Nice review Graham. Full disclosure, I was one of the play group, and enjoyed it a lot, enough to make me want to play a longer form game (I'm generally a sucker for short-form and one-offs).
To that end, I have a question, for
The Scottish Designer (it's bad luck to say
his name round these parts) or any wandering acolytes...
On repeated play, does the game demand a particular atmosphere or style of play? In our session, all the PC's were aloof and professional, the NPC's generic and unknowable, and the game ended with the situation making less sense than when it started.
And don't get me wrong, this was great.
However, I suspect there are hazards in trying to extend this specific kind of play indefinitely, and wonder whether the style of play needs to coalesce into some kind of more conventional conspiracy/mystery approach at some eventual stage. Or perhaps even if the Blue City stays unknowable, some smaller aspects should become graspable and resolvable: you can't fight the city, but you can try and find The Orphan a safe place to grow up.
Does anyone have any experience of Lacuna repeated play?