Reviewing TTRPGs

Grimshaw

One thing I'd like to start doing on this blog is reviewing tabletop RPGs I've played. I think this is important, because there are an awful lot of games out there, and not nearly enough good reviews. I'm not promising a lot of reviews, or particularly entertaining ones, but I am setting a few guidelines for myself. This list is as much for my benefit as yours.

 

1: No Book Reviews

There are already plenty of reviews of games that are based on a reading of the book, or which describe the game as a product or object.

I want my reviews to be based on my real experiences at the table with a game, not on a reading of it. The term 'actual play' was invented for this, but then it went on to be used for something that means almost the opposite, so I'm not sure what to call really playing the game. 'Actual actual play' will do, for now. 

 

2: No Snark, No Nonsense

This one will be, uh, difficult, for me, but I think it's important. Partly because I don't think it's a good look for someone who makes games to be writing epic burns about other people's work; partly because talk about RPGs online has suffered from truly overwhelming amounts of snark, snobbery, sulkiness, posturing, and cliquishness since basically its inception, and I don't want to be part of the problem.

 

3:  Don't Be Too Artsy

In a former life, I wrote about videogames, sometimes even in, like, proper magazines. As hilarious as it would be to start writing New Games Journalism about TTRPGs (don't think I haven't considered it!), that's not the sort of writing I want here. These aren't really going to be reviews in the sense of polished literary texts, or comprehensive product reviews, or gonzo journeys into the psyche of the writer (as fun as that would be).

I aim for simple, direct prose that communicates what I think is important or interesting about the game.

 

4: Do Actual Critique

I'm coming at this as a player, a designer, and a critic, so there will inevitably be things I find interesting, confusing, frustrating, or just bad. Teasing out the reasons I think a game succeeds or fails in certain areas is the most important part of the project.