Enchanted Laundromat (Strangeness at 3:00 AM)

by Mike Young

It's 3:00 in the morning at the neighborhood laundromat, and that has attracted a number of colorful customers. The laundromat has been having some problems with the dryers being connected to the air circulation system, so everybody's laundry has gotten all mixed up. Join us, won't you, for a little tale of angst we like to call Enchanted Laundromat.

Enchanted Laundromat is a trading game for six people: two males, three females, and one that could be male or female (Bosco). The object of the game might at first seem to be to collect all of your items, but in fact, that will prove impossible as some of them are simply lost. The real object is the interactions and revelations which will occur when people get to see each others’, er, dirty laundry. The GM should monitor the game carefully and decide when it seems to have wound down. There are no mechanics of any kind. Enchanted Laundromat was written on a dare during a party after Pax Romana in 1998 and was playtested by Mike MacAfee, Karen Bowman, Hal Bowman, Jeff Diewald, and Christine Smith. Additional material suggested by Stephanie Olmstead-Dean.

Game Prep

The setup is fairly easy. Print and cut out each character and laundry list and then print and cut up the item cards. The items are marked

for traditionally male clothing,

for traditionally female clothing, and unmarked for gender neutral items. Give each player a character sheet and the items assigned to the character. Then let them go. Remind them that if something says “a pair,” then they need two of them.

Print these,
cut 'em out,
and give them to the players.

Handouts

You are Officer O’Malley. You are an honest, hard-working policeman. You have never married. Nobody must know your terrible secret. Laundry List Blue Shirt Blue Trousers Black Suspenders A Pair of Black Socks Black Lacy Underwear Red Lacy Underwear Red Lacy Brassiere	You are Bosco. You killed a man, sliced him up and stuffed the pieces in the dryers here. Now Da Boss wants proof that the guy's dead. So you came back. What poor timing. You also stole a lady's gold watch and you musta dropped it in the laundromat somewhere. Laundry List A Human Head A Human Torso A Pair of Human Arms A Par of Human Legs A Gold Watch
You are Ooma The Panther Woman. You are here washing your costume and your Bracers of Power which let you turn into a panther at your command. You may decide if you use your powers for good or evil. Laundry List Leopard Skin G String Leopard Skin Bra Bracers of Power T-shirt with Picture of Panther. Fishnet Stockings Black Gloves	You are Stephanie. You don't actually have any laundry to do. You just like to come here late at night and sit on the dryers. You put interesting things in the dryers for special action. Someone stole your gold watch. Laundry List A Bowling Ball A Pair of Jackboots A Pith Helmet A Ten Pound Chunk of Quartz A Field Hockey Trophy
You are Tim the bachelor. You hate washing clothes, but you come here to meet women. Laundry List A Dingy Gray T-Shirt One Pair Dingy Gray Tube Socks Dingy Gray Underwear (BVDs) A New Red T-Shirt Old, Faded Jeans A New White T-Shirt	You are Martha. Your boyfriend just dumped you hard, so you killed him. You are washing the blood off your clothes. You hate all men! Laundry List A White Skirt A White Blouse 1 Pair White Socks A White Brassiere A White Apron A White Bedsheet.

Before you cut these
out and distribute them,
make sure you keep
track of which items
go with to character.
Hint: They're in columns.

O'Malley

Bosco

Ooma

Leopard Skin Bra	Black Suspenders	One Black Sock
One Black Glove	A Bracer of Power	One Human Arm
A Bowling Ball	One Fishnet Stocking	A Gold Watch
Old, Faded Jeans	A Field Hockey Trophy	A Pith Helmet
A Doll-Sized New White T-Shirt.	One Pink Tube Sock	A Pink T-Shirt
One White Sock	A White Skirt with Red Stains	A White Bedsheet with Red Stains
A Faded Orange T-Shirt	A Dull Yellow Sock	A Green Tie with Blue Triangles

Stephanie

Tim

Martha

Blue Shirt	Black Lacy Underwear	Blue Trousers
A Human Head	Red Lacy Underwear	Red Lacy Brazier
One Human Leg	A Human Torso	One Human Arm
A Bracer of Power	Leopard Skin G String	T-shirt with picture of Panther
A Faded Red T-Shirt	A Ten Pound Chunk of Quartz	One Black Glove
A White Blouse With Red Stains	A White Brassiere	A Jackboot
	A White Apron with Red Stains	Pink Underwear (BVDs)

Enchanted Laundromat is Copyright © 2000, Interactivities Ink, Ltd. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this game as long as this notice is included in its entirety . Contact: www.interactivitiesink.com, mike@interactivitiesink.com.