Good humour takes proper setup and precise timing: Leading up to and delivering a punchline is an art form of its own which is harder to master than most people tend to believe. Yet it is one of the most important skills that separates the amateur jokester from the true comedian. Of course this is also what makes or brakes any video game that tries to make its audience laugh and it is especially the adventure game genre that has a tradition of delivering prime examples to both the best and the worst in comedy. One of the former is Alias 'The Magpie', a piece of interactive fiction telling the story of a hilarious art heist in a masterful way.
I've never been into trading card games, as I believe they are a total commercial rip-off. Buy to win. After playing this one, I see the strategic appeal, however. The player takes part as a wild card participant in an intergalactic tournament. Nobody would bet a dime on him. Round by round, he challenges opponents and with that, the status quo of the ruling society (or something…).
Each card played has a specific effects and the effects add up per turn. Some harming your opponent, some boosting yourself – until you finally (hopefully) gain the upper hand to certain victory.
Rebel Planet was the 18th gamebook of its line. The plot revolves around the agent of an underground movement which aims at liberating humanity from under the oppression of the Arcardians.
What is it about?
Humans had colonized a couple of planets in their solar system before they were swallowed by the Arcadian empire in a 12-year-war.
An interesting facet of this fairly detailed background plot: the humans aren't completely innocent of their own fate. Strictly speaking, they were the original aggressors against the Arcadians by entering that race's home planet in their own striving for expansion. Only as a reaction to that, the Arcadians actually began constructing their own space ships.