives are clear and have a very specific time frame. You can be the greatest damn snake fighter on the planet, but if you don’t reconcile with your estranged wife and children before the plane lands no amount of snake fighting skills are going to change your fate. You will die.
This rule creates a number of enjoyable situations. If the objective of the player characters involve other people on the plane, then they not only have to look out for themselves but also have to protect others, even if that goes against their usual selfish instincts. In addition, this gives the SnakeMaster the opportunity to create multiple obstacles to place in the player characters’ paths. If the player character has to steal microfilm from an enemy spy onboard the plane, he may have to cross a snake-infested area to reach his objective. Or perhaps the enemy spy has already hidden the microfilm somewhere on the plane, and now the player character must get the information from the enemy spy while also keeping that enemy spy from perishing at the fangs of the snakes. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Any result other than a clear success in their objectives means certain doom for the characters when that plane lands. The possibilities for screwing your players are endless.
Another thing that draws me to this twist is how it adds another meaning to the term Snakes on a Plane. The number one definition for Snakes on a Plane at Urban Dictionary describes the phrase as follows.
1. snakes on a plane
A simple existential observation that has the same meaning as “Whaddya gonna do?” or “Shit Happens”. Taken from the upcoming Samuel L. Jackson movie of the same name, and immortilised by screenwriter Josh Friedman on his blog post of Wednesday, August 17, 2005.
Guy 1: (irate) Dude, you just ran into the back of my SUV!
Guy 2: (calm) Snakes on a plane man. Snakes on a plane.
Metaphorically, by the rules of the roleplaying game the characters are already experiencing a “snakes on a plane” moment before there are any actual snakes on the plane. With the release of the actual snakes on the actual plane, they must deal not only with the mundane “snakes on a plane” but also the literal snakes on a plane, both of which are equally deadly.
This is perhaps the most damning observation on the challenges of modern life we have seen this century.
