Yep, that would be one of my picks to list under the Indie RPG section in the OP. As funny as it sounds, replacing dice with Jenga is an incredible mechanic and works so well in mounting the dread players feel as the game progresses. If the GM does things right, the height of tension can be applied around the time the tower becomes unstable; 12 pulls is when it becomes unstable and at 18-20 pulls, someone's gonna die!
I really love the 'heroic sacrifice' move that the game has. Walking up and purposefully knocking the Jenga tower down is the in-game equivalent of doing that heroic act that saves the day. It always succeeds, but you die in the process. So good.
Even the player creation idea is fantastic. Horror games work well when you have certain archetypes in the group, and Dread does this perfectly. If you're creating your own game, it's quite a bit of extra work to create the player questionnaires, but it's a great way to get the characters you need whilst the players are still happy they have customised it to their liking, and feel the attachment they need.
I have heard many stories of people setting a great atmosphere for the game. Here's a couple.
- Players are in a dark wood and the only thing helping them see through it and navigate their way out and deal with the predator within is one torch. This torch is pretty unreliable though, the contacts are worn, so you have to shake it a bit to make it work againe when it goes out. This was replicated by a GM having a dodgy torch, he'd turn out the lights and one player would hold the torch for the other who had to make the pull. The panic the players felt when that torch went out and they couldn't see a thing would be fantastic.
- A terrible, intelligent unknown thing is aboard a submarine, it is cutting power reserves and isolating members of the crew from their mates. A dim red light throughout the submarine is all the crew has to see by, and only their radios to communicate with the others. A clever GM replaced the lighting in the game room with a red bulb to simulate the view the players had, making it harder to see the tower, heightening the tension on the pulls. When a player was isolated from the others, they would be sent into another room of the house with only a 2-way radio to communicate with the GM and other players.
Stuff like that is clever and another way to ramp up the tension for players, so they can enjoy their session even more. Dread is perfect for one-shots (though as mentioned, it can be adapted with some tweaks), if you want campaign play, I think there are better options available. I think Dread is something you pull out for a special occasion, because it sure is a special game.
Do it, the game is amazing.
