Vampunks (2020)

 

Checking out Vampunks, a cyberpunk role-playing game about vampire hunters, and also like computers and stuff I guess. Check it out yourself at https://alexander-eden.itch.io/vampunks

[The Future of this Blog]

 So you may have noticed a distinct lack of new written reviews here on this blog, and that of course is because I haven't really been writing any.

The issue is nobody really reads this (or any) blog and I need to be selective with on what I choose to spend my time and effort. Like, my worst-performing video reviews get over 100 views, and here I'm lucky to get 10. Promoting the blog in the videos and on social media doesn't really seem to bring much traffic this way, and I've tried finding another planform, but there just aren't any left that are good for long-form text post and have an actual audience.

So while I won't say that I'm not going to do any more written reviews, it is very much a situation of a thing I'll only be doing if I find a game I really want to talk about, but won't work in video format.

After the Bomb (2001)

 

After the Bomb, the final form of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles role-playing game. A post-apocalyptic RPG with anthropomorphic animals, but not technically furry, for specific reasons.

Mew-Tants! (2020)

Checking out Mew-Tants! a game about cats with superpowers, one of the games I backed from this year's Zine Quest.

Boot Hill (1975)

Checking out Boot Hill, the first western role-playing game, from one of the creators of Dungeons & Dragons. So it's kinda like Gungeons & Dragons... Which is a thing I should probably make.

Final Stand

Eastern (martial arts)

Self Published

2002

Complexity: 3

Final Stand is a game about martial arts action fighting, and also a game that was recommended to me by a reader, which is convenient for me because I didn’t have to find it myself.

Revenant World

Checking out Revenant World a game of dead gods, microcosms, magical lullabies, and somehow not the strangest game I've reviewed. Available via https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/259079/Revenant-World

The Intoxicated Sorcerer

Generic (fantasy) [one page]

Self Published

2020

Complexity: 1

The Intoxicated Sorcerer is a game where you play as a broom that has been accidentally given life by the eponymous intoxicated sorcerer due to a magical accident. Which may not be the strangest premise for a game that I’ve reviewed, but it is certainly up there.

Secret Science Sewer Siblings

Modern (anthro)

Cloven Pine Games

2019

Complexity: 2

Cowabunga dudes, dudettes, and dude-non-binaries! It’s time to check out another radical slice of not-quite-copyright-infringing gaming with Secret Science Sewer Siblings! A totally radical game about sewer-dwelling mutant siblings trying to rescue their kidnapped mentor. Okay, I’m going to stop talking like that now, being totally tubular isn’t as easy as it seems.

Wizard Cops

Generic (crime, fantasy)
Newstand Press
2015
Complexity: 2

Wizard Cops is a very short game about cops that police wizards, and may also be wizards. It is basically an example of a game, and I’m just going to quote its intention. “ It's only a paragraph long, but it is used as an example how a very small number of rules can create very specific conflicts with controlled resolutions.”
So that’s what we’re working with here, and let’s see if this game can break the curse of games titled Wizard _ _ _ _.

Troika

Join me in Checking out Troika! a game with some weird rules and even weirder content.

[Let's Make Us A Character]

Hey, do you like that part in the videos where we make a character? Then you'll love Let's Make Us A Character, a new series when I go in-depth into the character creation for games that I normally wouldn't review due to my focus on obscure titles. The first three episodes are already out and cover character creation for Original, Basic, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Princess Pillowfighter

Medieval (fantasy)
Self Published
2015
Complexity: 2

Well, I’m still in a princess mood, so let’s look at another princess-themed game. Princess Pillowfighter is… pretty much exactly what it sounds like, a game in which princesses resolve issues with one another, often by pillow fighting. Is it more than that? Maybe, but it is most certainly that thing.

Pretty Fairy Princesses

Join me in checking out Pretty Fairy Princesses, a thing that is exactly what it sounds like, tabletop role-playing game about pretty fairy princesses.

[Bloody Shillelagh]

A little late here, but I recently put out a micro RPG where you play as maniacal leprechauns causing a bit of mischief on the one day a year where they can cross into the mortal realm.

Available for free as a PDF for device reading, as well as a printable format (in U.S. letter and A4) for printing up and folding into a pocket zine.

Acquire it here

The Doctor Who Role Playing Game

Join me as I take a look at the first ever Doctor Who RPG, The Doctor Who Role Playing Game released by FASA in 1985. Bonus trivia: after the first printing, all images of Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor) were removed, and many replaced with images of Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor).

Mission: Cupid’s Wings

Unspecified (comedic, fantasy)
Dread Vector
2018
Complexity: 1

You may recall during my review of Revenge of the Turkeys I suggested that I found myself curious if the publisher’s other holiday-themed games were of… let’s just say “similar quality.” So now I find myself looking at Mission: Cupid’s Wings, a Valentine’s Day themed game, where players play as cupids trying to help another cupid named Dreamer who needs to make two creatures fall in love while also being distracted by their own amorous ambitions.

Ghostbusters International

Join me in checking out Ghostbusters International, the second edition of the award-winning Ghostbusters role-playing game, which isn’t winning any awards.

Just Quest

Medieval (fantasy)
Mini Zines
2020
Complexity: basically unplayable

I realized that it’s been 2020 for almost a whole month now and I haven't used a 202X tag yet. So I went to DrivethruRPG and searched for the newest free core rulebooks, and eventually found something that actually was a core rulebook—fun fact: most of the products in the “core rulebook” section are not core rulebooks, because unscrupulous publishes just tag all their products with it so they’ll show up in more searches, and there is no system in place to report publishers who are doing shady stuff like that. Anyway, so I should reasonably be able to review any product in that section as if it were in fact a core rulebook, and would be fair in doing so, which I will now proceed to do.

Horrorlogic

Modern (horror)
Self Published
2019
Complexity: 2

Horrorlogic is a game self published on Tumblr that I found via Reddit, and of course I am reviewing it as I can’t pass up a horror game and have literally no standards for what I will review on this blog. Basically, Horrorlogic is another one of those games that tries to adapt horror movies into a tabletop experience. A very specific category that includes the highest rated game I’ve reviewed, and one of the lowest. So let’s see where Horrorlogic falls in that range.

Albedo Second Edition

Something a little different, taking a look at the updates made in Albedo Second Edition. It’s animal people in space, with updated rules!

Albedo

Join me in checking out Albedo, as far as I can tell the first ever furry role-playing game. It’s got animal people, in space, and is based on Erma Felna: EDF from Albedo Anthropomorphics