Re: 999 Rpgs to check out...
Ah, this is my element! I love checking out indie games, especially freebies. Half my games here are playtests of rules I’ve dug up online. Here are a few that have stood out (for one reason or another), but if anyone wants to ask questions, I’m always happy to chat about indie freebies. :)
However, my rule of thumb is that if I can’t count the pages on my fingers and toes, it’s only good for mining, and I don’t like taking my shoes and socks off!
Cost Key:
0 Free
? Can't remember
£ single figures
££ Double figures
£££ Never bought any, don’t intend to!
Game: 1PG
Author: Deep 7 Games
Pages: 16
Cost: £
Genre: Generic
Comment: This is my current game of choice. It’s fast, simple, and suited to PbP. Rules light, but with just enough crunch to work. The Goldilocks formula, IMO. As it’s title suggests, the core rules are contained on one PaGe, but each module comprises one page of core rules, one page of genre-specific rules, a couple of fluff pages and a couple of 3-4 page outline adventure scenarios. You buy as many or as few modules as you like, and in some parts of the world a pint of beer will cost you more. Weak magic rules.
Game: Atomic Highway
Author: Colin Chapman
Pages: ?
Cost: 0
Genre: Modern/Future
Comment: Most of this game is setting, which I discarded, since I like to make my own. The dice-pool combat rules are workable for PbP, though, and have some good innovations.
Game: Car Wars
Author: Steve Jackson
Pages: 147
Cost: ££
Genre: Modern/Future
Comment: An interesting game of vehicular chases/combat, but takes some tweaking for PbP.
Game: Chain Reaction
Author: 2 Hour Wargames
Pages: 42
Cost: 0
Genre: Generic
Comment: The core rules are generic, but nevertheless there are several additional genre-specific modules. Interesting game, nice for tabletop but awkward for PbP.
Game: Dead Simple
Author: Craig Cartmell
Pages: 1
Cost: 0
Genre: Fantasy/Generic
Comment: Noble attempt, but seems unfinished. Too easy to miss your opponent, dragging combat out excruciatingly, especially in PbP. Mined it for its innovative approach to magic, which I’m adapting to 1PG.
Game: Dirtside II
Author: Ground Zero Games
Pages: 56
Cost: ?
Genre: SciFi
Comment: A set of ground battle rules developed by a team of Traveller fans who wanted a Traveller-based wargame. They also do rules for space-navy battles. Good for tabletop, not for PbP.
Game: Dog Town
Author: Cold Blooded Games
Pages: 295
Cost: 0
Genre: Modern/Crime
Comment: Interesting idea, single-player based crime survival game. Mined it mainly for the hugely detailed modern urban setting: maps, location descriptions, character bios, etc. Never found anyone to play/GM it.
Game: Double Zero
Author: Berin Kinsman
Pages: 30
Cost: 0
Genre: Spy
Comment: Nice JB007 freebie. I’ll have to refresh my memory on this one.
Game: Duel Blade
Author: Jeff Moore
Pages: 3
Cost: 0
Genre: Swashbuckling
Comment: Nice simple duelling rules. Worth a look.
Game: En Garde!
Author: Paul Evans
Pages: 82
Cost: ££
Genre: Swashbuckling
Comment: Showing its age. This one’s as old as D&D and by today’s standards, it’s clunky. All about duelling and social climbing, but you’ll need a set of file index cards (remember those?) to keep track of your duelling, and a pocket calculator (or better still a spreadsheet) to keep track of your wealth and status. I need to find a better wealth and status ruleset for free. Suggestions gratefully received...
Game: Flashing Blades
Author: Fantasy Games Unlimited
Pages: ?
Cost: ?
Genre: Swashbuckling
Comment: Obviously based on En Garde! Some parts simplified, other parts expanded upon, most parts modernized.
Game: Fubar
Author: Craig Cartmell
Pages: 1
Cost: 0
Genre: Fantasy/Ancient
Comment: Never gave this a fair trial after discovering the holes in the author’s Dead Simple game (above). Wanted to join this skirmish set to that personal combat set. One day, perhaps.
Game: Lady Blackbird
Author: John Harper
Pages: 16
Cost: 0
Genre: SciFi
Comment: Meh. Never really got into this one. Seemed neither one thing nor the other. One of those semi-freeform thingys.
Game: Pirates, Ye Olde Core Rules
Author: New Dimension Games
Pages: 147
Cost: ?
Genre: Swashbuckling
Comment: Typical pirate fare. Similar to Flashing Blades, above. Mined it for ideas but never played it. Looks a bit complex for PbP, but probably make a nice tabletop game.
Game: Risus
Author: John S Ross
Pages: 4
Cost: 0
Genre: Generic
Comment: Meh. Too simplistic and wacky. Might suit kids, or college students after ten pints...
Game: Run or Shoot
Author: Jim Wallman
Pages: 9
Cost: 0
Genre: Zombie
Comment: Good, fun game. Jim Wallman is one of my fave game designers. He designs ‘one brain cell’ games that are simple, fast, and more fun than a 300 page tome. I don’t think he’s written any Fantasy or SciFi rules, though, he’s a skirmish wargamer at heart.
Game: Stars Without Number
Author: Sine Nomine Publishing
Pages: 210
Cost: 0 (free version)
Genre: SciFi
Comment: Travellerish setting. Neat chapter on Factions, a sort of solo-game for a GM behind the scenes, allowing the GM to determine the assets and plot the fortunes of various factions ranging from a street gang to an interstellar government. When you meet those three punks you beat up last month, you find they’re now running a bona fide street gang with rep and muscle... Mined that bit.
Game: Teen Island
Author: Sooga Games
Pages: 17
Cost: 0
Genre: Modern/Survival
Comment: Interesting concept: a bunch of shipwrecked angst-ridden teens trying to survive together. Limited to that scenario, though. Had to add my own weather rules.
Game: The Window
Author: Scott Lininger
Pages: 42
Cost: 0
Genre: Generic
Comment: Meh. Never really got into this one. Seemed neither one thing nor the other. One of those semi-freeform thingys.