Lights Out

All that's certain is that everyone dies in the dark

Lights Out is a roleplaying game designed to be played as a performance in front of a live audience.

Every time you perform Lights Out, the story you create will be different. But each performance will have a few things in common:

• It’ll last an hour.
• The stakes and the tension will escalate steadily throughout.
• The characters will strive to discover hope in a dark and terrifying situation.
• All the characters will be dead by the end.

Proven to create a dramatic performance

Merely Roleplayers and Blackshaw Theatre Company debuted Lights Out at the Pleasance Theatre for the London Horror Festival 2021. Head to the sidebar to play the audio from that performance.

“…the use of candles provides a suitably spooky atmosphere, and the team’s dynamic and confidence enraptures you in their narrative. Lights Out is thrillingly unconventional, sits in a sweet spot of tension and comedy, and is absolutely worth your time” - The Spy in the Stalls

Formats

When you buy Lights Out for $10.00 or more, you get access to:

• a .epub version of the rulebook, readable on desktops, laptops, mobiles and most e-readers
• a .mobi version that works on older Amazon Kindle e-readers
• a simple printer-friendly .pdf version

Unlockable formats

Once I sell 30 copies of Lights Out at $10.00 or more each, I will hire a layout designer to produce a fully designed .pdf version. This will be available to everyone who's already bought Lights Out, for no extra charge, and will become part of the package for anyone who buys Lights Out from that point onwards.

Are there other formats that would be useful to you? Let me know in the comments below!

Permission to perform

• Playing at home with a group of friends? Go ahead - all you need is the rulebook. Tell us how it went in the comments below!
• Performing for free or for a good cause? Please credit Matt Boothman as the author of the rules and Foggy Outline as the publisher, and ideally the rest of the development team as well if you can (credits are at the beginning of the rulebook).
• Performing for profit? Please email me for permission and to negotiate the terms of the licence. Purchasing a copy of the rulebook does not automatically grant permission to perform Lights Out for a paying audience.

Acknowledgements

Lights Out is inspired in part by Ten Candles, a roleplaying game of tragic horror by Stephen Dewey of Cavalry Games.