Games I Like

 I was in the gym last night and realized that it might be useful for folks if I gave a short list of games I like and why I like them.  This might help folks decide if they can trust my ratings.

My three favorite role-playing games:

1.  1981 Moldvay-Cook version of the Basic and Expert Dungeons and Dragons sets (henceforth called BX).  This is probably the most versatile D&D rules sets ever printed.  Anything can be removed from the game without breaking anything else and Referees can add whatever they want to the game and it won't break.  Don't like percentage thief skills?  Replace then with x-in-6, d20 vs. target number, or any other mechanic.  Since every mechanic in the game is a separate entity, they are all replaceable or adjustable and won't have an effect on other mechanics.  Versions of D&D with feats, skills, backgrounds, etc. are all designed to have all parts work together, causing more difficulty when excising bits that you do not like.

2.  Star Frontiers.  Star Frontiers is a dead simple, percentile-based game of space opera.  It was the first science fiction game I owned and it is still my favorite.  Dralasites, Yazirian, and Vrusk were so cool that modern versions of D&D have stolen them wholesale.  If I run a one-shot for people who have never played a RPG before, Star Frontiers is my go-to game.

3.  Savage Worlds.  SW is basically the exact opposite of what I like about BX D&D.  It is fiddly, rules heavy, especially during character creation and advancement, has an off-the-wall initiative mechanic (playing cards), it uses advantages, disadvantages, what in modern D&D are called feats, skills, but for all that, I really love this game.  The game is generic and can theoretically be used for any genre.  The tagline "fast, furious fun" isn't 100% accurate but it is close enough.  If I want to run a skill and feat style game, SW is my choice.

Honorable mentions:

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying 1st edition.  I don't care for the rules but I love, love, love the setting.  One of my homebrew fantasy settings is a complete ripoff from WFRP's Old World.

Blueholme.  This is an OSR retroclone of the Holmes version D&D basic set, modified to allow 20 levels.  If I started playing D&D in 1979 instead of 1981, this game and BX would no doubt be swapped.  

Buck Rogers XXVc.  Everyone else dislikes this game and/or makes fun of it.  Like WFRP, the rules aren't great (in this case, it is based on AD&D 2nd edition) but I adore the setting - solar system bound space opera. 

Gamma World.  I always enjoy getting to play this game but rarely do.   Rolling up a character that is riddled with defects can be a lot of fun.  I am also a big fan of post apocalyptic fiction and I am pretty sure this is the game that got me into it.