When comparing The Pool vs GRIN, the Slant community recommends The Pool for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” The Pool is ranked 34th while GRIN is ranked 36th. The most important reason people chose The Pool is:
Instead of rolling to perform actions such as swinging a sword, rolling is used for resolving intent with descriptions of actions left to players and GM to describe.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Rolls are made to resolve intent not actions
Instead of rolling to perform actions such as swinging a sword, rolling is used for resolving intent with descriptions of actions left to players and GM to describe.
Pro Zero dice required
GRIN uses a a standard deck of playing cards instead of dice.
Pro Narrative focus
With no intrusive dice or math players can focus on the story, with every action being resolved by the simple draw of a card.
Pro Creates excellent tension
GRIN uses a a standard deck of playing cards to create a fast paced and deadly feel that evokes modern horror films. One of the best horror games made, its ideal for Halloween or horror movie nights.
Pro Its great for single session games
Like any horror film, characters will die. Grin lends itself to deadly games and rally shines with 4-6 players and narrative arcs lasting 3-4 hours.
Pro Easy to improvise
With the intrinsic arc of a classic horror narrative built into the core mechanic, Grin can be an intuitive framework for improvised play.
Pro Unique mechanic
In true horror movie style, death becomes increasingly likely as the game's story moves irrevocably forward.
Pro Easy to pick up
The game has just one page of rules. It can be explained in a minute -- even to people who have no rpg experience.
Cons
Con Monologue of Victory may stop any GMs plans
The Pool includes a system, called the Monologue of Victory, that allows a player to take over narration of the game in the event of a successful roll without the GM being able to interfere. As such using the system for complex plots may be difficult, because the player may remove an essential part of the story without knowing it.
Con Can be seen as too simple for some
Because each encounter has just two possible outcomes - success or death - there's little wiggle room in terms of roleplaying.