@Taskerland That's easy to do with board games though, and most people are looking at the onboarding ... tee hee or learning stage of a game, to see whether it's worth buying rather than the longevity of a game. We look at RPGs in a much more structural "would I invest a two year long campaign in this"

@Printdevil @Taskerland Some research from a few years ago suggests that the typical hobbyist boardgame gets played something like six times. (This was used to excuse the monstrous waste of "legacy" games.) I think it's also worth considering the number of systems that show up with quickstarts these days: yeah yeah you can generate a character later, here's something you get you right into the actual play experience and see if you like it.

@Printdevil That's an interesting question though... Indie games are not built for long-term campaigns and I'm not sure that PbtA games are either. D&D games still are but I'm not sure how many people get there and OSR people make a lot of noise about long-term play but then most of their stuff is geared towards low-level and short-term campaigns of no more than 5-10 sessions.

I think gamers of our generation still believe that 2 year campaigns are the gold standard but I'm not sure of others.

@RogerBW That's funny... for all that boardgamers piss and moan about monopoly, I bet the family monopoly set gets more than 6 outings. @Printdevil

@Taskerland @Printdevil The PbtA I've looked at most closely is Monsterhearts, and that has an explicit endpoint. You can port one or more characters from there to a new campaign, but it's definitely a separate thing.
I find I actually prefer shorter campaigns but that may be because I enjoy inventing a world more than running in it.

@RogerBW That's funny... for all that boardgamers piss and moan about monopoly, I bet the family monopoly set gets more than 6 outings. @Printdevil

Scratch any grog complaining about Monopoly and you'll usually bring up some weird old family wound about being beaten by an elder brother at it 30 years earlier and all games since "haven't used the proper acquisition rules"

Then they'll go post about their players on Dragonsfoot.

@Taskerland @RogerBW

@Printdevil @Taskerland Well, I'd say I feel seen, but I don't think I have any old wounds and I tend to look at the game's history (and the fact that the other half, the variant designed not to be boring, was ignored when it was stolen). And to be fair I don't tend to talk or even think about Monopoly unless someone else brings up the subject.

I don't enjoy monopoly either but there's a definite pathology about it amongst grogs

@RogerBW @Taskerland

Some thoughts on the place of criticism in the world of #ttrpg and why I have decided to stop reviewing other people's games.

On Criticism and TTRPGs

After some amount of reflection, I have decided to stop reviewing RPGs. At least for the foreseeable future. There are a number of motivators behind this decision but the first and foremost is that I am burned out to the point where the sense of fatigue has begun to filter over into other areas. Having…

Taskerland (tasker.land)

@Taskerland Full sympathies and understanding. I do you hope you keep up some RPG writing about your own group's experiences, though!

@Taskerland I've enjoyed your reviews, very much, as a fan not only of RPGs but of reviews as their own form. They reflect more insight and experience than most, and you've always been clear and honest about your tastes.

(Fortunately, I managed to miss your efforts as a critic, or maybe I just burned those memories from my brain. ️)

Sorry to see it stop being worth it, but glad to see you take this step for your sanity and resources both worldly and personal.

@Printdevil Weird thing is that Diplomacy is one of the well-springs from which RPGs originally formed but grogs aren't all that interested in it. Too much talking. @RogerBW

Diplomacy, Credo, there are/were lots of talky games, but I think the talking wasn't as interesting as war-dollies, t-shirts, smelling of stale companioniship and carry outs.

@Taskerland @RogerBW

@Printdevil That's an interesting question though... Indie games are not built for long-term campaigns and I'm not sure that PbtA games are either. D&D games still are but I'm not sure how many people get there and OSR people make a lot of noise about long-term play but then most of their stuff is geared towards low-level and short-term campaigns of no more than 5-10 sessions.

I think gamers of our generation still believe that 2 year campaigns are the gold standard but I'm not sure of others.

@Printdevil @Taskerland @RogerBW Is it the talking? or the deviousness and counter-plotting?

@BigJackBrass Diplomacy is a game with very simple explicit mechanics sat atop of a very complex social system that rewards play-acting when you play-by-post anonymously. A lot of people are opposed to ttrpgs being like that. @Printdevil @RogerBW