We enjoy pitching/storytelling games but we often approach them with some trepidation. They tend to be party games that heavily depend on the energy and enthusiasm of the players. That's fine, but often they are spiced up with content that makes them NSFW (Not Safe For Work) and even if the game itself doesn't include risqué cards or scenarios, some of the players themselves end up introducing elements that others find offensive. JC Calciano's Casting Call manages to avoid those pitfalls, and it manages it by keeping the players on script.
The premise of the game is that you are actors setting out to become Hollywood stars. Each round, one player takes on the role of the director. They draw a 'screenplay' card which will have two alternative lines of dialogue on it. They choose one and then all the other players 'audition' by reading out that line. The director chooses two of the actors for callback. The director draws a callback card that specifies the genre of the movie and gives the callback actors a choice of scenes to give context to the line, and the two actors have to deliver a performance... A star card is awarded for the best performance.
It's a simple idea but it's well executed in this compact very playable package. The rules indicate 4-8 players, and the game isn't really playable with fewer than four but you could push the player count above eight. The idea is that the game is won when a player collects three star cards but there's a bit of further jiggery pokery because all the players have a hidden 'Do You Know Who I Am!' card that gives them a single-use action, which could include stealing a star card, and not all the star cards are keepers: there's some further story on the reverse of each and several incorporate a 'however...' that leaves the actor without a star card to add to their score. This does introduce a significant luck factor into Casting Call but that shouldn't bother you if, like us, you play for the fun of the game rather than mithering overly about winners and losers. Casting Call is a winner, and Oscar acceptance speech thanks must go to publishers Cinema175 for putting together this entertaining package.