Let’s talk about the ones that get away.

Countless times have we looked at RPG books and said “That would be such a nice game to play”. Countless times have we bought said books. Countless times have these books ended up gathering dust on our bookshelves. Such is the tragic fate of many RPGs.

Those who get to try a ton of RPGs are as lucky as they are few. It’s some sort of law of inertia, I believe. Getting to try a new game is hard. It requires you to spend the time to go over it and learn the basics, persuade your group to try it, and actually manage to arrange a session. All three have their own unique obstacles. Thus, we end up with more games than we play. As a book hoarder, I don’t really have a problem with getting more books, but it’s a pity that I don’t get to try them. I will alter the question a bit because, the way I see it, it asks about a game you have tried but you ended up never playing. Instead, I will just mention some games I own that I haven’t tried yet, even though I have said more than two times that I want to try them. So, in no particular order, let’s begin.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound is a really nice game and it saddens me that I haven’t played it yet. I need to finish the review that I’ve been writing about it. It has some really interesting mechanics that really make me want to try it. You basically play a team of characters that are bound together so you get some extra resources you can use. There is also a nice mechanic about rumours slowly becoming reality and having bad consequences if left unchecked. The fact that this is set in the Warhammer setting is a really nice bonus.

Forbidden Lands

I will never stop talking about Forbidden Lands, even if I ever get to try it. In fact, I will talk even more about it if I finally play it. Free League Publishing makes awesome games and this is one of them. This is the one I’ve been slowly reading so I can try it soon (aka in 2024). The setting is good, the game is good, and the books are beautiful. Oh, and the books have that nice kinda A5 size that scratches a specific itch in my brain.

D&D 4th Edition

I always liked 4th Edition. Even when people hated it and made fun of it, I liked it. At some point, it became a meme to hate on 4e. People who never even had opened a 4e book hated the edition, just because it was a fun thing to do. I know because I asked people about it. Nowadays, 4th Edition has been recognized for some really interesting mechanics, probably thanks to Matthew Colville. I started with 4e and it has a special place in my heart. It has mechanics I have incorporated in my games and I still flip through its books for inspiration from time to time. Even now, I am hunting for 4th Edition books and I may have managed to close a deal on a collection. I will definitely run a one-shot at some point. The only issue is when.

Honour RPG

I think this is a bit more obscure than the others but I’d like to give it a mention. A copy of Honour RPG came to my collection quite a few years ago, when I started playing RPGs. I have flipped through more than a couple of times and I even created a character once. However, I never ended up trying the game. This is a game by Nine Dragons, a Hong Kong based company. I am not sure if the company is still active since I haven’t seen any updates from it.

Even though I have more games to mention I think this is a good time to stop. Have you tried any of the games I have mentioned? If yes, did you enjoy them? Tomorrow’s question is “SMARTEST RPG you’ve played”. That requires much thought.

And until next time, have fun!