[quote=”Kelemelan” post=2185]Yeah, well, I’m from a time when there were no so-called computer rpgs and nothing but pen & paper. So to me, RPG means RPG and everything else is something else : boardgame, computer game, mmo, what have you…[/quote]
Sure, if you want to use overly broad definitions.. it just falls apart as soon as someone says “what kind of game is that?”
While Star Fleet Battles and Settlers of Catan are both boardgames for example, they’re about as different in theme, scope, and complexity as possible, and one in no way can serve as a frame of reference for the other.
Describing an RPG as “like Dungeons & Dragons” likewise describes games with common mechanical or thematical elements, it also implies some very specific traits and in no way encompasses the breadth of the genre… like Mythic for example, that can be played entirely without a DM/GM.. or Traveler that takes place in space and uses an entirely different mechanical system.
My point being like “RPG” is overly broad and inadequate to describe the breadth of games available under that umbrella, likewise is “boardgame”. You mentioned in another thread you think of boardgames as things like monopoly or chess, but that’s an outdated and very limited definition. Some boardgames in my collection like Leviathans, Crimson Skies, and Renegade Legion have a vastly more interesting story and universe with significantly better mechanics for roleplaying in them than many RPGs I’ve seen. Crimson Skies won’t do if you want to figure out what you have to roll for initiative before combat, but there’s not a single RPG on the planet that would beat it for role-playing a fighter pilot in an alternate 1930’s universe. Not. One.
So describing some boardgames as “light RPGs” is the most accurate definition. The term “Adventure game” used to be more common, but that term has likewise become too broad to really mean much.
Note that I tried many of these, and they are most certainly entertaining. I’m just saying that they are not RPGs, that’s all. 🙂
..they’re not traditional P&P RPGs. But I don’t think anyone could make the sane argument that the RPG genre wouldn’t encompass games like Mage Knight or Magic Realm.
Lucky for you, most boardgamers hear the term RPG and still think about P&P games first and foremost 🙂