Babel, tower… By force!

???? Babel, the role-playing game where books come to life! Become a Biblionaut and explore imaginary worlds. A unique adventure!

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Babel

⚠️ Warning : In the interest of transparency towards our community, we would like to point out that this article reflects our personal opinion on the game. We have not received any compensation from the game publisher. We have independently acquired and tested the gamewithout commercial link with its publisher. The reviews presented here represent our honest and unbiased analysis of the game, based on our own experience.

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In short:

• A role-playing game where players embody “Biblionauts” capable of traveling through books
• Simple game system with a d10, allowing you to explore literary universes via the city of Babel
• An excellent game despite sometimes complex rules to learn and expensive supplements

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Have you ever dreamed of fighting alongside d'Artagnan or exploring the far reaches of the galaxy with Arthur Dent? Babel has just been released: so Brilliant Multiverse or big shipwreck in the Marvel DCU?

Babel is a contemporary fantasy role-playing game, which draws inspiration from many sources (which will be cited below). A surprising mixture from the XII Singes editions.

Back cover

Babel is a contemporary fantasy role-playing game, in which players embody Biblionauts. These are humans like you and me, but who have the unique ability to travel through books. I don't know about you, but for me, it was my childhood dream!

Yes, it's an original idea, and it's so good that I wondered why no one had thought of it before! But be careful, you will really get into the books, not just with your imagination, so at your own risk.

However, the adventures do not take place systematically in the books. The characters also evolve in our world. But be careful, certain elements (characters, monsters, objects, places, etc.) from books can sometimes escape and manifest themselves in the real world.

Last Action Hero

A Biblionaut is not automatically a librarian or even a fan of literature. There are many archetypes to help you create your character: the cursed writer, the Bibliomancer (books are magic!), the book hunter, the geek and… Even an Ex Libris! “An imagined”, taken from a book, he decided to fight in the ranks of humans!

The characters are characterized by their areas of expertise, special abilities (read between the lines, 7th sense), a book, a favorite place and their relationship with an NPC, but also their relationships: friends, competitors, etc. The PCs are members of a circle, basically your team, but there are also other external circles (Gutenberg network, Illuminati, Lodge 1900, etc.) with whom you have similar ideas… Or diametrically opposed ideas!

Your Circle will be co-created by all players around the table, who will take turns making choices. Just like your bedside book, which gives special powers to the circle!

In terms of the game rules, it's very simple for the players (a little less so for the GM): when using certain abilities, you must roll a 10 die to know the effectiveness of your action. Each ability having varying results. Simple and elegant!

A world without end

With almost 5,000 years of literature, the options available to you are simply gigantic. Babel still has the good idea of ​​having you also play in the real world, where your abilities are limited and of course where the stakes are radically different.

And not everything is permitted in a book, its strength can be greater than yours: only the creator of an imaginary world has the keys to mentally visiting it. But a Biblionaut is an individual capable of temporarily taking the place of the author, and surveying his work.

Temporarily therefore, and all the salt of the game is there! Be careful, you are an intruder, so you will have to play it smart so as not to end up in the belly of Moby Dick, in prison on the planet of the apes or even crushed by Falkor!

The courses of chaos

To travel to the worlds of the imagination, you will have to open a first door which leads from the real world to Babel, the city of 1000 doors, the one which can lead you to almost all fictional universes.

The first experiences of crossing can also happen by accident, during childhood. Which can be a simple background element or a mechanism for a scenario.

To pass through one of the doors of the Library of Babel, you will have to take “authority” over the world behind, otherwise you will simply be rejected! To acquire Authority, you must get closer to the author and the conditions in which he found himself when writing the book: his precepts, his notes, one of his personal objects, or even one of his secrets… This will gain you focus in order to increase your authority over the desired work.

And all this with the help of the archivists of Babel, who are not automatically benevolent or even competent! And beware of bookworms and other learned monkeys, who are particularly dangerous!

Every morning in the world

There is so much to say about Babel: We could still talk about works that collide, to create completely new atmospheres and diegeses! Mixtures that generally create disasters that you will have to avoid!

There are also little wonders like the Topoï, places where topos, ideas and characters live who have left their original books to evolve into something new: Les Moulins à Parole, Le Cimetière des Pas Si Illustres, Le Marais des Impasses and many other places to spice up your adventures!

Babel is rich and abundant, the universe itself is very complete, not to mention… And although you possibly have access to all the works of our vast world.

In addition, even if Babel does not offer an introductory scenario, it takes the time to suggest structures that will allow you to write your own scenarios.

Epilogue

I must admit that I expected good things from Babel, but it's even crazier than I imagined. The game system is simple and well thought out, and the universe is coherent and enjoyable.

However, two small negative points: the Basic Book is sufficient to play, but the supplements Lorem Ipsum, Ex Libris and Fables are really very big added values ​​for the GM. It's up to you to see in which configuration you want to play. And what price you want to pay. In addition, the rules require time to learn, it was a bit long, well for me anyway.

In short, I tell you bluntly: Babel is in my Top 5 best role-playing games of all time! It’s a unique work, which I highly recommend! My turbo favorite of 2024!

Babel, the final verdict

We liked:

• The originality of the concept which makes each library a portal to adventure
• The richness of the universe and the endless possibilities for exploration
• The simple but effective game system
• The possibility of mixing literary universes (Sherlock Holmes in the Hobbits, anyone?)

We liked less:

• The time it takes to learn the rules, which can be a little long for novices
• The fact that the supplements, although optional, really add something to the game (RIP our wallet)

It’s more for you if…

• Your bookcase looks more like the Tower of Babel than an Ikea piece of furniture
• Have you always dreamed of giving Dracula clothing advice?
• The idea of ​​having tea with Mr. Darcy while discussing strategy with Sun Tzu delights you

It's probably not for you if…

• Your last book read was “How to assemble a piece of furniture in 10 easy lessons”
• The idea of ​​meeting your favorite characters makes you anxious (we understand, no one is ready to face the disappointment of discovering that Gandalf has bad breath)
• You prefer games where the only rule is “roll the dice and hope you don’t die”

In conclusion, Babel is every adventure-thirsty bookworm's dream come true. Ready to turn your bookmark into a magic wand and dive into the unknown? Just a word of advice: avoid starting with “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” if you don’t know how to swim. Happy reading, uh, I mean, happy playing!

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