Obviously, that's what The Dice of Life is about, but I found two great posts on two other blogs, one in response to the other, discussing RPGs designed for busy, adult gamers. Hey, that's our target audience! Coincidentally, these were posted on the same week The Dice of Life launched.
Living Dice posted the original article, presenting a problem of most RPGs being designed seemingly with the assumption of an abundance of time.
Most RPGs seem designed for 19-year-old students. This is not a scree about content or relative “maturity” of the game material, but an observation about the underlying assumptions of the designer.
First and most importantly, RPGs assume an abundance of time, both for play and for GM preparation. Student have far more free time than adults. Even beyond school/work demands, most young people (under 25) are single. I cannot stress enough how much marriage cuts into your gaming time. Any gamer out there that married a fellow gamer, I do not want to hear about it. You make me green with envy. :)
In response, Gaming Brouhaha posted an article titled "RPGs designed for busy adults" which provides a rather lengthy list of great indie RPGs designed for... well... busy adults.
I could not disagree more. Most RPGs aren’t made for students; it’s just that many mainstream RPGs produced by large publishers (e.g., WotC, White Wolf, etc.) give this impression. There is a huge selection of independent and small-press RPGs available that fit the busy, hectic lives of adults.
Take a look what Indie Press Revolution has to offer and you’ll find the vast majority of the games are designed for:
- Little to no preparation
- Adult players
- Self-contained, single session or short-term (~3-10 sessions) campaign play
- Mechanically elegant, easy to learn systems.
- Low player requirement (most work best with 4 or fewer players).
Best yet, they cover almost every conceivable genre possible.
Some of the DoL staff, and in some cases all us, have played a few of the games listed in the GB post; we have plans to review some of them for you here on The Dice of Life, so keep your eyes peeled and subscribe to our blog, join our Google Group, or follow us on Twitter. Actually, you should do all three. You know, just in case.
What are some of your own thoughts about those two posts? Do you know of any additional RPGs that could make the list? What are some of your own experiences?
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