Friday, December 10, 2010

Open Friday: Games Not Played

Here's a nice simple one question: what one game that you have never played would you really like to play in the near future. Bonus points if it was published before 1990.

I continue to be busy with the final stages of a manuscript revision, so I'll be scarce. However, I'm nearly done and that means regular posting, as well as updates on Petty Gods, should be soon be returning.

105 comments:

  1. Call of Cthulhu. As luck would have it, the comments by the few of us locals who haven't played it has led to an experienced keeper running a one-shot for us on New Year's Eve.

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  2. Thieves' Guild, specifically as a fantasy pirate crew (um, I think that might be volume 5).

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  3. Dragon Warriors -- I have read the books, but have never had the chance to play it. They are wonderful reads though.

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  4. Toon.

    Seen it played but never played it myself.

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  5. Tough one, there are quite a few that I have the books for and have never played for various reasons. I guess I'd have to say Stormbringer would be the one I'd love to play at the moment though.

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  6. Unknown Armies is simultaneously my favorite game of all time and a game I have never played.

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  7. Toon for me, as well. And as luck would have it, one of my friends is hoping to run it for us in the next few weeks or so.

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  8. @Christian Lindke - do you follow Dave Morris' Fabled Lands blog?

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  9. I could play Houses of The Blooded - it looks like an interesting game, but I think I'll never find somebody to run it here.

    I could GM it myself, but it's not the same thing.

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  10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other Strangeness. Loved the comics as a kid, and I was stoked when I saw the ads in Dragon, but I could never find it anywhere.

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  11. Oh, and to Faoladh, loved that game! Didn't get to play it much, but I got a ton of use porting all of the supplements to AD&D.

    The Free City of Haven was the base of operations for my AD&D group for years.

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  12. Empire of the Petal Throne . . . oops . . . others beat me to it! You'd think with all the people who talk about it, more people would be playing it.

    Skyrealms of Jorune would be another. Still, I have no real idea what it about, but those ads sold me. That art looked so cool back then.

    UT

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  13. Cricket. Certainly earlier than 1990.

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  14. Tunnels and Trolls. Just plain looks fun.

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  15. Tekumel, have several versions of it, but never been round the right people to play, alas.

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  16. any star wars-related rpg. never played one, don't know why... :(

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  17. @houstonderek - I found a copy of TMNT in a secondhand bookstore in Perth, Australia along with the supplement "Mutants Down Under". On my list of really want to play. Not sure if it's my _one_ tho' :-)

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  18. For me its got to be EotPT or En Garde both have a fair share of my imagination

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  19. @deathanddrek,

    I played a lot of games in the '80s, but, for some reason, never played one Palladium game. And TMNT was the only one of their offerings that grabbed me, really.

    @distantatmosphere,

    Yeah, those ads were COOL! The game was kind of "meh" though. Kinda clunky. But the background stuff was fun to read.

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  20. Metamorphasis Alpha to Omega. I always wanted to buy this game, but could never find it at the one toy store in the area that carried RPGs.

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  21. Another vote for Empire of the Petal Throne.

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  22. Only one?

    Creeks & Crawdads: I wanted to be a Fighter that was as smart as a Thinker (simply because it had mastered the number "3" - no other numbers, just "3"). [Counting up to 3 is Thinker territory.] However as I am probably one of the very few people on this continent with a copy of the rules...

    Most of the stuff in my collection that I have yet to play (and want to) is post-2000. I've managed to play or run at least one session of most of the pre-1990 stuff.

    [@faoldh: Thieves Guild VI was the very excellent naval/piracy rules. Highly reccomended.]

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  23. Up until this year, I would have said RuneQuest. Would still love to play it, but now I'm even more eager to try Pendragon.

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  24. Call of Cthulhu, though having been reminded of the existence of Pendragon I'm now wavering.

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  25. Tunnels & Trolls and Metamorphosis Alpha. Have them, never played them.

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  26. Bushido - I've had a copy since the 1980s (at least) and never managed to play it. Funny as Samurai are always popular.

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  27. If I had to choose just one, it would be Call of Cthulhu. I even used to own a copy, why the heck didn't I play it? (Other than the old "I don't know anyone else that wants to" story)

    If I could have a second, I'd add getting back my old copy of Imperium Romanum II and playing it properly. Actually, any of those old hex-and-chit games would be good.

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  28. The one game--Lords of Creation designed by the immortal Tom Moldvay

    An Avalon Hill board game that always had my eye that I never played--Wizard's Quest along with, of course, Chutes and Ladders ;p

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  29. Lace & Steel, an Australian RPG that mixed centaurs and harpies in with 17th century swashbuckling France. I have a copy somewhere, and probably was not mature enough to play back then, but I suspect that I might appreciate it now.

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  30. Chill, 1st edition.

    I was a "monster kid", and the cover art on the boxed set and modules captivated me.

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  31. D&D 0E :)
    (also Ars Magica and Pendragon)

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  32. probably Space 1889, although some more Thieves Guild would have been nice.

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  33. Definitely Pendragon. I've gotten as far as creating characters, and the first edition box is sitting on my shelf where I can see it as I type. I dusted off Metamorphosis Alpha this summer for a couple of sessions. Most of the surviving dozen or so games in my collection have actually been played at least once.

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  34. On an old-school front, I'd love to try out Alma Mater. It's an odd one, perhaps a little bit more so for me because it reflects a foreign country's historical youth culture... but it's still something pretty clearly established in media and something I think I could get to grips with. Perhaps I wouldn't want ot play it for long, but I'd find it a real change to eschew the fantasy and sci-fi and play something else.

    A big one is probably Pendragon, which I'd also like to run. I just don't think there's anything else quite like it in RPG circles, that notion of the generations long campaign, and a recent kick of attempting to read Le Morte D'Arthur has got me in the mindset. It's not really one-off able, I'd need to get people to commit to a long-term game to "get it".

    I'd pick the 5th Edition but, frankly, there isn't much mechanically in it. :-)

    I'd also sort of liek to play some flavour of Vampire, just to say I have. I have no real love for the World of Darkness, especially the old, and the only game I played in was one I found pretty dire - the only time I've walked on a campaign mid-play, in fact. But I feel it's too major a game and I'm doing it a disservice not to play it just to say I have.

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  35. Traveller. I've owned the little black books for ages and I played around them with endlessly. But I never actually played Traveller. :(

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  36. Twilight 2000. Never owned it, and know it is extremely complex, but would ;like to play it before I croak.
    Or: Starships and Spacemen!

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  37. The Fantasy Trip. It's one of those games that as a kid I would always see advertised in White Dwarf, but never saw a copy in my local games shop.

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  38. Er...none created before 1990. Honestly.

    A) Can't think of a game I've never played that came out before 1990 that I would want to play. I've played A LOT of games. (Looking at the other responses I noted that I've played practically all of these games at least once).

    B)I'm not really an OSR guy. I want to try more hippie/new age avant garde games.

    My vote would be for Fiasco, Bliss Stage or Yuuyake Koyake.

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  39. Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, sorry for not earning bonus points!

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  40. Traveller 2300/2300AD loved the premise of a Hard SF game before it degenerated into a cyberpunk and war against the aliens. The new Mongoose edition promises to put exploration back front & centre - hence contribute back some of its hardness - and it will be redeemed. And, if I am lucky, I will be able to assemble a group.

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  41. Space 1889 I think. I was an avid collector and player in the 80's and played just about every game in my collection back then - even my FGU collection. But somehow my copy of 1889 just sat on a bookshelf and then in storage for years and I read it again recently.

    I also really want to try out Fiasco.

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  42. I'm going to loose points, but Dragons at Dawn has been taunting me since i got it. I almost got a game going, but it faltered at literally the last possible minute.

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  43. D&D BECMI and/or B/X ; never played them back in the day, since AD&D was the locally popular version. EPT is another one - when I first went to high school in 1979, the school games club had a copy, which was widely read and admired, but never played...

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  44. Stormbringer, 1st Edition. I have a complete 1st Ed. boxed set, and every 1st Ed. Stormbringer supplement that Chaosium published (there were only a handful), but have never had an opportunity to play. It sits on the shelf. I still intend to play it one day.

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  45. Bunnies and Burrows -- or maybe EPT.

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  46. No love for the old TSR standby "Divine Right?" Finally snagged a copy but have never played it.

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  47. Mekton by R. Talsorian games. I've read a variety of mecha RPG rules and I like this one the best, but I've never played it.

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  48. I've been lucky enough to play all the rpgs I currently own at least once.

    With one notable exception: Empire of the Petal Throne

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  49. Encounter Critical- does that get me bonus points?

    Also, Gamma World

    ;)

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  50. Talislanta, but also Encounter Critical or MERP, which I've owned since since but never found anyone willing to try it.

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  52. FASA Trek. I'm a bigger fan of Star Trek than I am fantasy, yet somehow this game never made it on my radar when it was out because of my narrow all-AD&D, all the time focus in my youth.

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  53. Traveler is certainly one. But I have always wanted to try Middle Earth Role Playing. In the 80's we kept trying to make D&D do Tolkien, but never actually tried MERP.

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  54. Judge Dredd... I enjoyed the comic, but didn't know anyone else interested in the Mega-City One setting.

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  55. Empire of the Petal Throne, without a doubt.

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  56. To be completely and utterly honest, I want to play Call of Cthulthu, I have a copy of 5th Ed, somewhere around. Have no idea when that version came out. The problem with it though is that its reputation precedes it. Every time I get a few new people around, I start to bring it up and some old vet then proceeds to horrify them with stories and rumors of how the game plays. And then CoC goes back on the shelf, cause no one wants to play it with me.

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  57. I played most of the games mentioned so far at least once (not Creeks & Crawdads, though). But for whatever reason, I never tried Boot Hill, and now, as an adult, the Western genre, which was always a more-or-less open influence on early fantasy fiction, seems able to explore many of the same themes as fantasy (individual vs. society; barbarism vs. civilization; law vs. revenge, etc.) in a context that is closer to reality as we know it.

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  58. RuneQuest. I've always heard good things, just never had the chance.

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  59. Stormbringer and Twilight: 2000.

    I have had only one abortive play experience with Classic Traveller, so that would be my next choice.

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  60. The Ringworld RPG from Chaosium. A fun read and a setting with an emphasis exploration over combat. Only one supplement made for it and a short adventure in Different Worlds magazine.

    Aeon Trinity form White Wolf, another sci-fi setting dripping with style and substance.

    Deadlands, I love how they incorporated western "props" into the game mechanics with poker chips and playing cards.

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  61. Aftermath. Because It was one of the first non TSR gams I bought and I could never find anyone to play it with.

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  62. I can't say EPT, my best friend and I played that a lot from 79-81.

    I'd say Bunnies and Burrows. Especially after Sustare's campaign appeared in Different Worlds. I remember that I even designed a campaign, but couldn't drum up enough interest.

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  63. TORG. Published in 1990, so a little late. It's a complete mess, but I think it would be very fun if played embracing the unifying action.

    Over the Edge, which is again slightly late. Still in the wild action style, but more conspiracy and modern weirdness, and a little less of a mess.

    Unknown Armies is a game I've read, and enjoyed reading, and wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole for playing. The whole thing is a bit too disturbing in a very real-world style for me.

    TMNT was the first non-D&D RPG I bought, and the point based system wooed me. But I pulled it out not too long ago, and time was not friendly to that system.

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  64. Pre-1990: Middle-earth Role Playing
    Post-1990: Earthdawn

    Finally,for an exercise in pure masochism: World of Synnibarr...just to see if something vaguely coherent could be made of out it.

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  65. I've really been itching to give Rolemaster 1st/2nd Edition a try.

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  66. Alternity.

    It looked like a game with GREAT potential that got tossed aside when WotC bought TSR and D&D3e rose to prominence (and eventually gobbled all the original ideas for the game/setting into its D20 Modern line...and did so poorly).

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  67. Twilight 2000.

    But it was a close tie between that and Hollow Earth Expedition.

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  68. Man, I'm surprised at the number of people citing Twilight 2000. We played the first edition to SHREDS.

    I consider myself hugely lucky to have gamed all my life with people eager to try out different games.

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  69. OD&D, the 1974 edition. I was born well over a decade after its release. :,

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  70. And at 88 responses prior to this one, this is one, yes 1, I, game mentioned that I have never played or run! Woohoo! Something I must check out!

    Dragons at Dawn!

    I've actually never even heard of this which makes it of major interest to me. I must play them all! Mwuhuhahahaha!

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  71. Chivalry and Sorcery. Had a reputation for being complicated back in the day, but I wonder how it would look now.

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  72. I can think of several. EPT, Pendragon, and (believe it or not) Crimson Skies.

    As another poster stated, the artwork from Jorune was always enough to get me interested in the game itself.

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  73. Pre-90: Pendragon

    Post-90: Spirit of the Century

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  74. Buck Rogers: XXVc. I own at least one copy of every book printed in that line, but have never had the chance to try it. I loved the Countdown to Doomsday CRPG on my old Sega Genesis.

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  75. Ghostbusters, original or GBI. We almost got to play it ONCE. Then 3 people decided not to show up and did this last minute killing our chances of playing it. Im not sure why we never tried to reschedule. The cancelers were flaky people though, responsible for thwacking many a promising game session. :(

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  76. Maelstrom. I still have my copy waiting on the shelf.

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  77. Battletech. I had an RA in college try to teach me game mechanics, but he was so into the minutiae that it totally killed my gamer-buzz. All I remember is a 30 minute speech on heat sinks and I lost interest. I just wanted to blow stuff up with my giant robot (and still do).

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  78. @houstonderek We played a fair bit of Palladium FRPG. I don't recall very much of the rules however... I do recall that my friend's copy of the rules had a sticky label pasted over the table of sexual deviations. Once we realised there was censorship afoot, that label was coming right off!

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  79. Aruduin Grimoire and The Fantasy Trip.

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  80. Pre-90s: Empire of the Petal Throne

    Post-90s: Aces & Eights

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  81. Its not a game that I've seen before; but, right now I'm inspired to do a more historical version of the 15-1600s focusing on maritime trade and piracy. Probably BRP-based.

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  82. Being relegated to mostly collector status throughout the '90s and early '00s, I have TONS of games that I own but never got to play. The smallest number I could narrow it down to is 5, in no particular order:
    EPT
    Swordbearer
    Harn
    Pendragon
    RQ

    Honorable mention (sorry, couldn't even do just 5):
    Behind Enemy Lines (only played it once)
    Space Master
    Thieves' Guild

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