tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post8990552328031069201..comments2024-03-19T03:02:38.228-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Open Friday: "Niche" GamesJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13536475872292073792012-09-03T19:55:45.529-04:002012-09-03T19:55:45.529-04:00So, don't let the players wear armor everywher...So, don't let the players wear armor everywhere.Faoladhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-49081951546386578362012-09-03T16:56:16.856-04:002012-09-03T16:56:16.856-04:00My favourite niche game would probably be Amber DR...My favourite niche game would probably be Amber DRPG. Had years of fun running that.Michael Chorneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19548609487657399812012-09-03T16:53:33.279-04:002012-09-03T16:53:33.279-04:00I'd say that people get immersed in Harnmaster...I'd say that people get immersed in Harnmaster _despite_ the combat system. Slowly bruising each other into incompetence never did ti for me.Michael Chorneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-29632691785778653262012-06-19T18:43:30.343-04:002012-06-19T18:43:30.343-04:00May someday you find takers on actually playing No...May someday you find takers on actually playing Nobilis!George Austinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-29850065215710415212012-05-31T02:34:08.469-04:002012-05-31T02:34:08.469-04:00Fudge
Castles & CrusadesFudge<br />Castles & CrusadesMormonYoYoMan@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04760670974938562837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88016819193039085732012-05-30T20:10:11.977-04:002012-05-30T20:10:11.977-04:00 I am one of the few that have a fondness, if not ... I am one of the few that have a fondness, if not love, for the Amazing Engine system. I had a group that played weekly and we went through Bughunters and Galactos Barrier before the group disintegrated. (It was an ongoing campaign for a year. To date this is the longest campaign I'd ever run.) I never got to Tabloid! but really wanted to. I knew it would've been a hard sell for my group and we probably would've ended up playing Kromosone or Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega. With Tabloid! I was particularly interested in using the Weekly World News as inspiration. Pariahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48111943687555356642012-05-30T20:02:27.511-04:002012-05-30T20:02:27.511-04:00One of the most fun niche rpg I've ever played...One of the most fun niche rpg I've ever played was Everway. At the time there was nothing like it. (OMG diceless!) I dare say nothing like it since. I really, really regret selling it a few years back. It is one of those games that hibernate in the back of your mind then pops out occasionally and you really want to try it again.Pariahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54166878876945315442012-05-30T07:25:31.781-04:002012-05-30T07:25:31.781-04:00Swedish"Western". I also like "Barb...Swedish"Western". I also like "Barbarians of Lemuria" , "Operation Fallen Reich" and "Dogs of W*A*R (a real mans roleplaying game)".<br /><br /> In addition I have a great love for "Harnmaster", but im not sure if thats really niche per the definition.S Sletheinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89537266332239433202012-05-30T03:15:10.201-04:002012-05-30T03:15:10.201-04:00My kids like to play Bean!My kids like to play Bean!Ben Stokesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-64769158373339111942012-05-29T14:41:47.462-04:002012-05-29T14:41:47.462-04:00Unknown Armies
DeadlandsUnknown Armies<br /><br />DeadlandsClay Fleischerhttp://twitter.com/Bruxistentialnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-45461647949392328072012-05-29T10:20:14.917-04:002012-05-29T10:20:14.917-04:00Yep T&T is as fantastically niche as it gets, ...Yep T&T is as fantastically niche as it gets, love it!<br /><br />I'd add Monsters! Monsters! to the list for a niche-within-a-niche experience as well. and MSPE.Nicholas Bergquistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-66662862419451519132012-05-28T23:42:06.049-04:002012-05-28T23:42:06.049-04:00Perhaps it was a misprint:
"Is this the game...Perhaps it was a misprint:<br /><br />"Is this the game with rabbits in it?"<br /><br />"No, elves."James Hutchingsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63325199742328161902012-05-28T21:39:15.260-04:002012-05-28T21:39:15.260-04:00Can't believe no one has mentioned Bunnies and...Can't believe no one has mentioned Bunnies and Burrows! How niche is that? Played it quite a bit when it launched, but the players wanted to return to AD&D. Found my original rulebook the other day too, still in good condition. Ahhh bunnies!Ivan Coffeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24196443216069889962012-05-28T15:56:58.832-04:002012-05-28T15:56:58.832-04:00Same here. Toon is so fun I played it during my ba...Same here. Toon is so fun I played it during my bachelor party.Ed Dovenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38057476280510391832012-05-28T15:42:51.664-04:002012-05-28T15:42:51.664-04:00Time Lord: The second Doctor Who RPG. The system ...Time Lord: The second Doctor Who RPG. The system felt good, was simple but intuitive. It was designed for who fans. It had a system I've never seen replicated, and when I got it (the digital version) it had also added a character creation system.turkishproverb@gmail.comhttp://slidingscales.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32393029449333162022012-05-28T15:41:14.372-04:002012-05-28T15:41:14.372-04:00Tabloid is fun with the right group, otherwise it ...Tabloid is fun with the right group, otherwise it might be a little too "unserious" or unfocused for some people. It's even better if they're decent writers of "news" stories to summarize. That was half the fun, seeing what players would come up with to turn in to their editor. Wish I'd saved a bunch of them. <br /><br />I did enjoy Bughunters and Meta: Alpha to Omega. Kromosome as written is such an amusing product of its time, has that early 90's understanding and expectations of the internet and the web...Coldstreamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75304831526104427862012-05-28T15:40:58.362-04:002012-05-28T15:40:58.362-04:00Teenagers From Outerspace. One pretty much had to ...Teenagers From Outerspace. One pretty much had to be an Anime fan (and Urusei Yatsura in particular) to 'get' this little gem.Hawkmansdaddynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62886679963418141682012-05-28T15:36:18.287-04:002012-05-28T15:36:18.287-04:00I actually think there's a little bit of an ol...I actually think there's a little bit of an older, younger dichotomy on the dominance of D&D (and by extension, Fantasy) as the 400 lb. gorilla of the RPG market.<br /><br />I think the divide starts with folks who were gaming prior to Vampire, and those who weren't. I'm firmly on the older side of that dividing line (my first RPG, Traveller, I bought in 1978), but fantasy is only a secondary genre for me.<br /><br />For younger folks, who came into the hobby long after the late 1970's/early 1980's D&D boom had faded, and particularly those who came in courtesy of White Wolf's OWOD games, which was the last time I think the hobby brought in huge chunks of new gamers, never have had the same attachment to sword and board fantasy we grognards have.<br /><br />I know, from my experiences with my own teenage sons, that fantasy is well down the pecking order of popularity (well behind Star Wars, post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy, horror, and straight up space opera), and the fantasy I run for them when I do run fantasy, doesn't at all resemble my own games of the Reagan years. Dungeon crawls (and more generally, gobs and gobs of combat) are out and story is in.Stuart Dollarhttp://www.facebook.com/people/Stuart-Dollar/100000246202373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80128265510310770512012-05-28T15:36:07.149-04:002012-05-28T15:36:07.149-04:00 Hmm. MERP. My wife has a couple of the books, b... Hmm. MERP. My wife has a couple of the books, but I've never played. I like my fantasy a whole lot darker than Tolkein.<br /><br />Was MERP as table heavy as Rolemaster? If so, that would likely explain why it never caught on.Stuart Dollarhttp://www.facebook.com/people/Stuart-Dollar/100000246202373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2777641060082656382012-05-28T15:36:05.579-04:002012-05-28T15:36:05.579-04:00 Funny. Yeah, it turned out to be a garbage MMO..... Funny. Yeah, it turned out to be a garbage MMO...but it did have a much ballyhooed launch a few years ago.Stuart Dollarhttp://www.facebook.com/people/Stuart-Dollar/100000246202373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70608783746403983182012-05-28T15:31:11.412-04:002012-05-28T15:31:11.412-04:00 I love the Amazing Engine and as I had said above... I love the Amazing Engine and as I had said above about Everway, I don't think TSR put the system out anticipating a niche game. In the end it was. I'll add that all the books where unique and I had a successful GMing Bughunters, Galactos Barrier and almost Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega. To date it has been the longest run of an rpg campaign with a little over a year playing weekly. The other games I would've liked to play, but my group disintegrated before could was; For Fairy, Queen and Country. Kromosone and Tabloid. Tabloid I had planned on using the Weekly World News publication for inspiration. I've reacquired all the books again and hope to entice some gamers to give it a try. (Using Bughunters as the gateway.) Anyone who might be interested you can buy the whole set, very cheaply from Paizo.Pariahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87176308619811046622012-05-28T15:30:48.382-04:002012-05-28T15:30:48.382-04:00I would have liked to put Nobilis here, but though...I would have liked to put Nobilis here, but though I grasped the concept, there where few takers on actually playing it. So, I'll go with a game that I actually played. Everway was a unique game that I don't think was meant to be a niche game, but because of its uniqueness it never took off. I had a immense amount of fun with the game, and it inspired me to collect artist card sets that where readily available in the early 1990's. Me and my players had a blast with it and was a good interlude game between regular rpg offerings.Pariahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62786875983709207112012-05-28T15:24:03.113-04:002012-05-28T15:24:03.113-04:00 This is a very good point, I think. The fact tha... This is a very good point, I think. The fact that "mainstream fantasy" genre has always dominated the pen-and-paper RPG hobby marginalizes other genres within the hobby, including super heroes and espionage, that are much more broadly popular in the mainstream culture. <br /><br />The fact that several people below have enumerated super hero and espionage games testifies to that. <br /><br />That being said, my personal experience as a junior high kid around 1983 was that the "James Bond 007" RPG from Victory Games came closer than any other RPG of the time to challenging the primacy of AD&D. At least among my friends and acquaintances.Dan2448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39084272783706869902012-05-28T15:23:41.685-04:002012-05-28T15:23:41.685-04:00Most of the games I play and run are "niche.&...Most of the games I play and run are "niche." But at the moment if I have to choose one, I'd say <i>Abandon All Hope</i>, mainly because I want to play it rather than run it.<br /><br />[Immediately after reading the rules I wanted to play a nuclear weapons engineer arrested by the Pan-Terran Meritocracy for possession of forbidden knowledge (viz-aviz my job) and shipped out on the Gehenna. Not that I was expecting to ever use the "nuclear" part of the engineering, but it would give me a leg up on the robotics and automation side of things. So little time. So much to do ]Reverance Pavanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73662535991916534292012-05-28T15:20:08.898-04:002012-05-28T15:20:08.898-04:00A friend of mine got his hands on a pad with poste...A friend of mine got his hands on a pad with posterboard-sized sheets of paper when we were kids. We made up a game called "RELMES" that that featured dungeon exploration, use of miniatures, and drawing the map out as the characters decided where to go. It was a one-on-one game but the single player controlled a party. It was extremely rules light.. How's that for niche?Slerotinnoreply@blogger.com