A few thoughts about the games I own but never played
So after taking a brief moment to consider most, if not all, the RPG's I own, and which ones I have played and which ones I haven't, I have come to several conclusions.
Somebody out there hates Palladium. For a long time, I bought most of my gaming books second-hand from a used book store around the corner from my apartment. I was pretty poor at the time, and buying interesting-looking but used items was the best way to go. It's during that time that I acquired most of my Palladium books, of which I have many. I know there's a lot to be critical about in Palladium games, but I've always enjoyed the gonzo quality of Palladium games, the sense of geeky fun that the authors always seem to have. That doesn't mean I could get people to play any of them, aside from my much-revered Robotech game that my friend Tallis ran throughout his entire tenure in college.
The early 90's were good for anime. There's definitely a strong sense of my interest in the genre during that time, since almost all of the anime-inspired games were purchased in a very narrow window.
I like RPG's that are like things I like. I hadn't realized how many licensed RPG's I had purchased. Star Wars and Star Trek are clearly big representatives of this genre, but that's also because there's been very few sci-fi games that were not licensed (more on that another day). What I particularly interesting to me is that I often bought licensed games not with the idea of running a game set in that universe, but one similar. I bought Buffy and Angel because I was thinking of running a Lost Girl campaign. I bought Leverage because I wanted to run Burn Notice.
Somebody out there hates Palladium. For a long time, I bought most of my gaming books second-hand from a used book store around the corner from my apartment. I was pretty poor at the time, and buying interesting-looking but used items was the best way to go. It's during that time that I acquired most of my Palladium books, of which I have many. I know there's a lot to be critical about in Palladium games, but I've always enjoyed the gonzo quality of Palladium games, the sense of geeky fun that the authors always seem to have. That doesn't mean I could get people to play any of them, aside from my much-revered Robotech game that my friend Tallis ran throughout his entire tenure in college.
The early 90's were good for anime. There's definitely a strong sense of my interest in the genre during that time, since almost all of the anime-inspired games were purchased in a very narrow window.
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| Actually worth a look if you are ever thinking about a vehicle-centered sci-fi game. With cat-people. |
My D&D heart has been repeatedly broken. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, but it came into crystal clarity when I realized how many "Fantasy Heartbreakers" I have purchased over the years. I even found a few more on my shelves that didn't make the list. I have issues with the three hit-point, fifteen-minute adventuring day of early edition D&D, but didn't like the ridiculously high-crunch, superheroes-with-swords that D&D morphed into over the years. Somewhere in there is a sweet spot that I haven't found yet (although 13th Age got very, very close).
How the hell have I gone this long without playing Traveller? The grand-daddy of sci-fi RPG's, and I've never played it. I've owned it since the small paperback book days, and still have my hardcover omnibus of the original rules. The EOW campaign is a pseudo-Traveller game using different rules, but I've never actually played this, which feels like a grievous oversight.
So what do you think? Why do you buy games that you have never played?
I had a whole big response about how you determine the value of such things - and relating them to my cookbooks that I don't always cook from - but it got lusty and so this is all now.
ReplyDeleteEr... It got LOST. I kind of love cookbooks, but not generally to the point of lust (with the exception of Marcus Samuelsson).
DeleteYou gave me my own cookbook porn, so I have no place to criticize you.
DeleteBut my point was that I have some that I use often, some I use for inspiration -ideas of tastes that go together -, and some that I look at for interest but won't ever cook. (I am never going to make minced meat "salad" with blood and offal.)
ReplyDeleteSo, that's similar, right? Some you use, some for ideas to steal and modify, some for interest but you won't use. So the real question is, where is the value?
The interest-only ones I could get rid of more easily after I've read them, right?