[matthijs]

Yes, I sort of assumed that was the case - hiding stuff from other players is an analogy to the secrets the characters keep. For me, personally, it didn't work out that way; whether by conditioning or genetics, using conflict mechanics and numbers tends to get me out of story mode and into tactics mode (and by now, I've played enough games to be pretty certain that it's not just because I don't grok the rules, as I used to think).

I do find it interesting that this way of doing things - having relatively "heavy" mechanics for conflict play - is such a pervasive trend in U. S. indie games, while in other gaming subcultures it's almost nonexistent.