Santa vs. Santa

Modern (fantasy)
Mystic Ages Publishing
2015
Complexity: 2

Okay, so my last attempt at reviewing a holiday-themed RPG didn’t turn out incredibly well, but just because one thing goes poorly doesn’t mean something similar will go similar poorly right? Alright, yes, I’m being a little sarcastic but honestly in the lawless land of web-published RPGs you can’t know how good or bad something is until you dig into it. Which is precisely what I plan to do here.

[New Rating System]

I've finally gotten around to updating my rating system, which I will explain in brief here with some more explanation after the break.

Games will still be rated on the same six criteria, but points will be awarded differently. Character Creation, Mechanics, and Presentation will still be rated out of 5 points to determine the "Base Points." But now Setting, Writing, and Content will now be rated out of 3 points and rather than being part of the total Base Points, will only provide an adjustment as follows.

3 = +1, 2 = +0, 1 = -1, 0 = -2

Also, the adjustment from Writing may be applied directly to the points for Presentation and displayed in the "Writing and Presentation" section when I don't really have anything to say about the writing.
All existing reviews have been updated to the new system, if you want to see the new ranking of all games you can view the list https://rpggeek.com/geeklist/246251

Revenge Of The Turkeys!

Modern (animal, comedic)
Dread Vector
2017
Complexity: 1

So it occurred to me that every Spooktober I review thematically-appropriate games to go along with the season, but why don’t I do the same for other holiday seasons? Well obviously because Halloween is a holiday that has an entire genre associated with it, whereas other holidays are much more specific and any games that would fit them thematically would have to be specifically made to do so, and likely be a slapdash mess of concept over quality… yeah, that does pretty much sound like most of the games I review.
Note: This is also the first test of a somewhat radical change to my rating system, which will hopefully make the overall score more reflective of the overall quality of the product.

Dead Halt

Join me in checking out Dead Halt, a weird retro cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game set in the 1996 of the early 80s.

Here Come The Monsters!

The Game of Gargantuans
Modern (giant monsters)
Deep7
1999
Complexity: 2

Here Come The Monsters! is another 1PG game from Deep7, like Shriek!—of which I have a generally positive opinion—and Exosuit A-OK—of which I have a generally negative opinion. It’s also a game about giant monsters, which just happen to be my favorite kind of monsters, so reasonably this should also be a thing that I like.

Send in the Clowns

Retro (horror)
Fat Goblin Games
2017
Complexity: 2

Send in the Clowns is a bit of an odd thing, it’s a special edition of vs. Stranger Stuff focused on clowns. It’s also, I believe, the third game I’ve reviewed from the deluge of Stranger Things/It-inspired games that have appeared in the last few years. So let’s check out Send in the Clowns, a game of creepy clowns, and creepier plagiarism.

Slasher Flick

Join me in checking out Slasher Flick from Spectrum games, possibly the first tabletop RPG to accurately emulate the slasher genre.

Final Girl

A Stereotypical RPG
Modern (horror)
Self Published
2019
Complexity: Unplayable

Okay, at this point you might be thinking, “wait a minute, didn’t you literally just review Final Girl?” and no, I reviewed The Final Girl. Final Girl is a game I happened to stumble upon when looking up information on The Final Girl, and decided to review it because… well let’s be honest here, I basically have no standards when it comes to what games I review. It is of course another “what if a horror movie… was an RPG?” game, a specific genre that is apparently very difficult.

The Final Girl

Modern (horror)
Gas Mask Games
2012
Complexity: 1

If you’ve been following me at all, you may have realized that I like horror movies, and in particular, slasher films. So obviously I’m all about games that attempt to bring the slasher experience to the game table.
The Final Girl is such a game, although it is specified to not specifically be about slasher films—the genre from which the title originates—as much as any horror in which it is generally expected that the majority of characters will die. As such, the general concept of the game is one of everyone dying except one person.
It’s also something of an odd game, specifically in the fact that characters and the role of game master move around between players throughout the course of the game. Also in other ways, but if I explained everything here in the introduction you’d have no reason to read the review.

Summer in Woodlake

Modern (horror)
Self Published
2019
Complexity: 2

Summer in Woodlake is a game about friendship and coming of age against the backdrop of a long-forgotten mystery in a small town. An extremely-specific genre that’s become weirdly popular in RPGs in the last few years for some reason.

Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier

Join me as I check out the first officially-licensed Star Trek role-playing game, 1978’s Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier from Heritage Models. So let’s set phasers to “review” and plot a course for adventure!

Clown Cops

Modern (comedic, crime)
Memento Mori Theatricks
2001
Complexity: 2

That’s right, I’m reviewing another clown-themed game. In fact, I will not rest until I’ve reviewed every clown-themed role-playing game I can find.
On a related note, I will be resting after this because Clown Cops is the only other  clown-themed role-playing game I could find. It’s also one of the most eccentric I’ve encountered. And if you stop and consider the games I’ve reviewed, you may realize that “most eccentric” is a pretty bold claim for me to be making here. Also, it is very important to keep in mind while reading this review that this is a very real game, I am not just making this up. So get some milk and animal crackers and enjoy—no, seriously, those are required to play.

Dallas: The Television Role-Playing Game

Howdy y'all, despite my better judgment I've done a review of the least necessary RPG of the 1980s.

Apocalypse World

Second Edition
Post-Apocalyptic
Lumpley Games
2016
Complexity: 2 for players, 4 for GM

Now you may be thinking “Apocalypse World, that’s not very obscure,” and you’re right, but I have my reasons. I’ve been encountering a lot of games that are “powered by the apocalypse” and for the most part I’ve been avoiding reviewing due to a complete lack of familiarity with Apocalypse World. So to be a well-informed game reviewer I decided that I had to read it, and let’s be honest here, I’m not going to read a 300-page RPG that I have no intention to play and not even get any content out of it.
Also, this gon’ be a long one.

Support

Modern (social)
Glass-Free* Games
2016
Complexity: 1

Support is a game about boobs, or rather a game about people and their relationship with the boobs that they may or may not have. Now if you’re thinking that’s an oddly-specific focus for a role-playing game, and that’s only because it is. But “oddly-specific” is kinda like, one of the things I do here.
Also this is my 50th review, so that’s something.

[Slight Format Update]

I mentioned this in a previous review, but I'm tired of basically noting that there is nothing noteworthy in a particular rating category. So moving forward when I don't have anything to say, I'm not going to bother. So just consider a 3/5 with no write up to be "Game is acceptable, but unremarkable in this particular area."

Aliens Adventure Game

Join me as I check out Aliens Adventure Game, the first tabletop role-playing game based on the Alien franchise, released in 1991 by Leading Edge Games, and it is… definitely an RPG from the early ‘90s.

Electric Schemes

Modern
Just Crunch Games
2018
Complexity: 1

Electric Schemes is a “micro-RPG of pre-teen mysteries and bikes” and is in fact a game, of sorts. It definitely presents itself as a game, that is one thing I am fairly sure of.

Best Friends

A Role-Playing Game About Girlfriends and All Their Petty Hatreds
(First Edition)
Modern (social)
Self Published
2005
Complexity: 1

Best Friends is a game about friendships between women, or rather the type of catty jealousy-riddled friendships between women that you may see in Archie comics or other pop-culture references of which I am unaware. But can you really base an entire game around the concept of petty jealousy? I guess you’ll have to read on to find out.
(yes, excellent teaser, 5/5)

Vice Squad

Eighties Police Adventures
Retro (crime)
Politically Incorrect Games
2003
Complexity: 3

Vice Squad is a game based on dumb exciting police movies and shows of the 1980s—think Beverly Hills Cop or Miami Vice… or Cop Rock if you like singing— intended for short low-prep games. It’s also another one of those fairly minimal reskins of a publisher’s house system, which we have recently seen can be a lazily-made half-assed mess. But maybe this time it’ll be different.

Exosuit A-OK

Near Future (anime, science fiction)
Deep7
2004
Complexity: 2

Exosuit A-OK is a game based on “real robot” anime, and if you understand what I’m talking about you’re probably a nerd. Well I guess since you’re already reading a blog specializing in obscure tabletop role-playing game reviews that was already a distinct possibility.

The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book

Join me as I review The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book, which is exactly what it sounds like, a Sailor Moon reference book with an RPG in it.

Lost in the Fantasy World

Medieval (fantasy)
Old Skull Publishing
2019
Complexity: 1

Lost in the Fantasy World is a role-playing game loosely based on a cartoon, loosely based on a role-playing game. And if that sounds weird, remember that there is a role-playing game unofficially based on an anime, based on a series of novels, based on transcripts of a role-playing game.

Time Claw

Various (science fiction) [fan game, supplement]
Self Published
2001
Complexity: 2

Time Claw is something I came across while researching Ironcaw. It’s also a Doctor Who fan game that used the system from Ironclaw. This game comes from an interesting point in the Doctor Who fandom, the Internet was now making communication and sharing of information incredibly easy. But it was also a time twelve years since the end of the series, and five years since the movie, and still two years away from Scream of the Shalka—or four years away from the series revival if you want to pretend Shalka didn’t exist.

Ironclaw

Join me as I review Ironclaw, an anthropomorphic fantasy role-playing game. A game that has something to offer be you furry or fleshy.

Stone Age

Prehistoric (fantasy)
Self Published
2010
Complexity: 4

Stone Age is—unsurprisingly—a prehistoric role-playing game, which is a setting that seems like it would be interesting, but is extremely underutilized. It’s also another 24-hour RPG, which as previously stated I like reviewing because they tend to be short and interesting. For a 24-hour RPG it’s also a bit… let’s just say “ambitious,” and you should keep the time restraint in mind while reading this review because me doing so while writing it would be unfair to other games.

[New Size Labels]

Greeting obscure role-playing game enthusiasts! I have now added a size label to all reviews indicating the length of the document in pages. You can now browse reviews of games that are 1, 2–29, 30–100, or over 100 pages in length. The new labels can be found on the sidebar with all the others.

Technical stuff: Page count is based only on "content pages" excluding covers and character sheets or similar pages (that's how I was qualifying things as one page, so I'm sticking with it). Also, any digital documents laid out in two-page spreads will be categorized by laid-out pages, not by PDF page count.

Update: changed the labels a bit, now they display in order and all of them actually work.

Above the Earth

Modern (superheroes)

Innocence Games
2004
Complexity: 1

Above the Earth is another 24-hour RPG, which I tend to review a lot of because they’re generally A: Free, B: Short, and C: Based on more experimental ideas. It’s also a superhero RPG, which just happens to be the most broken and unbalanced genre of role-playing game since, let’s be honest here, there is no way Batman and Superman are anywhere near the same power level, but in comics they are. This seems to be the problem that Above the Earth tries to solve.

Aki

A cute little role-playing game
Modern (anime, social)
Rävsvans Förlag
2004
Complexity: 1

Aki is a game inspired by slice-of-life shoujo manga… alright, well if anyone’s still here it’s a gave about ordinary life and social interactions--they are very clear on the point that there is nothing extraordinary and/or exciting, just relationships and stuff like that. It’s also apparently a “Triple Dogma award winner 2004” for best rules, most creative, and best graphic design. I can’t really find any information of the Dogma awards, but I assume it’s just a Swedish thing. Oh yeah, this game is Swedish, probably should have mentioned that. However I will be reviewing the English version, since as far as I know I do not speak Swedish--I do like Donald Duck though.

Awaiting the End

Universal
Future Proof Games
2014
Complexity: 1

Awaiting the End is a game about “a group of people awaiting a doom in an unpleasant place,” which makes it only slightly more uplifting than Camwhores. It’s also a GM-less game focused almost entirely on storytelling, which is the sort of thing that usually end up being a bit too role playing and not enough game for my tastes.

Hogwarts

Hey look another fan-made Harry Potter RPG. Since the official one continues to not exist.

Frogger

Modern [fan game]
Self Published
2006
Complexity: 1

So I decided to cover another video game-based game, one that seems to be from the same 24-hour RPG challenge as the DDR one. Now you may assume that this is a game based on the 1981 arcade game Frogger, and that’s a pretty fair assumption to make. It is called Frogger, and uses themes from the game Frogger--plus I already reviewed a game based on Dance Dance Revolution, so it’s not like that would be outside the realm of things that exist--but it is actually a game which uses Frogger as a metaphor.

Cosmic Pilgrims

Far Future (space)
Mutant Chiron Games
2018
Complexity: 2

Hey there, do you like high-concept games? How about a game of space-trotting philosophers? Well that’s what you’ll get with Cosmic Pilgrims. It’s definitely odd, but odd in a different way from a lot of the other games I’ve reviewed.

Dance Dance Revolution

An Unofficial Roleplaying Game
Modern [fan game]
Self Published
2006
Complexity: 3

Hey y’all mind if a go off in an odd direction and review a Dance Dance Revolution fan game? Yeah, well too bad, it’s already been done, so you might as well read it.
Dance Dance Revolution, an Unofficial Roleplaying Game is a bit of an odd beast--I know, shocking--in that it is not a game that takes place in the DDR universe, but is rather a game about playing DDR. It’s also a 24-hour RPG, which is something I’ve done in the past and can tell you isn’t as fun as it sounds. Anyway, now it’s time for me to attempt to take this seriously.

EPICS

Deserve to Survive
Universal (superheroes)
Dragonslayer Games
2003
Complexity: 2

EPICS--The Easy, Player-Initiated Character System--is a superhero game that didn’t want to be a superhero game so it became a “universal” system. It’s also a game that talks pretty big of itself, being described as “one of the most original game systems in years” and “a new type of roleplaying system” by its publisher. Which is convenient for me because that tells me exactly what I should be expecting, and to what standard I should be holding it--obviously very very high.

Camwhores

A Game About Hot Chicks Making Poor Choices
Modern (adult)
Two Scooters Press
2011
Complexity: 1

So this is a game that I’m a bit… hesitant about reviewing. Not because I’m uncomfortable with sexual content, quite the contrary, I think sexual content is great. I do however have issues with anti-sexual content, and for some reason I feel like Camwhores: A Game About Hot Chicks Making Poor Choices might not be the most sex-positive game. But hey maybe I’m wrong, maybe the title and subtitle are just satirical jabs at society’s aggressively-negative views on sex and sex workers. Yeah, I’m sure that’s the case and this won’t be something I immediately regret getting myself into.
[This review deals with sexual topics, but does not use any sexually-explicit language]

Squirrelfriends

A Game of Nuts & Squeaks
Modern (animal)
Dice Up Games
2019
Complexity: 1

After some of the somewhat negative reviews I’ve been doing lately I wanted to cover something that was light, fun, and happy--because my next review certainly isn’t going to be. So I will now be looking at Squirrelfriends, a one-page RPG about everyone’s favorite bushy-tailed rodents.

Console

Various (fantasy)
Self Published
2003
Complexity: 4

Console is a game about console RPGs.. I mean, it’s a game intended to be similar to console RPGs, it’s not about the development and/or playing of console RPGs--although that does sound like something I’d be interested in. More or less it’s a Final Fantasy fan game with some extras, and is actually the first in the Console series, followed by Super Console and Console: Handheld--which I have previously reviewed. So let’s set our expectations on fan game and dive in.

Khaotic

Join me as I review the 1994 science fiction role-playing game Khaotic. A game of psychic space travel, bio-mechanical monstrosities, and questionable design decisions.

Deadly Simple Role Playing System

Universal

Self Published
2011
Complexity: unplayable without significant user-generated content

Deadly Simple Role Playing System is an independently-developed universal system with a twist, it’s name isn’t a stupid acronym. This game is promoted as a “very easy to die in game, that is fun and flexible enough to fit into ANY world with a little bit of work,” and obviously if I’m specifically mentioning something in the introduction that means it’s going to come up later.

However, before I begin I should probably mention that I am on record on multiple occasions as saying that when a first-time designer decides to make a “universal system” it’s because they want to feel like they’re a game designer, but don’t want to have to do all the work associated with a fully fleshed-out game. Or they’re so conceded that they think their system is so amazing that they’re going to revolutionize the very concept of tabletop gaming. Although I will say that the creator of this system is probably not the latter.

Wizard Time

A Roleplaying Game of Arcane Arts

Medieval (fantasy) presumably
Self Published
2018
Complexity: only technically playable

Wizard Time is another one of those one-page RPGs I’m so fond of reviewing because they take very little time to read. Now I’m not entirely sure what I expected from this game, but I can say with a high level of confidence that it absolutely did not deliver. Aw snap, I’m not supposed to tell you the game is bad until the actual review. I’ve gone and killed the suspense.

I should probably warn y’all that this is going to be one of those angry salty reviews, as opposed to of the usual sassy but good-natured ones.

[Change in Ratings Format]

Hello all, I've decided to make a slight change in my rating and review format. Basically all that's changing is layout is being moved from the writing section to the art section--which has been re-titled "Presentation."
In this new format, the order in which content is presented will still be covered in the "Writing" section, but all aesthetic and readability qualities of layout--including use of tables, inclusion of helpful sidebars and summary pages, and things like typeface choice and column/page breaks--will be covered in the "Presentation" section. Also, I may now take cover art into consideration under Presentation--cover art was previously excluded from the "Art" score.
I've mainly done this in the interest of trying to keep my review scores semi-objective, as giving myself the authority to decide when art was "unnecessary" or "unreasonable to expect" is a little unfair. Also I've decided to be less generous in handing out N/A scores for Character Creation and Content. Specifically, anything where players need to make choices or rolls during character creation--or advancement--will now get a score, and "just make up your own stuff" will now get a 0/5.
I can't say how this is going to affect average scores, as it now makes it impossible to get an N/A score in a section in which a 0/5 is possible--and a lot of previous reviews did have an N/A in. Of reviews that I've updated to the new format, it has somewhat evenly raised and lowered scores. I'll most likely be updating the reviews for shorter--and lower scored--titles, and possibly the bigger, more in-depth ones eventually.

The House Always Wins

Modern (comedic, horror)
Self Published
2018
Complexity: 1

The House Always Wins is a game about characters in a house, trying not be be killed by said house, and failing. It seems that this game was made as a student project, as there is reference to material being added “post-in-class-presentation,” but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on it. The fact that is is a non-commercially-distributed product means I’m going to go easy on it.

Fleshscape

Post-Apocalyptic (weird)
Rooster Games
2017
Complexity: 2

The post-apocalyptic wasteland is usually depicted as a barren desert, although sometimes depicted as an overgrown forest or vast ocean. In Fleshscape, it’s made of meat.
If there’s one thing that gets my attention, it’s something I haven't seen before--hence the underrepresentation of traditional fantasy games in these reviews--and adventures in a post-apocalyptic meat word is definitely something I haven't seen before. Of course, now that I have seen it, any future meat world games will seem normal and uninteresting to me.