What I like to play

A conversation/comment on another blog caused me to really consider what I really like to play.

I'm not a typical gamer in any sense at all. I don't really enjoy fantasy, don't really like sci-fi, not a huge fan of comic books, certainly not a computer geek... I don't do Trek or Wars very much... so what DO I like?

I like dark future/creepy and sometimes scary. I like gritty, underworld, us-against-them, fighting to survive, maybe getting tough enough to fight a revolution type stuff. Dark Conspiracy, Shadowrun, Steampunk, Dreampark, World of Darkness, Feng Shui, Chill and even Chtulu when done right are the kinds of things I love to play. Some of Shane Hensley's stuff in Deadlands and related works hits the spot, but his sensibilities are often just a little too weird for me.

I really don't MIND futuristic games, as long as the science does not take over the fiction. It's kind of reminiscant of the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial- "hey, you got science in my fiction!". I don't want a stupid physics lesson on why the planet's geography, climate or size is impossible according to So & So's laws.... I want to PLAY!

I seriously quit a game after three people I know, like and respect spent 2 HOURS disagreeing over whether a certain planet type could exist within a certain solar system type in a MAKE BELIEVE world. BTW, full disclosure- one of these guys was my dad.

There's a lot of games I like *parts* of. I loved Earthdawn's setting- it was seriously the best fantasy setting I had ever encountered. But the system sucked booty. I like the idea of a flexible system like GURPS, but I've found the execution to be seriously lacking. Or, in a case like HERO, overdone. (Mr. Long needs an editor, badly.)

For fun & fluff, I like playing heroic games (Champions, Seventh Sea, Feng Shui sometimes)- but almost always a hopelessly twisted, somewhat dark & brooding character. I've gone out of my way to play someone different the past two games- we'll see what happens.

I like board games- but not strategic or tactical games. I like games where the point is obvious, easy to understand but might take some time to master, and fun. (Robo Rally and Infernal Contraption are good examples of this kind of game.) I do NOT like time or resource management games at ALL. I like puzzle games, and games that invoke laughter. (Jungle Speed is one of my favorites even though I am awful at it!)

I like miniature games for the most part. There are certain kinds I'm not fond of- I don't always see the point of a WWII game because um... we know what happened. But I love "fantastic" games like 40K, WarMachine, At-43 (even though I haven't played it, the idea is totally fascinating) and such.

I'll admit I like Magic in a casual setting. I happen to be the owner of several thousand cards, but they are inventory of the store- I can't really play with them. I can't and won't let myself get obsessive about them or tournament playing. It's just not that important to me.

There's certain games I will never play again. I seriously doubt I could ever be convinced to play a D&D style game ever again. I did it once, to say I did it, and it was ok. I did have fun, but I found the whole thing very limiting. The entire genre is not my cup of tea, so I doubt another run at it -a lot. VERY unlikely to play Traveller ever again- a certain GM pretty much ruined the game for me and stole all the possibility for fun right out of it. Any game where GM takes glee in killing the PCs (and not because they were stupid), where the Munchkins run the table, or the point is more about winning than having fun is going to be on my "no way" list.

I play to have fun and hang out with people I like. Usually HOW is irrelevant, as long as it is fun.