Full disclosure: I was a D6 x D6 Kickstarter backer, and have had more time with this system than the wider public.

D6 x D6 accomplishes what it sets out to do beautifully: it's a simple but strong system that can easily be adapted to any setting, with basic conflict resolution mechanics that feel designed to keep the story moving. The closest analogues are to something between Robin Laws' Drama System, in that occupations and skills are dependent on the individual game setting; and World, which keeps the focus on fast and fun narration. Players don't have as much agency as in World, and the rules are a little more dice-oriented, but the speed of play keeps the story rocking and rolling.

Character creation is simple: choose one primary attribute, choose an occupation, and choose Focused skills and Unfocused skills. Focused skills are skills the character knows, and unfocused skills are skills the character is in the process of learning. The more Focused skills you have, the higher your Focus number - which is the main number you compare die rolls against. The trick is, you generally want a lower Focus number, so becoming a "jack of all trades" with a lot of Focus skills means you're going to have a harder time accomplishing tasks than if you were super-specialized in one or two skills, but, you have the opportunity to use your Focus skills more often, so there's some risk-reward in character creation.

It also serves as a built-in safeguard against power gaming. :)

Gameplay is generally fast and fluid. The combat rules can seem a little bogged down with details - I suspect because they're designed to allow for the use of miniatures and maps, which introduces all the little wargamery nuances that systems like *World do away with in favor of keeping things moving along. However D6 X D6 strikes a good balance between mechanics and narration, and if you're like me, you can simply ignore the mechanics that don't work for your particular group.

I found the layout to be logical and the rules quickly explained in a way that makes sense. You're not going to do a lot of flipping around looking for things. The art isn't AAA-quality, but I've seen far worse on Kickstarters that made 10x the amount that D6 X D6 did. It does offer a nice, wide range of cross-genre images, clearly designed to inspire GMs (or Game Hosts, in D6's terminology) to experiment with different settings.

Lester Smith has created a solid, universal system that can withstand pretty much anything you throw at it. Recommended.

While the layout of the book and the artwork found inside is not the most impressive I've seen, the rules themselves are simple and effective.

The game really shines in its versatility, as shown by the extensive list of sample campaign settings. The rules are basic and flexible enough to adapt to almost any setting, although I would say that there is a certain bias towards modern and sci-fi. Combat rules are brutal, making fights feel visceral and short. Character creation is simple and quick, which plays to the game's strength as a one-shot or short campaign system. The rules themselves, which revolve around multiplying the result of two six-sided dice and comparing it to a static "Focus" attribute, are a bit unorthodox. That is not to say that they are complicated, though. I understood the basics after the first read and the following game session cleared up any remaining confusion.

My one complaint would be the layout and art direction of the book. The layout feels cramped, with a thick and dark border along the edges. The artwork varies greatly in quality and style. You will find images of fairies, modern-day marines, and ancient hieroglyphs. I found that this dilutes the themes to a point where it confuses the reader more than inspires him.

All-in-all, if you are looking for a simple system that offers easy to learn rules and pick-up-and-play campaigns, D6xD6 Core is for you.

D6xD6 RPG Core Book is a hot mess.

Layout -- The rules for playing do not jump out at you, nor do they inspire you to play the game. The artwork is a hodge-podge jumbled pile of incoherent Photo-shopped photograph bits. (Some people think that they can put tomatoes, cheese, bread, and pepperoni into a blender and mix it into a pizza -- this is what D6xD6 seems to be like as far as the Layout is concerned.) Is this supposed to be a Universal system, or do you stick with Cthulu themes? I am confused when I look at this book, and confusion is bad in graphic design.

Text -- Text is satisfactory. Fonts are uninspired, bland. It does the job, I guess. There is no clear explanation of how Focus works: it almost seems that the less Focus you have, the better you are to accomplish tasks. I may have this wrong, but like I said: this work is confusing. I want to play games - not reinvent the wheel and muddle through uninteresting text and confusion to learn a new system.

Game Play -- Never even tried it, so I don't really know.

Compared to others like it -- How do you compare garbage to trash? I hate to be so harsh, I like to give good reviews - but what I hate worse is spending good money for things like this. I feel like it is a waste of even 2.99 in whatever currency it is charged. With all due respect, Mr. Smith: go back to the Drawing Board on this layout and game. The concept is a GOOD concept, but how it is executed here ruins the concept.

Son of Monster Con is a standalone expansion for Monster Con that works with the original game but does not require it. Below is my review of the original but it is entirely applicable for this standalone expansion.

I was fortunate enough to have the game's designer (Lester Smith) teach me how to play this game at Con on the Cob 2013. What I like about Monster Con is that the rules are very easy to explain to new players. The simple trick-taking mechanic is easy to pick up for anyone that has played traditional card games like Hearts or Euchre but the thematic elements and new mechanics like the monster abilities are engaging. I find this is great gateway game, particularly for groups of people with varying levels of affinity for specialist games.

Monster Con: Cthulhu Pack is a standalone expansion for Monster Con that works with the original game but does not require it. Below is my review of the original but it is entirely applicable for this standalone expansion.

I was fortunate enough to have the game's designer (Lester Smith) teach me how to play this game at Con on the Cob 2013. What I like about Monster Con is that the rules are very easy to explain to new players. The simple trick-taking mechanic is easy to pick up for anyone that has played traditional card games like Hearts or Euchre but the thematic elements and new mechanics like the monster abilities are engaging. I find this is great gateway game, particularly for groups of people with varying levels of affinity for specialist games.

Return of Monster Con is a standalone expansion for Monster Con that works with the original game but does not require it. Below is my review of the original but it is entirely applicable for this standalone expansion.

I was fortunate enough to have the game's designer (Lester Smith) teach me how to play this game at Con on the Cob 2013. What I like about Monster Con is that the rules are very easy to explain to new players. The simple trick-taking mechanic is easy to pick up for anyone that has played traditional card games like Hearts or Euchre but the thematic elements and new mechanics like the monster abilities are engaging. I find this is great gateway game, particularly for groups of people with varying levels of affinity for specialist games.

I was fortunate enough to have the game's designer (Lester Smith) teach me how to play this game at Con on the Cob 2013. What I like about Monster Con is that the rules are very easy to explain to new players. The simple trick-taking mechanic is easy to pick up for anyone that has played traditional card games like Hearts or Euchre but the thematic elements and new mechanics like the monster abilities are engaging. I find this is great gateway game, particularly for groups of people with varying levels of affinity for specialist games.

Another excellent game from Lester and his peeps! Fun, fast paced, while still requiring some strategy in card play. I recommend this game to fill in free time at a con, for sure!

This is a fast paced and fun game. I recommend it!

This is a well thought out and fun game. Even my non-gamer wife likes to play it!

Simple and exciting !!! Don't look down on the simplicity. I highly recommend this game and this is a nice addition

Simple and fun game !!! Don't look down on the simplicity. I highly recommend this game.

Simple and exciting !!! Don't look down on the simplicity. I highly recommend this game.

This game is fast paced and fun! The rules are simple and game play is intuitive.

Excellent, fast-paced hand-to-hand combat game. It's a blast and plays very quickly. Highly recommended!