Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Defining Game #6: Gamma World

6. Gamma World 3rd edition, 1987

Gamma World was the point where all of the gaming moments #1-#5 started to really come together. It was more than just roleplaying too because we really got into the creation of settings, rolling up NPCs, making monsters, equipment, cartographizing (yes, I just made that up) whole lands, and lots more.

Before Gamma World, roleplaying for me had some tentative steps and of course solid beginnings but Gamma World was the first time I personally put it all together. We had a lot of memorable post-apoc games starting with the box set you see here. It would expand of course, but it's important to note our games weren't always serious stuff, we were just having fun with it and seeing where the rules, and our imaginations, were going to go. This was the first time my gaming took a light-hearted approach, and for that I had such a good time, obviously a trend I would take with me, well, pretty much always.

13 comments:

  1. Ive really only ever played the latest edition, but one of the things that got me curious about rpgs was a friend at school who told me about a gamma world game he was in. at least i think it was gamma world

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    1. I've got the newest edition, and am eager to play it but got sidetracked with Rogue Space. The feel is completely different but somehow they retained the zaniness.

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    2. i think its zanier than ever. one thing i love about this newest edition of it is it doesnt take itself very seriously. some people dont like that but its a blast to play. its the only game where i enjoy the aspect of random stat rolling and character generation

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  2. My Gamma World looked like this http://bit.ly/M0P91q and I loved it. After a while the silliness of the mutation tables led to things like "Peter the Flying Turbit" (intelligent rabbit with turtle shell and wings, perfectly legal) and I was too young at the time to really explore the depth of concepts like the "Knights of Genetic Purity."

    Great memories.

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    1. Aha, first edition, we ventured some forays into this territory within the last few years but it sadly didn't work out. Sounds like your character would be perfect for a miniature!

      The Knights of Genetic Purity concept, among many others, were also completely lost on me until much, much later in my gaming days.

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  3. I miss old school gamma, I played in one single, classic campaign back in the late 80s and it was really a heavy knock off of Thundar the Barbarian. Hilariously good times were had. Several years back I tried the 3rd ed era game and it was ok but it just never seemed as fun as the original version. The 4e era one one of the members of my gaming group picked up but we never ended up playing it, I had low expectations, but I have yet to try it.

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    1. I just got the Thundarr DvD boxed set this past Christmas and immediately thought of all of those old days of Gamma Worlding. You hit the nail on the head with "hilariously", Gamma World showed us that you could have fun with an RPG, and have a few laughs to boot.

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  4. One of us had second edition I think, but we never played it. We did play Gammarauders a lot though... Gamma world Kaiju board game. Really!

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    1. I never really knew what Gammarauders was, just that it had a cool cover.

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  5. I'm a second edition Gamma Guy. I loved it It was a pivotal piece in the 4 sided foundation of gaming: Basic D&D, Gamma World 2nd, Star Frontiers, and Villains and Vigilantes.

    I love the retro Gamma World game Mutant Future. Doesn't get any better than that.

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    1. I've got Mutant Future and the Thundarr sourcebook as well. It looks great but I haven't broken it in with the gorup yet.

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  6. wow, the collective RPG consciousness has come together =) I was trying to remember the name of this game and after some googling finally found it. Crazy.

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    1. Found it here? That is crazy! Stick around, if you like Gamma World chances are you'll dig a lot of this other stuff.

      Welcome aboard!

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