For Christmas/Boxing Day we got you a new episode of Play
on Target. This one takes a look at 2014: what we did, what we liked, and
what we played. There’s an intriguing intersection of interests here. And a few
divergences. In particular you get to hear me quiz the other three about their
excitement and fascination with Dungeons
& Dragons Fifth Edition. We wrap up the show with a series of “lessons
learned (or re-learned) in 2014.”
In re-listening to this episode, I realized I use the
phrase “off the reservation.” Hearing myself say it, I realized how problematic
that is. A Google search suggests that’s the case. I’m going to excise that from my
vocabulary.
.
INDEXING THE GAMES
As I mentioned in the show, I tried to track my gaming
more closely this year. Here’s what I did. That's as a GM unless otherwise noted:
- One Shot Sessions (not at conventions): 25
- Legend of the Five Rings Action Cards: 18 (plus one more this Sunday)
- Guards of Abashan Action Cards: 14
- Ocean City Interface Action Cards: 20
- 13th Age: 9 (as GM) 6 (as player)
- Rolemaster: 4 (plus one more Monday)
- Mutants & Masterminds: 19
- Changeling the Lost Fate: 11
- White Mountain, Black River: 4 (campaign cut short)
Total Games Run/Managed: 117
Total Sessions Played: 22
WHAT IS BEST?
RPGs: Action Cards
continues to work for our group. We've refined it significantly and it really hums
along now. The system matches my style of running. We’ve taken what we like
from Fate and brought that over to our base game. The ability to print up nice
cards via DriveThru Cards has also upped the quality of the presentation. Action Cards doesn't get in the way when I run and pushes me to play better. On the other hand, I’m biased since I wrote it and
we’ve been playing it since ’99.
13th Age has also been a revelation. If I’m doing that kind of game- hack or dungeon crawl, this will
be my go-to system. I like what it offers me as a GM: story-sparking tools, neat
constraints, and great monsters. In the past when I’ve written up bad guys and
foes, I’ve usually sketched them and added one or two cool things they can do.
13th Age takes something of that approach to stat blocks. I love
putting fights together and seeing what actually happens. More than most games,
it has made encounter-building a pleasure for me.
I’ll limit my picks to three other games which stuck with me.
First, Kingdom changed my perspective on community based games. It showed how you could play out the central elements of those stories. I
played Kingdom first at the end of 2013 and then several times this year. I've haven't posted about it because I'm still turning over what to say. Each time we run Kingdom I see something
new about the system and the kinds of play it generates. Second, while I
only played Psi*Run once I really
loved that. I need to try that again online and see how it works f2f. The collaborative background building as a failure mechanism can be super-fun. Third, I played
a prototype written by Keith Stetson at Metatopia. I really, really want to
play the finished version of that.
BOARD GAMES: This year I played 165 session of board games. Far and away Imperial Settlers was my favorite new
game. I had loved 51st State from the same designer, but that game was a bear to learn. Imperial
Settlers, though, teaches easily. It has smart card play, hard choices, and can
go swiftly with the right players. I want to buy a second copy of it so I can
have the same factions play off against one another.
If I have to pick my three other favs this year, I have to
go with some older games I either played for the first time or which had expansion. Legendary remains strong, and the additions this year made it even better. That’s one game which Sherri will gladly play
any time. I like the Villains version, but the base game remains the best. I know some have said Legendary
Encounters works even better, but I really dislike the artwork there. Würfel
Bohnanza is the Bohnanza Dice Game, only available in German. It is
awesome- absolutely the best dice game I’ve played. It has clever design that’s
challenging and keeps everyone involved. Finally, I got to play Ora Et Labora by Uwe Rosenberg and loved
that. I keep thinking about the mechanics. But I only played it once so that’s a hard call.
I had a couple of gaming disappointments this year. I picked
up Praetor, a Roman building game. It
was fun the first time I played, but on subsequent replays the cracks began to
show. It has serious problems despite some great mechanics. Shadowrun: Crossfire also fell flat for
me. That’s too bad because many smart people really like it. The worst game I
played this year was Marrying
Mr. Darcy, a random, “take-that” piece of idiocy.
VIDEO GAMES: I played more board game apps this year, which I lump
under Video Games. Of those, Lords of
Waterdeep felt like the best implementation. Great interface, smart AI, and
easy play make it an absolute pleasure. On the PC, Euro Truck Simulator 2 ate
up hours and hours of my time. I’ve actually avoided it because I’m afraid I’ll
get sucked in. Part of the draw comes from being able to listen to podcasts
(like Serial) or audiobooks while I play. On the console, Dragon Age:
Inquisition grabbed my attention like no other game. It has been a while since
I’ve really knuckled down and played an rpg like that on the PS3.
The biggest disappointment for me this year was Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns. Despite
the naysayers, I’d gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the previous two
installments. I like the world, like the characters, and enjoy the
gameplay. This one pretty much chucked all of that out. I went in super-excited
and stopped playing after only a couple of hours.
If you like RPG Gaming podcasts, I hope you'll check it out.
We take a focused approach- tackling a single topic each episode. You can
subscribe to the show on iTunes or follow the podcast's page at www.playontarget.com.
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