Stephen Dewey
Cavalry Games
2015
tabletop role-playing game, horror, tragedy
2-4 hours
role-playing, storytelling
Ten Candles is a horror tragedy tabletop role-playing game by Stephen Dewey. No characters survive the play session. It uses fire as a game mechanic. In the dark, players literally burn character trait cards and use ten tea candles as a countdown timer to the end of the game.
Reception
Ten Candles was nominated for 2016 ENNIE Awards in four categories: Best Game, Best Rules, Best Electronic Product, and Product of the Year. Charlie Hall for Polygon recommended Ten Candles for Halloween parties and compared its building tension to the game Dread. Jess Weatherbed for The Verge recommended it as \"the scariest experience I have had across any RPG.\" A Wired article about the use of games in mental health care discussed how a player\'s experience of Ten Candles helped them cope with mortality. Rebekah Krum for Comic Book Resources listed Ten Candles as one of the ten most immersive tabletop games and one of ten TTRPGs perfect for the Halloween season.
