TheRPGSite

Hi all,

This is something I think about from time to time and have discussed in other fora, but it occurred to me today it might have relevance here too.

Essentially, the question is a simple one, how many rpgs have you bought (if you want, do feel free to create a time limit like say over the last couple of years) and how many of those have you actually played?

By bought, I include rather counterintuitively free downloads if you then saved it to your hard drive and freebies given as comps for review, trade or whatever.

By actually played, I mean actually used in a game. For these purposes if you just used it as a general ideas springboard that does not count (though if you pulled out a particular piece of advice and directly applied it to another game that does), actual play means you actually used that game product in a game that you played or ran. Yes, I realise lots of folk count general inspiration as actual play, but for the purposes of this thread I don't.

If you can say why you haven't played the stuff you haven't played, that would be cool too.

So, what games have you bought/acquired/downloaded? What have you actually played? I'll post mine in a bit, but it'll take a while.

Games: D&D, Marvel Superheroes, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Exalted, Babylon 5

Played: All except AFMBE, which I got for a one shot game. We haven't had an empty night, so I haven't had the time to run the one shot.

I've probabaly aquired about seven since I got back into the hobby, i've played and still play one, which is True20.
I haven't played the others mainly becuase I don't have a lot of time for prep- M&M really looks cool, but I just can't find the time to figure out how all the powers work, for instance.
Conan RPG got derailed by the arrival of my True20 book, and we decided to play that instead.
star frontiers, I just downloded to look at, and i still haven't.
CoC d20 is awesome and I love to read it, but again- not time.
Basically I have no time.

In the last two years or so, I have bought, with the played ones in green and the not-played ones in red,

Advanced Runequest - GW edition
Active Exploits - Take 2
Ars Magica - 4th and 5th editions
d6 Adventure
GURPS - 4th edition
HeroQuest - 2nd edition
Skyrealms of Jorune - 3rd edition
Unknown Armies

Active Exploits I'm supposed to begin playing this Thursday. HQ and Jorune no-one I game with regularly has been willing to play with me, they were interested in other stuff instead. Ars Magica 5th edition I wanted to change to from 4th, but some of the players were unhappy with that and walked out on me, and anyway the 4th ed had only got a couple of sessions of play so it barely counts.

The other games in green all got lots of play.

I couldn't possibly guess how many free pdf rpgs I've looked at in the last two years. Those still on my hard drive, setting aside joke games like Redneck and A Man and His Pet Flea Spot and those I've got from Better Mousetrap, as well as those foisted on me by some gamer when I knew I wouldn't be interested, what we're left with is...

OSRIC - I got Osric because it was recommended. I got two minutes of nostalgia as I glanced over it, then closed the pdf and forgot about it.

EABAnywhere - This is pretty good and I'd like to play it, but no interest from the gamers around me.

Forgotten Futures - based on the 19th century sci-fi stories, I think you'd need big readers of the stuff for them to appreciate it, so I've not pitched it.

Fate 2e - pretty good, needs some fleshing out like most Fudge-type stuff, but was an excellent and thespy engine for my Tiwesdaeg 2 campaign.

TriStat dX - someone was running an irc game and wanted to use this, but the players rejected it in horror at its mess, and the GM wandered off.

GEAR - actually a pretty good game engine, but it has no authour listed, and no references online, I've no idea where I got it from...

Warlords - a good game of the ancient Near East, no player interest.

Steal - Lock, Stick and Two Smoking Dice! I didn't feel I could run a crime-based game, so set it aside regretfully.

Spookengine - spies and mercenaries, could be fun if I had players who could choose a leader, make a plan, be patient, etc.

Overall I guess the reason things weren't played was that others weren't interested in them. In my game circle of perhaps 20 players over the last couple of years, only a few of us have been keen to run games, I'm open to many games, but the others have pet systems they insist on. The players I get are spoiled for choice, really - they'l usually go with whatever the GM shoves on them, but when given a choice, go with what they know, mostly.

Quote from: BalbinusEssentially, the question is a simple one, how many rpgs have you bought (if you want, do feel free to create a time limit like say over the last couple of years) and how many of those have you actually played?

I've purchased tons and only played a small percentage of those.

Quote from: BalbinusIf you can say why you haven't played the stuff you haven't played, that would be cool too.

I don't have enough time, nor does the group.

So, what games have you bought/acquired/downloaded?  [/QUOTE]

I have a lot of games, far too many to list.

Seanchai

Oops, forgot Star Frontiers. I also downloaded it in order to check it out and perhaps run a Nostalgia campaign but haven't gotten around to it. Not because I don't want to, just because it's third in line behind Exalted (shaping up to hopefully be a long lived campaign) and AFMBE.

If we're going to be totally honest, you should also exclude any game you exclusively have played at conventions as being 'actually played'.

Further excluding "playtests", "demos", and "tryouts".


This will reduce some people to an 'actual play' count of zero, I'm fairly certain.

To: JimBobOz: Forgotten Futures is brilliant, and I own a copy from 2000. I've enever gotten anyone interested in it either.

Quote from: Abyssal MawIf we're going to be totally honest, you should also exclude any game you exclusively have played at conventions as being 'actually played'.

Further excluding "playtests", "demos", and "tryouts".


This will reduce some people to an 'actual play' count of zero, I'm fairly certain.

Brutal, good follow up test too.  Hell, that takes my indie play straight down to zero.

The list would be long, the ratio of bought-to-used unflattering.

Quote from: Abyssal MawFurther excluding "playtests", "demos", and "tryouts".

Are you including "one shots" in "tryouts".

Because I run one shots of games I rarely get to run at gamedays and GenCon just so I'll have a chance to play games I don't normally get a chance to play.

Only game i've ever bought that i haven't played is Mutants & Masterminds, which makes me incredibly sad.

Ooh, i got Hawkmoon for free and haven't played that either.

Ars Magica 4th (although i got zero use from the Religious books)
Pendragon 4th
CoC (still waiting to run Spawn of Azathoth)
d&d (a few books that see little use)
WFRP
Talislanta 4th
Traveller

Poring back over the soewhat porous membrane of my memory, I am still confident in stating almost exactly none.

I generally don't buy the games I'm actually playing, by and large I've been fortunate enough to always wind up in groups with plenty of corebooks to go around.

Instead I generally focus on checking out new games I'd like to play, but thanks to my lack of GM experience and corresponding lack of confidence, plus a general difficulty in getting enough people interested and together, that by and large my attempts pretty much tend to fail and the books wind up collecting dust.

The two possible exceptions to this are John Garwood's Monsters & Mazes (which proved to be a disastrous session as I'd botched up the encounter balance by misinterpreting an odd die notation on the tables), and a loosely Palladium-based Wing Commander game I'd found on line, with which I ran a short patrol mission.  

Two near exceptions are D20 Modern, which I bought solely for a game someone else was running online, but then died after that first session when several players plum disappeared, and GURPS4, for which I almost got a game started, before a combination of my own nervousness and some unforseen scheduling conflicts with the players led to that one dying a crib death shortly after chargen.

D&D3 is a special case, as a I bought it at release time mostly as a statment of support for the $20 price point, and never did more with it than making a character once.  I eventually sold the book, only to come back to D&D much later after discovering NWN and meeting my D&D group.

I'm trying to think back to the last new game I purchased and I'm coming up blank.  I have shelves loaded down with RPG crap, but I just haven't found a new game in a while that did anything for me.  I got a copy of Rifts in January, but I had owned a copy before so it wasn't really a new game for me.  Before that I got Spaceship Zero almost a year ago.  I'm not rushing out to play either because they both have the same problem for me: a nifty setting married to a dubious system.

As a general rule I buy a lot fewer games when I'm running or playing in satisfactory campaigns, and I've had a good two year stint of awesome 3.5 play.

If I (we) buy a game I (we) play it. The crew has a library of stuff we have played. There's also a small stash of stuff we have got to get to. I haven't looked through it, but I do know games like PTA, Buffy, MlwM, Traveller (no idea what version), AFMBE, Tribe 8, Promeathean, Don't Rest Your Head, Blue Rose is part of it...only a matter of time.

As for the library...Jeebus, too many to mention. The thing is, if we download a game or something...the group has to play it immediately so this kind of fucks up our  regular schedule...

Regards,
David R

Empire of the Petal Throne (TSR) [Play by Post]
Dime Heroes [Play by eMail] and [Play by Post]
Savage Worlds

Used to play EPTand RuneQuest I & II face to face back in the day.
Now only Savage Worlds (Thank goodness it doesn't take the time other games do.)

D&D is the legacy game of desperation.
=

By the by, I hope you write up your thoughts on all these threads when it's all said and done.  I'd like to hear what conclusions, if any, you come to based on the responses.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadAre you including "one shots" in "tryouts".

Depends on context. I can see people getting together to game, and then picking a game out at random (or by vote, or by mutual agreement), and playing it as a one-shot. I can see one guy convincing his friends to play a 'one shot scenario I wrote using (Whatever game nobody has ever seen before)' and just playing it.

But then there's the tryout. The tryout is "hey everyone.. I just bought this game and I think we should try it out." And then (maybe..) they play one time, and then the book goes back on the shelf, never to be seen again. When a thread like this comes back,  they'll happily report themselves as "players of (whatever game)", as if the game actually got any use beyond that one session, half of which the group spent puzzling out the rules and trying to figure out how it would have gone if they had actually been playing the game "for real".

Quote from: BalbinusHi all,

This is something I think about from time to time and have discussed in other fora, but it occurred to me today it might have relevance here too.

Essentially, the question is a simple one, how many rpgs have you bought (if you want, do feel free to create a time limit like say over the last couple of years) and how many of those have you actually played?

By bought, I include rather counterintuitively free downloads if you then saved it to your hard drive and freebies given as comps for review, trade or whatever.

By actually played, I mean actually used in a game. For these purposes if you just used it as a general ideas springboard that does not count (though if you pulled out a particular piece of advice and directly applied it to another game that does), actual play means you actually used that game product in a game that you played or ran. Yes, I realise lots of folk count general inspiration as actual play, but for the purposes of this thread I don't.

If you can say why you haven't played the stuff you haven't played, that would be cool too.

So, what games have you bought/acquired/downloaded? What have you actually played? I'll post mine in a bit, but it'll take a while.

Yeah this is an issue, the gulf between owned and played seems to be getting broader and broader, why, mostly time, samemo-samemo,
not just my time but the time of my friends,

online play can be fun to mess with, (currently running a Ghostbuster over at West End, and playing a Marine (Harper) in an Aliens rpg over at DP9 (Dream pod 9) both are fun, but come with a learning curve,

My recent purchases and play history is roughly:

Nobilis.  Haven't played mostly because it hasn't really inspired me to play it.  Lovely book though and a fun read.

Dogs in the Vineyard.  Played a couple of times with okay results but the setting is not inspiring players at the table.  Working on a re-set that might have some legs.

Don't Rest Your Head.  Haven't played it again mostly because it just didn't inspire the energy needed to get a game going.

Burning Wheel.  Plenty of play.

Burning Empires.  No play yet, though mostly because it is a guaranteed time hog and I don't think we're up for the investment.

Universalis.  Lots of play.  It's a valuable tool for some kinds of collaboration when directed as well as being cool for story construction.

Spirit of the Century.  Constant play.  It's at once our staple and our gap-filler.  Oddly we've decided on almost moral grounds that we can't play it when a player is missing -- it's just too cool to have anyone miss anything.

Conspiracy X.  Read it and didn't find it as cool as the hype.  Cannot motivate myself to motivate others to play.

Since I got interested in RPGs again I've downloaded a huge number of free/demo games: The Shadow of Yesterday, JAGS, The Pool, Inspectres, Risus, FATE, etc. Played: none.

I've also purchased a number of games on eBay and off the used racks, whenever I could get a good deal, often out of print items. Pendragon 4e, Feng Shui, Theatrix, Amber, Over the Edge, Jorune 2e., Sorcerer & Sorcerer & Sword, etc. Played: none. I did buy The Mountain Witch off a used rack and subsequently played it, in a shortened scenario, at a mini-con. Although it was a one-shot, con game, I'd say this is borderline in terms of the criteria that people have advanced, basically because the game is meant to be played as a limited scenario. (Granted, over several sessions.)

Finally I've bought a few games "brand new".
My Life With Master
Dogs in the Vineyard
Polaris
Burning Wheel, Revised
2300 AD (as a CD-ROM from FFE)

MLwM didn't get any real play, basically because the social context for which I'd purchased it was a reunion of old gaming friends, and it turned out that regular socializing and sightseeing took up most of our time. The other games were all picked up for the sake of gaming with new people I'd met over the net, who wanted to play new games or old games they'd never gotten a chance to play. So, many of the participants were strangers. DitV got about 3-4 sessions play before I decided I didn't want to keep going. Polaris got 1 session, not enough to qualify, and then fizzled because one of the players didn't have enough time to commit to continuing the game. Burning Wheel got 2-3 sessions, but the group (including the GM) struggled with the mechanics and I think each person decided to move on to other experiements. 2300 AD has had two sessions and looks to complete the planned scenario over 2-3 more sessions.

Basically I don't have time to play all the games I'm interested in, and furthermore I'm just becoming acquainted with local hobbyists. On top of that there are a number of games that have hype or a reputation for being "different" and I've given some priority to using my time to "try them out" instead of sticking with a single game and a single group. I was involved in a Harn campaign for a couple sessions, which I'd hoped to be able to attend long-term, but it was just a little too long of a drive. The 2300 game is humming along largely thanks to the enthusiasm, energy, leadership, and organizational skills of the GM. On top of that the rules themselves don't contain any big surprises, and between the choice of game and our pre-game preparation (both in-person & via e-mail), we've been able to synch onto a common wavelength nicely. Part of what I mean by this is, I think our shared enthusiasm for the type of game and type of setting represented by 2300 AD turned out to be a fair proxy for being personally compatible.

Quote from: Abyssal MawIf we're going to be totally honest, you should also exclude any game you exclusively have played at conventions as being 'actually played'.

Further excluding "playtests", "demos", and "tryouts".

Why? :confused:   Why don't you count those as playing a game?

Just a slight tangent, I really think it's important for publishers to include an intro adventure in their games. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to get a game started with a new system (game)

Regards,
David R

Quote from: AnemoneWhy? :confused:   Why don't you count those as playing a game?

*I* exclude this, including when I write reviews, and here's why:

In my experience it's very difficult to give a game a proper shakedown and get a feel from it based on just one or two sessions.  Inevitably the group is using one or more rules wrong, has only used the basic mechanics, hasn't built characters (pregens), or otherwise hasn't given the system the sort of test even a short campaign (say 4 or 5 sessions) would.

That's really a matter of personal preference though, and certainly not something I'd hold other folk to.  Just thought I'd share.

This is sad, but, a couple years ago I tried to make a comprehensive list of every RPG I've ever purchased (needless to say I've traded, sold, or given them all away over the years).  The list was over 300 (that's systems, not supplements)!  You could probably add another 50 or so since then.

Then, I went through and added up the number of systems I actually played (not counting a few one shots, or mini sample games)...the total was 26 at the time (might be 28 now).

This is, one of the other reasons I've decided to keep all my purchases at a minimum.:insane:

I currently own HERO, B/XD&D, AD&D, 3E, HKAT, SotMK, Agone, Exalted, UA,  V:tDA, GURPS 3E, C&C, The Mechanoids, HU 1E, TMNT, PFRPG 1E, BtS, Rifts, TMNT, Cosmic Enforcers, Senzar, Cybergeneration, WotG, Mage 2nd, BESM, Classic MSH, Metamorphosis AtO, M&M, Tal4, Aria, TFOS, Nobilis, and Scion.

Over the past two years, I have only played BESM, M&M, WotG, Exalted, 3E, C&C, and HERO.

I want to fix this so badly!

Quote from: grubmanThis is sad, but, a couple years ago I tried to make a comprehensive list of every RPG I've ever purchased (needless to say I've traded, sold, or given them all away over the years).  The list was over 300 (that's systems, not supplements)!  You could probably add another 50 or so since then.

Then, I went through and added up the number of systems I actually played (not counting a few one shots, or mini sample games)...the total was 26 at the time (might be 28 now).

This is, one of the other reasons I've decided to keep all my purchases at a minimum.:insane:

I hear you, but I just like to read the things for some reason.

Quote from: AnemoneWhy? :confused:   Why don't you count those as playing a game?

Nope. Exclusively played at conventions doesn't count.

1) You don't need to own the game for a convention game.

2) If you exclusively play at a convention, you have not approached that game as anything but a showpiece.

3) "Cons are useful for research and playing games you don't normally get to play, but I'm interested in roleplaying as a typical, socially integrated practice. "-- Malcolm Sheppard.

If you only play at conventions- you have not approached the game as a typical, socially integrated practice. Your'e just part of a scene that has attached itself to gaming but doesn't actually reflect anything. Gaming has already passed you by. At some point you have to decide if you game because your'e part of the scene, or if your'e part of the scene because you game.

4) Of course if you play in places other than conventions, AND at conventions, this doesn't count.

Quote from: grubmanThis is sad, but, a couple years ago I tried to make a comprehensive list of every RPG I've ever purchased (needless to say I've traded, sold, or given them all away over the years).  The list was over 300 (that's systems, not supplements)!  You could probably add another 50 or so since then.

Then, I went through and added up the number of systems I actually played (not counting a few one shots, or mini sample games)...the total was 26 at the time (might be 28 now).

This is, one of the other reasons I've decided to keep all my purchases at a minimum.:insane:

Tell me about it, I give away alot of my stuff, if I think that person will have more fun with it, or is a bigger fan, I tend to let them keep it,

But saying that, lol, I tend to rebuy them later,

I wouldn't even try to add up the amount of game systems I've played,
many were only played the once,

In the last year:

Bought (or gotten free)
Conan (Mongoose)
Conan (TSR)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Holy Lands (a Christian rpg that's actually not too bad)
Classic D&D (Moldvay, to see what all the fuss was about; I already had Mentzer's Basic and Expert, and the RC)
Classic D&D (a third copy of Mentzer Basic, this one in smaller digest-size paperback format, had to get this one from the UK)
Stormbringer 3rd
Sovereign Stone (non-D20 version)
Legend of Yor
Shades of Heroes
Lord of the Rings Adventure Game (ICE)
Star Trek (LUG)

Played
Warhammer

Quote from: TechnomancerIn the last year:

Bought (or gotten free)
Conan (Mongoose)
Conan (TSR)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Holy Lands (a Christian rpg that's actually not too bad)
Classic D&D (Moldvay, to see what all the fuss was about; I already had Mentzer's Basic and Expert, and the RC)
Classic D&D (a third copy of Mentzer Basic, this one in smaller digest-size paperback format, had to get this one from the UK)
Stormbringer 3rd
Sovereign Stone (non-D20 version)
Legend of Yor
Shades of Heroes
Lord of the Rings Adventure Game (ICE)
Star Trek (LUG)

Played
Warhammer

Sheesh, any thoughts on that list?  It seems quite weighted on one end.

Is that the original series LUG Trek by the way, out of casual and passing interest?

Hmm.  I've got some games I've bought specifically for a game I wanted to run, or a game I was playing in, and there's stuff I've just picked up because it's 'cool'.  I own a bunch of splatbooks and the like for games I don't actually own, either because I was playing in a game at the time, or because I wanted the material inside for another game I was playing/running.  I don't own a lot of books, relative to most gamers I know, because we're all very trusting when it comes to lending the rest of the group our stuff...

Own and played more than a one-shot:

BESM 2E (and some sourcebooks)
BESM 3E  
M&M 2E (And Several Sourcebooks)
Many oWOD Clan/Tradition books.
GURPS Warehouse 23 (used as sourcebook for BESM game)

Own and played one-shots, playtesting, etc:

Robotech (and many sourcebooks, which now supplement my BESM Mecha campaign)
Feng Shui (I strictly speaking don't own the actual rulebook, but my landlord does.  Between us we own every Feng Shui book I know of besides the Jammers, Lotus, and Architects sourcebooks, most of which are mine)

Own and have done nothing with:  

Q'in (A birthday present which I only got middle of last month, so doesn't really count)
Pokéthulhu
Werewolf the Forsaken
nWoD Tales from Precinct 13
TMNT and other strangeness

Off the top of my head, that's everything.  Proportionately speaking, Ive used a lot more of my books than I've not used, which I imagine puts me in the minority.

Quote from: BalbinusSheesh, any thoughts on that list?  It seems quite weighted on one end.

I'm an impulse buyer? :D

QuoteIs that the original series LUG Trek by the way, out of casual and passing interest?

Yeah, TOS.  I have actually sold it already as well. It just didn't grab my interest.  It only cost me a couple of bucks on ebay in the first place, so I don't feel bad about taking the chance to check it out.

Games new to me in the past two years . . .

Jags Wonderland
Jags Have-Not
Hearts and Souls
Cold Space
FTL Now
In Harms Way
In Harms Way - Aces In Spades
Black Dragon - the Land of Laeyon
Earth AD.2
Coyote Trail - and all its add-ons

Games I've played:

Jags Wonderland - we played about seven sessions of this, in total. If I had more commitment from my players, I would have continued to run this game, but probably using the Jags ruleset instead of the funky little homebrew mechainc we used.

Hearts and Souls - we played a one-shot game and had a blast! I'm not really into supers! RPGs, but Hearts and Souls was heaps of fun.

Cold Space - I am still playing Cold Space and enjoying it immensely. I've been running the campaign for over a year now. Unfortunately, I'm using FTL Now (the extended version of Cold Space) at all because I've developed my own alt-present/future.

Coyote Trail - this is definitely one of my favourite Western RPGs, especially when you want a break from alt-Western stuff. Generally we play one-shots or short series of games.

Games I hope to run soon: In Harms Way - Aces In Spades

The remaining games on my list are great games, but time is limited.

The one game I've ever actually bought but haven't yet played at all is Engel. All the others I've at least tried out briefly: during the last year or so I've run Nobilis, Praedor, Sailor Moon, and Puppetland.

My percentage would be pretty low in terms of games actually played.  However, I do read and enjoy every one...so I am using them.  Just often not as games...