Casting Shadows

I have been seeing this idea to blog about 15 games which left a lasting impression, listed out in less than 15 minutes on many of my frequently read blogs. I usually don’t ride along with these sorts of thematic bandwagons, but this one – and the arc of similarities and differences from blog to blog caught my eye, so I thought I would throw my 15 into the ring.

The List:

1. D&D – simply because it was the first RPG I played
2. Palladium Fantasy – because I still play it two decades after it ‘freed’ me from D&D
3. Call of Cthulhu – for so many reasons, many of which are detailed in other entries
4. Star Wars (the original D6 version) – for showing me what I really liked to ‘do’ as a player
5. Battletech / Mechwarrior / Mechwarrior (PC) – again for igniting so many things for me
6. Sid Meyers’ Civilization – the queen of PC game franchises
7. Pendragon – for matching my major with my hobby, and expanding my understanding of both
8. Vampire: the Masquerade /WoD – for letting me expand my circle of players and my thoughts on gaming
9. Shadowrun – for being the first game I wanted to play more than run
10. Ars Magica – for different approaches and kick ass settings
11. Seawolf – for using my love of submarine games to awaken me to more concepts of story design
12. Syndicate – for just being cool… Damn, I miss that game
13. SLA Industries (or Nephilim for the same reason) – for showing me my dark, unplayable side as a GM
14. Aces & Eights – for completeness combined with cool gimmicks and real engagement
15. Burning Wheel – for showing me where I am not prepared to go

There you have it. Honorable Mention would go to two great games using Exile Game Studios Ubiquity System, Hollow Earth Expedition, and All for One: Regime Diabolique, had they been written and subsequently purchased and played by me earlier. An ‘Also Ran‘ would also belong to Psychobilly Retropocalypse by Postmortem Studios if I could ever find anyone up for playing it.

Maybe they can be on the recap I do of this list in 2040.

Thanks for reading~