An Indispensable Guide


Picked this one up a few weeks ago at the local Half-Price Books (which is, btw, an excellent resource for OOP games). I'll admit, I hadn't ever seen or heard of this handy tome before, but I'm sure glad I found it.

For the old-school gamer, this is the pocket game reference. Pretty much every RPG made from the hobby's genesis until 1990. And let's face it, it was all done by 1990. Every thing after that was varations on established themes. Rick Swan, the author, goes to some lengths to point out in the introduction that he couldn't possible cover every single game made but it's pretty comprehensive to me, and hits every title I played growing up, plus dozens more I had never even heard of (or didn't remember). Suffice it to say it is worthy of the title The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games.

Swan's a good writer too, and puts it from the gamer's perspective. Each game is catalogued, rated, and neatly critiqued. Cover art by Phil "Goblin Digging Team" Foglio seals the deal. Though long OOP, it is still readily available through the usual used book channels.

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