An interesting thing happened to me the other day that hasn't happened in a good, long while.
I was having dinner with my girlfriend and her friends and found out that two of them play Dungeons & Dragons. Pretty seriously too. They were a couple and the fellow made a D&D related joke, one only gamers would really get, so I knew they were the real deal.
Apparently my girlfriend had told them about me and that I gamed as well. I said, "Yes I am a big RPG fan. Have been for a long time. I just don't really play Dungeons and Dragons".
To which the fellow inquired, "Oh, so more computer, video game RPGs?"
I chuckled, "No, no, definitely tabletop, just not D&D."
He seemed a little confused. "So...like Warhammer? Miniatures?"
Here were two people well versed in the Dungeons and Dragons game who were largely unaware that there were other RPGs out there. I know this is a thing but I don't recall encountering this personally since the 80s I think. Just as they must have assumed D&D is the only game of its kind, so did I assume everyone who knew there was one RPG must automatically know there are many.
And there are...many that is. One could say...Plenty.
The fact is we live in an amazing time in which there are Plenty of RPGs not only available for purchase and even for free, but covering Plenty of different genres and styles. With the internet as a resource you can buy and download PDFs or order physical copies of an absolute plethora of games.
RPGs new and old, serious and comedic, Fantasy to Modern, Superhero to Hard SF, one-shot party games to those designed for long term play are available to virtually anyone who has access to a computer.
Why then would people only play or even know about only one game?
It's a strange mirror to my last post that I can barely conceive of the idea of only playing one game and yet there are those that do just that. They do it and are happy and that's both infinitely wonderful and totally bizarre to me.
There are Plenty of games out there, ipso facto I want to play Plenty of games.
Again, as before, I use a food analogy (because I am a bit of a foodie) and try to imagine eating the same meal over and over again. As much as I love Sushi (and I do LOVE Sushi), I don't think I could eat it for dinner 7 nights a week. I would get bored of it and then probably lose interest in having it again for a long, long time.
Part of me is saddened by the possible realization that there indeed Plenty of RPGs but that Plenty aren't being played. Plenty are probably purchased but I wonder how often they are being brought to the table instead of tried and true games like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and a few others.
In response, and to some up this post, go play an RPG you haven't played before. Run one you've never run. Pass on to your fellow gamers the word that Plenty of games exist and as such we should each give Plenty of them a chance.
You may not find any you like more than the one(s) you are currently playing. On the other hand you may find...Plenty.
AD
Barking Alien
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