What kind of objects do you use?

This game I'm going with pried-off beer and Coke bottle caps. The aesthetic fits the game perfectly.

After playing this both with and without the +1 to help or hinder, I greatly prefer the latter. The comment that there's already a lot of mechanics going on is sort of valid, but it's mechanical stuff that is very transient. People tend to mark their experience and then just jump right back into the story.

The "telling them a secret" thing makes the story matter more, and that's great, but I've found that unless the secret is really good or the information is used immediately, it kind of becomes lost in the moves snowball. The +1 to help or hinder not only adds to the fiction, but it goes from "now I know a secret about you" to "now I know a secret and this is information I can wield." Plus, that little +1 helps people remember what the hell the secret was and, once they use that knowledge to help/hinder, that's a fact about the character that sticks. It becomes a tangible part of the fiction instead of this tiny bit of color. Just my two cents.

Yeah, there'll be both antagonism and coalescing on both sides of the fence. The Touchstone/Hocus are technically on "opposite" sides, but I'm setting them up to be friends. As a result, they'll probably be a little at odds with the people on their same side, but not completely. It should add a nice little tug of war element.

Also, midway through there'll be a zombie horde coming upon them. I'm thinking about having the countdown clock for that being based on how often they refuse to work together...

Oh, and yeah, certain playbooks are available to both sides, but only one of each playbook will be in play.

Scenario (A) is already there, really. The fact that there are no status quos in Apocalypse World guarantees that even though the Bowlers are the haves, it's only just barely.

I should say that a Front might be a good idea, but I have no idea how to write one, especially without a first session to work from. I mean, I've read the chapter and all, but I've never been in an AW game that wasn't a one-shot, so I have no experience doing it. Although, given that we're right around Halloween, I've considered having a zombie hoard come in half way through to hammer home the "no status quos" thing. "Oh, you've been fighting over the little bowl? That doesn't matter now, because the 2nd wave of the apocalypse is coming."

Also... not to sound unappreciative, but you don't have to tell me that this isn't Burning Wheel. I'm well aware of the differences (and the similarities) between the two games. Hell, that's why I'm leaning on you guys for help because I know I can't just write some Beliefs for the PC's and be done with it! What I need is some way to focus the PC's on a particular situation, but still make it feel like they had some hand in creating it. I'm trying to use these directed, semi-open ended questions to direct them. That's what's on the table; that's what I need help with. Kicking over the table doesn't really help me, ya know? I'm not aiming for perfection here, just fun. So how about critiquing these questions for me a la an MC Love Letter?

That's pretty excellent advice, and I agree: some element to focus attention that begs to be resolved in some fashion is needed. However, I'm hesitant to prescribe one. AW doesn't have BITs for me to push around like BW does, which makes it a little harder for me to figure out how to throw situations at the players that they'll like. I've found that asking provocative questions during character introductions is a pretty decent substitute for BITs.

So I've been busy writing questions for the players and I think I need to focus these questions in such a way that it creates that tension, that "oh, fuck" situation that can't be overlooked. I'll throw them up here when I'm done with them and we'll see if I can manage to herd these cats in a specific, yet player-chosen direction. (And if I can't, fuck it, the Chopper's sister is being held hostage in the holding.)

Good points about the cult stuff. I added some moves so the cult leaders get affected by adding or losing members (and therefore affects the battle).

Yeah, this one is PvP, but teams. :) Oh, and I was going for playful over snarky before. My bad.

I'll dream up some custom moves and post 'em here.