The big news last week was that Sam Pearson, a former Games Workshop game designer for Warhammer Spearhead and Warcry put out new rules for Black Death City, his skirmish game answer to Mordheim. I’ve downloaded the rules, which you can too by going to the Black Death City website, and I’m going to be following up with initial impressions on the ruleset later in the week. But, as it’s a new game, it got me thinking about “other” games that are out there…
I collect rulebooks like some people collect stamps. It’s always been something I’ve been interested in ever since I started playing D&D and then other roleplaying games as a kid. Every rulebook is a different take on how to represent some aspect of reality with a twist toward how they want their game to feel.
Cyberpunk 2020 was very different from D&D, for instance, because the fight system was relatively fast and fluid. There wasn’t a whole lot of math. It was about describing an epic gunfight and seeing if it could measure up against the dice odds. Villains & Vigilantes was a completely different system from either that tried to represent a world of super-heroes and villains. Cyberpunk RED is a re-imagining of Cyberpunk 2020 but with thirty years of video games in between serving as a major influence.
I love reading rules because I love seeing how people come up with new ways to twist reality into the type of story they want to tell. Unfortunately, I play almost none of them. Because, as it would turn out, for some reason, I really only have time to dedicate to a single game. And most of the people I know in this space seem to work the same.
A friend hosted a small game day one Friday where we all played hooky and we talked about various other games we were interested in. But the problem, as I identified it, was that all these other games might be fun to try and explore but we all knew each other as Necromunda players and we knew for a fact we’d have fun playing Necromunda. We might have a good time playing Space Station Zero. I’ve read the rules, it definitely sounds interesting! But was I willing to risk a rare day where three adult men, two of whom had children, were free to play games and then play something that I wasn’t certain we would all enjoy?
As my track record over the last four years has shown, that answer is no.
I used to be a very avid Blood Bowl player but even that has more or less tapered off. I still collect all the Spike! Journals but I haven’t painted a new team in years at this point. And I don’t think I’ve played a game yet in the latest edition. It’s not for lack of interest.
I’m not playing fewer games. In fact, I may actually be playing more
I spend my time playing what I know I’ll always enjoy. In this case, Necromunda edges out Blood Bowl. I’m not playing fewer games. In fact, I may actually be playing more! And I’ve definitely painted several teams’ worth of minis except they’re called “gangs” now. But I’ve got room for one game in my heart and Blood Bowl turned out not to be it.
I think another friend of mine operates the same way. His favorite game is Nemesis. And it’s a fine game. It’s not a personal favorite of mine but, then, who am I to judge? He likes his games a little more in the alien hunting grounds vein, I like mine where I’m the hunter. But when he half-jokingly suggests Nemesis when my wife and I are over for a games night, I know exactly where it’s coming from.
If he got to pick what game we played on a game night, Nemesis would always be his choice because, for him, a night playing Nemesis is a night where he knows he’s going to have fun. Just like I feel when I set up a table full of terrain and have pre-printed gang lists for him and his wife. And I think that’s why I’ve gotten him to play Necromunda but I’ve never convinced him to get his own gang.
There doesn’t seem to be a hard and fast rule with this kind of thing except that other games are for other groups. If your group plays Necromunda, it’s going to be quite the lift to get everyone around the table to play Cyberpunk RED. Likewise, if you play Nemesis every Wednesday night, I think switching that group to Necromunda might be asking too much. The next Nemesis release is definitely in the cards. But even switching to another board game like, say, Viticulture probably won’t happen.
it’s not like playing games as a teenager when you’re playing with your best friends
I think a lot of gaming groups come together for one game because of a mutual interest but it’s not like playing games as a teenager when you’re playing with your best friends and trying everything new that comes along. That mutual interest that brought the group together can also serve as a limiting factor that actually stops exploration from outside that thing. Everyone now is an adult and I think experiences are more curated because of it. At a certain age, the people you drink beer with aren’t the same people you drink wine with.
This isn’t a good or bad thing. I think it’s just what it is. But I also think it’s why it can sometimes be hard to get people to come your way when introducing them to your game. Just remember the number of times you didn’t go over to their side.
Other games, especially other large games require a large degree of commitment. And if you’ve already made that commitment, it’s hard to do so again. It’s why I’ve got all those rulebooks but haven’t played a game with most of them. They sure do look cool but it’s hard to pass up what I know is great for what I hope is…
