“Call me ‘Snake.’”

gregorymaness

Jun 5, 2025

3 min read

During a recent “weekend” away, I went shopping at a game store in Ottawa (Illinois, not Canada) and picked up a copy of the party game, Stupid Deaths: The Frightfully Funny Game. It should be fun to play and I look forward to breaking it out when I have guests or on a date night. But truth be told, I usually spend most of my time in such game stores looking at the tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) and associated materials and accessories. This last trip to a game store was no different. I saw a number of TTRPGs, most of which I was at least somewhat familiar with as I had heard and/or read about them. One such game is Everyday Heroes by Evil Genius Games. The game allows you and some family members and/or friends to role-play as characters in some pretty iconic adventure movie settings or a cinematic setting of your own design. The rules of the system are evidently based upon the popular system used to play Dungeons & Dragons or D&D. There are a number of movie settings from which to choose. For me, if I were picking one of the campaign settings in which to play, I am choosing Escape from New York. If you are familiar with the movie, the title of this blog post was probably a good hint as to the setting that I would try first.

Some people might think that the Escape from New York setting might be too limiting, as the film ends shortly after Kurt Russell’s S. D. “Snake” Plissken has returned from rescuing the President of the United States (memorably played by Donald Pleasence) after Air Force One had crashed within the maximum security prison of New York City’s Manhattan Island. The “Duke of New York” (memorably played by Isaac Hayes) was dead, the President of the United States was safe, and the inmates were prevented from leaving the prison. However, “Snake” appeared to reject an offer from Lee Van Cleef’s Police Commissioner Bob Hauk to join him after the successful rescue. The implication is that Hauk could still use Plissken’s skills to handle other crises and problems facing the United States Police Force and the federal government. Regardless of Plissken’s decision, this setting appears to offer the promise of exciting cinematic adventures for one or more player characters (PCs).

I didn’t see a copy of the campaign book for the Escape from New York setting at Goblin Gaming in Ottawa (https://www.goblingamingottawa.com/), although I did see a copy of the Everyday Heroes book and other items for the game. I am looking to play one or more of the TTRPGs that I have already own in the near-future. With that being said, I could definitely see myself enjoying the Everyday Heroes TTRPG and a number of the cinematic settings including the Escape from New York setting. If you think that you might enjoy role-playing in your own action movies, Everyday Heroes might be worth checking out and possibly buying.

Below are links to YouTube video clips from Escape from New York, YouTube videos from Evil Genius Games regarding their Everyday Heroes line, and some products related to this particular post that you might want to purchase for yourself or a loved one.