Imagining Games is launching a Kickstarter to fund the development and production of a tabletop roleplaying game based on the Chew comics series. The recently announced tabletop roleplaying game uses the Forged in the Dark game engine and will involve investigating food-related cases, balancing personal issues with solving the case, and tracking relationships and campaign progress on a shared corkboard. Play phases are narrative-driven, as the game system uses a “fiction-first” style of storytelling over game mechanics. Chew: The Roleplaying Game‘s Kickstarter will launch on October 5th, and TTRPG fans can check out the game at Origins, Gen Con, or Gamehole Con.
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Written by Rob Layman and illustrated by Rob Guillory, Chew was a dark comedy series set in a world where chicken was banned for consumption after a catastrophic bird flu swept across the world. The main character Tony Chu was a member of the Special Crimes Division of the US Food & Drug Administration and solved various food-related cases with bizarre twists. Chu and many of the other characters in Chew are cibopaths, people with food-related abilities. Chu’s specific ability allows him to learn the history of anything he eats. Unfortunately for him, this ability is invaluable during investigations, especially if a victim or criminal’s body part was left behind. Chew won multiple Eisner Awards before ending in 2016. Laymanย launched a new spinoff series following Tony’s sister titled Chu back in 2020, which is also published by Image Comics.
Chew: The Roleplaying Game marks the second tabletop adaptation of the comic book. IDW Games released Chew: Cases of the FDA back in 2015, which involved players trying to solve cases using matching colored cards. Several TV and movie studios have also attempted to adapt Chew into a live-action or animated project, but none have come to fruition. At one point Stephen Yuen and Felicia Day were attached to an animated version of Chew, but that project eventually stalled out.
Chew: The Roleplaying Game‘s Kickstarter will launch on October 5th. You can sign up to Imagining Games’ newsletter for more details.
