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?
6 comment(s):
Strangely enough, I thought World of Darkness is very no-free-time-adult-friendly...
I'm actually considering a write up about World of Darkness and that particular aspect of it. It was my first "go to" after I got burned out on D&D, and I remember being impressed with how rules-simple it was. Sadly, I never got to play a game. :(
I like the idea of this site. I'm in! I am following you on Twitter.
I played AD&D back in the day. Went to college and lost touch with the game. Never cracked open V.2, V.3, or V.3.5. I mainly played computer games in the 1990's, but returned to wargaming via Battletech (sci-fi setting) about 6 years ago. I've been playing in a Battletech RPG for about four years now. E-mail, IM, and occasional face-to-face sessions make it work. Pretty infrequent though.
Then about two years ago, my kids and their friends were finally old enough to try RP gaming. I got a hold of Savage Worlds and I've been running a fantasy campaign for them for about two years now. They have a blast and it is definitely quality time with the kids. My lovely wifey, who is not a RP gamer, thinks it is great that I spent time with them that way. I have also invited a few adult friends to participate. I have a blast watching them interact with the kids.
That's is awesome, Vorpal! It's great to hear stories like yours. It's also great to know that we are providing a true value to adult gamers such as you.
If you have any suggestions for topics you'd like us to explore, please feel free to post your ideas in our public Google Group.
I'd add Wushu to the list. We've just started a Wushu Star Wars game and are having a lot of fun. Just didn't have the time/energy to keep up with our DnD4e game right now.
Wushu is very quick to pick up, yes. Also I like the various PDQ games (Truth and Justice is my personal preference), simple and fast. Fudge can be pared down to a pretty lean game, there's also lots of additional complexity that you can add. And Risus is fast, short (the rules are six pages) and free.
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