I ran this Systems Check back in November 2023… Better late than never, I hope?
Deathmatch Island doesn’t waste time. From the moment you start, you’re knee-deep in high-stakes reality TV chaos, trying to outwit, outlast, and outplay (yes, Survivor style) your fellow competitors. It’s fast, unpredictable, and leaves just enough room for strategy before things inevitably spiral into violence. If you like structured storytelling with plenty of room for improvisation, this one’s got you covered.
When it was first announced on Kickstarter and I backed it, I immediately had this vision of running an LRC wide campaign When it was first announced on Kickstarter and I backed it I immediately had this vision of running an LRC wide campaign open to anyone to join in and it would be played out in brackets of teams with maybe 2-3 Production Players running the lot through the 3 Islands into the end game. I pictured the necessity of player eliminations would whittle all players down to a single table, maybe with a mix of players.
Character Creation & Setup
Character creation is quick, messy, and full of surprises—exactly how it should be for a game like this. You roll up your occupation, skills, and some defining traits, which immediately set the tone. A gym teacher, a youth pastor, a coffee barista? Yep, that was our crew. The game leans into the absurdity of reality TV casting, and it works brilliantly.
What Stood Out:
- Quick and engaging: You’re not spending an hour crafting a backstory. You roll, you interpret, and suddenly you’re a contestant on Deathmatch Island.
- Random generation creates fun surprises: The combination of occupations and skills forces players into some delightfully weird roles.
- Encourages personality-driven play: The game doesn’t tell you who to be—you decide how to make your oddball contestant shine.
Where It Could Improve:
- Some roles felt weaker than others: A gym teacher can lean into physicality, but a business consultant? Harder to justify mechanically.
- Initial guidance is a bit lacking: Some players weren’t sure how their chosen role factored into the game at first.
Game Flow & Mechanics
The game is split into three phases, each escalating the tension.
Phase 1: Exploration and Social Play
This is the part where you pretend everything is fine. You make alliances, gather resources, and try to figure out who’s playing what angle. In our session, we got tangled up with the Reborn—a cult convinced the island was a path to enlightenment. Some of us played along, others tried to steal their supplies, and one poor soul just wanted a cup of coffee.
✅ Strong emphasis on improvisation—One player infiltrated the cult, while another ran a long con to gain their trust.
✅ Multiple approaches feel viable—You can talk your way in, sneak around, or just grab what you need and run.
❌ Some rules felt vague—We weren’t always sure how trust and resource management worked.
❌ Stakes weren’t always clear early on—Failure felt more like a speed bump than a real setback.
Phase 2: The Scramble
Now things heat up. Alliances shift, betrayals happen, and suddenly you’re not just surviving—you’re competing. Our session saw the Alpha Alliance throwing down the gauntlet, daring us to face them in open combat. Some took the bait, others schemed from the sidelines, and one guy hid in the bushes with a shotgun.
✅ The tension ramps up naturally—You feel the stakes rise as the game shifts gears.
✅ Different playstyles all feel valid—Whether you fight, manipulate, or avoid confrontation, the game accommodates.
❌ Rules for defending vs. seizing control got murky—It wasn’t always clear how these choices impacted the larger game.
❌ Juggling multiple factions got tricky—Between the Reborn, the Alpha Alliance, and others, keeping track of alliances was a challenge.
Phase 3: The Battle Royale
This is it. The final showdown. The Alpha Alliance wanted blood, and we gave it to them. Guns, last-minute betrayals, desperate sprints for safety—it had everything. The playground-turned-warzone setting was the perfect place for the finale, with contestants swinging from jungle gyms, ducking behind slides, and fighting for their lives.
✅ A chaotic, high-stakes finish—Every decision mattered, and you felt the weight of each move.
✅ Encourages wild, last-minute plays—A grappling hook escape? A fake surrender? All fair game.
❌ Tracking injuries and advancements was clunky—Some of us weren’t sure when or how to apply certain mechanics.
❌ Weapons needed more clarity—When to use them, what risks they carried—this wasn’t always obvious.
Why This Works as a Narrative Game
- Reality TV tropes are baked in: Confessionals, alliances, betrayals—it’s all there, and the game leans into it.
- Characters evolve naturally: Your contestant starts as a gimmick but becomes something much more by the end.
- The blend of humour and tension is spot on: It’s ridiculous, but it never stops being engaging.
A Wild, Thematic Ride
What’s Great:
✅ Highly thematic and immersive—From start to finish, it feels like a deadly reality TV show.
✅ Engaging and replayable—Between official content and community expansions, there’s a lot of variety.
✅ Encourages improvisation and teamwork—But still lets you play the game your way.
What Needs Work:
❌ Some mechanics need polish—Especially around trust, injuries, and resource use.
❌ Better guidance for GMs would help—Tracking factions and balancing encounters takes effort.
Deathmatch Island delivers a thrilling, unpredictable, and ridiculously fun experience. It’s got the energy of a reality show season finale—packed with twists, betrayals, and last-second heroics. With a bit more polish, it could easily hit a perfect score, but as it stands, it’s a solid 4/5. Play it, survive it, and hope you don’t get eliminated first.
Anyone is welcome to join a Systems Check session, and all sessions are beginner-friendly. Please join our Discord server to play and reach out to the GM when you sign up for a session.
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