Variations of the theme

Of course, the theme here is gaming, but some games deviate from what’s expected. Typically, a game has someone nominated to run it, and people to play. This was how the hobby was born, and has largely carried on. Things have changed though.

There are games written that use no dice. This is waaay different from what things started as. There are games that have no central Game Master, or anything similar. There are games that are designed to operate in specific venues, like PbP, and the list goes on.

Basically, games have evolved. This is inherently a good thing. I spend time scouring message boards, reading articles, and what not to learn more about the hobby I love. Frankly, i have yet to run out of stuff to read. In addition, I have yet to stop being surprised at how people have managed to innovate within the hobby.

Just today I saw a Kickstarter campaign for an omnibus edition of GM-less games. The idea of something like this would have been kind of unthinkable decades ago, but not it seems like a great step forward. Even the idea that the Kickstarter should contain multiple games is in and of itself quite impressive.

The ideas here make note of just a few possible ways games have changed over time. Basically, the central feature of the game, the collaborative story, has retained its place. However, the manner in which the story can be told has more options than ever before.  Roll for initiative (or not depending on the game!) and see what some of the options offer.