Sep 2, 2026 · 34 min · 13 segments
Welcome to a special episode of Firebreathing Kittens. This is our rules discussion where we read feedback about the rules we played in the past few games, for summer 2026. This feedback is from our…
The episode Scamantha in the Sky featured the role-playing game system Nice Marines.
Our first review says, I really enjoyed Nice Marines.
It feels fitting with improv, the idea to make it worse in the scene.
If someone's doing something silly, don't solve the problem, make it worse.
That fits in with the rule set that makes it quite nice.
I can't think at the moment about a way to improve it.
It's very unique.
I do usually play Dungeons and Dragons and Mothership, so it was a bit nice not to have combat.
I quite enjoyed it.
Our second reviewer says, Honestly, Nice Marines is pretty fun.
I love the potential for dire consequences.
Success with catastrophic complications is new to me.
I would like it if there were some rules for combat.
Why give us weapons if there's no combat? As for the confidence dice, more variety or explicitness in what we do? I liked it overall.
It was fun chaos.
Our third reviewer says, Nice Marines was interesting because the system says all of your combat actions automatically succeed.
It's the social interactions that stress your character out.
That's a great premise for a game, and the mechanics did indeed lead to the characters bungling being nice to civilians or being heavy-handed when repairing things.
Our last reviewer said, I really enjoyed how roleplay heavy this Nice Marines game was.
That is right up my alley.
I do agree that there should be at least some kind of combat mechanics, if it's needed in a situation.
Why give equipment and weapons with no chance of combat? I think it would enrich the situation.
The rules were pretty simple and easy to learn.
One page adventures are always fun.
The episode Scamantha in the Sky featured the role-playing game system Nice Marines.
Our first review says, I really enjoyed Nice Marines.
It feels fitting with improv, the idea to make it worse in the scene.
If someone's doing something silly, don't solve the problem, make it worse.
That fits in with the rule set that makes it quite nice.
I can't think at the moment about a way to improve it.
It's very unique.
I do usually play Dungeons and Dragons and Mothership, so it was a bit nice not to have combat.
I quite enjoyed it.
Our second reviewer says, Honestly, Nice Marines is pretty fun.
I love the potential for dire consequences.
Success with catastrophic complications is new to me.
I would like it if there were some rules for combat.
Why give us weapons if there's no combat? As for the confidence dice, more variety or explicitness in what we do? I liked it overall.
It was fun chaos.
Our third reviewer says, Nice Marines was interesting because the system says all of your combat actions automatically succeed.
It's the social interactions that stress your character out.
That's a great premise for a game, and the mechanics did indeed lead to the characters bungling being nice to civilians or being heavy-handed when repairing things.
Our last reviewer said, I really enjoyed how roleplay heavy this Nice Marines game was.
That is right up my alley.
I do agree that there should be at least some kind of combat mechanics, if it's needed in a situation.
Why give equipment and weapons with no chance of combat? I think it would enrich the situation.
The rules were pretty simple and easy to learn.
One page adventures are always fun.
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