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Games

Also See: My list of recommended websites

This page is dedicated to describing and listing noteworthy games that I and my gaming group have played.
Among the genre of games are:

Roleplaying Games
Wargames
Multi-User Dungeons
Board Games
Card Games
Simulation Games
Skirmish Games
etc


Above taken from "The One Ring .co.uk.


Recommended Websites for Discussion of Tabletop Games

4chan's /tg/ : An anonymous image board, known for its creative projects,
which can be viewed at 1d4chan.org

Enworld, RPGnet : More traditional forums, great for more in-depth
discussion.

Giant In the Playground : Largely 3.5e fans, lots of 3.5e discussion and
homebrew, but other games are discussed as well.


Recommended Multi-User Dungeons


Although Muds are technically video-games, and not tabletop games, I count
them in both camps, due to their heavy usage of tabletop rulesets.

Achaea - Very story-heavy, easy for new players to get into. Playable entirely through
the browser, in their nice custom client. You should, however, expect a lot of hack-slash-hack 
when you start up.

BatMUD - Super intense, people on BatMUD are serious about it. Wide variety of
races and classes. (Play as a duck, leech, and titan along with 'normal' races; dwarf,
elf, hobbit, man). Comes with its own fancy graphical client.

GodWars II - A great beginner MUD, easy char-gen, easy combat, easy navigation.
However, it is mostly pvp-focused, and as players advance in skill, they may seek
something more roleplaying focused, in which case I wholeheartedly direct them to the
above two games.

The Keep - An internet BBS community since 1983. The BBS, accessible via telnet, is home
to some four different MUDs, each with a unique experience. In addition to these MUDs,
one is able to play several card games and board games (i.e. backgammon). Accessible at
thekeep.net

If you find any MUDs, you like, please email them to us. (email up soon).

Related Content: A break from Tabletop: Roguelikes


Role-Playing Games



    Let's get something straight. Video games are not role-playing games, aside from MUDs.
    WoW is not an RPG. The reason is that there is no role-playing. Role-playing games
    are played without the usage of a computer. Pen, paper, dice, and sometimes cards
    are the tools of the trade. Tabletop RPGs are incredible games, and thousands have
    experienced the wonders. Unfortunately, they still suffer from social stigma, and are
    derided as 'nerd sport'. If you are interested in getting into Tabletop RPGs, I implore
    you to continue reading below, as well as visit this site:
    
     http://learntabletoprpgs.com/


A History of Role Playing Games and Their Conception

gaylord

/\ Above image is a character sheet from Blackmoor. /\


RPGs were first 'invented' with Braunstein in the 60s-70s, a colonial -era wargame in which
each player played one character in the town of Braunstein. Braunstein later morphed into
the fantasy RPG Blackmoor, (GMd by Dave Arneson) which used Chainmail as it's core 
combat rules, and an additional set of 'personality' traits such as sex, looks, intelligence, etc. 
However, both Braunstein and Blackmoor were only played in single groups of about 20 each.
Gary Gygax was an avid miniature gamer, and was the author of the Chainmail rules that
Blackmoor used. Gygax and Arneson met, and from their collaboration was born Dungeons
and Dragons, the first ever published RPG. D&D started off slow, but eventually bloomed
into a larger game. Soon thousands of groups were playing it, and TSR, D&D's publisher,
had competition. Games like Tunnels and Trolls and Rune Quest competed fiercely, and
games like Empire of the Petal Throne were released to counter the emerging RPG market.

Nowadays, 'D&D' is synonymous with the image of tabletop RPG. However, there are
thousands of other RPGs to explore, and many are superior in theme and rules to
D&D. Just one look at the list below and at our 'Homebrews' page will show you
the wealth of games that you can play as an alternative to D&D.


AD&D
D&D 1e-5e

AD&D is an earlier version of D&D, consisting of editions 1 and 2. It is rather rules-heavy, but in
order to truly appreciate AD&D, you have to understand it's genre of Roleplaying game: Old School.
I highly recommend the Old School RPG 10 Zen moments for this purpose. 
http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/matthew-finch/quick-primer-for-old-school-gaming/ebook/product-3159558.html
to purchase it. However, I will try to upload the pdf soon, I know I have it somewhere. In any case,
OSRPGs are not played 'rules as written' -- they rely heavily on the DM. The book is 80% suggestions,
and only 20% rules. The difficulty is making the distinction. The DM is often forced to make rulings
instead of searching the book for rules. Players are expected to ask for everything. You will notice a
distinct lack of skill check rules in early RPG books. That was because the player's skill was the same
as the character's skill. Players did not make 'Perception' checks to search for traps, they probed with
a ten foot pole, poured water on flours, etc. RPGs from this era were both more intensive on the
DM and the player, while simultaneously maintaining smaller overall rules volume.

GURPS
Rolemaster
RIFTS

These three are often maligned for their ridiculously expansive and large rule systems. I would reason,
however, that heavy rulesets are appealing for some people. If you like reading rules or using rules,
or if your group does, I would recommend these three. In today's Roleplaying climate, one is also
hard pressed to find a sturdy, large system.

Fate
Cthulhu Dark*

These two games belong to the Modern storytelling branch of RPG. Don't expect to find hearty or
expansive rules here. Although I may be biased toward larger rulesets, Fate and Cthulhu Dark
are good games and should be considered when looking for an RPG to play. Both are free
downloads, but available for purchase in hardback.

Additional Games to Consider

I will be getting to writing up reviews of these games.

Tyrants of Thaumaturgy
Knights & Knaves
Tunnels & Trolls
Lamentations of the Flame Princess
40k RPG (Dragon Magazine)
Lejendary Adventure
Exalted
Basic Fantasy RPG
40k RPG (Dark Heresy line)
Fantasy Craft


Recommended Miniature Wargames

So these I haven't really played too much, but they look interesting.

Battletech
A game of mech-to-mech combat (with infantry, tanks, and planes thrown in).
I have a page on it, hyperlink above.

40k Rogue Trader (1987)
40k Battle Bible (2e)
40k Kill Team
Mordheim
Infinity
Warmachine
OGRE/GEV
Malifaux (Maybe?)

Miniature Wargames involve painting tiny plastic or metal soldiers, and then simulating either
a historical or imaginary battle with them.


and ... Card Games

I don't really know what to say about card games. They're fun, they're tabletop, but they're
not 'made of' the same stuff as muh beloved RPGs and Wargames; they don't tell a story.
I would, however, be neglecting a large hobby of mine if I didn't mention card games here.
So I will.

Magic: The Gathering
Beware this game. Should you enter my room in the house that I live in, you would be
surrounded by random pinned-up pieces of MTG packaging. I fell hard for this game,
and I still enjoy it. Despite my ~$50 of Magic cards, I'm a rather mild case; a 'casual' to
use mage slang. My friends (the very same who play rpgs with me) have spent hundreds
and hundreds on magic.