User summary:
The 2013 Version of Left Coast is an expanded partial re-design of the 2011 Version (the change from A4 to Letter size partially accounts for the large increase in page count). Most of the modifications are minor and improve or clarify play. Several flow-charts have been added and some sections have received better layout and organization. The role of Supporting Characters (NPCs, sort of) is greatly expanded.
One player will act as GM. The other players generate a character who is a semi-famous science fiction author looking for their big break. Characters have an identified goal for each game session, and have four Ratings: Family, Trouble, Money, and Weird with numeric scores.
Characters select a Type (Hack, Visionary, Radical, etc.) Most of the game involves shared narration of events, where elements of one character's meta-fictional "writing" can bleed over into another character's "real" life. When conflict arises that cannot be resolved with narration the GM may call for an opposed dice roll. The writing Group, to which the characters belong, also is tracked as an entity that develops over time.