Banned In Germany And The Montreal Massacre

Metagaming's Hitler's War is a fast-playing World War II simulation. You can play the entire second World War in about four hours.

It's not a bad little game, if you are into the genre. It has the unfortunate distinction of displaying several swastikas on the front cover, artwork which essentially results in it being banned in Germany.

It doesn't help that Hitler, himself, is displayed prominently on the box, with his signature salute. That salute is also illegal in Germany.



************************************************

The Montreal Massacre occurred on December 6, 1989.

Twenty-five-year-old Marc Lépine, armed with a legally obtained rifle, entered a classroom where he separated the male and female students. After claiming that he was "fighting feminism", he shot all nine women in the room, killing six.

He then moved through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, specifically targeting women to shoot.

Overall, he killed fourteen women before turning the gun on himself. His suicide note claimed political motives and blamed feminists for ruining his life. The note included a list of nineteen Quebec women whom Lépine considered to be feminists and apparently wished to kill.

As a result of the Montreal Massacre, Canada instituted a national gun registry.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/bizarre%20games
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Joining The Grindhouse Gang

I'll freely admit, i've been jealous of those of you whose Lamentations Of The Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-playing Grindhouse Edition has already arrived. My jealousy has since turned to joy: My Grindhouse Edition arrived today!












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Bunnies & Burrows RPG

Bunnies and Burrows was published by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1976, just two years after the publication of the original Dungeons and Dragons little brown books.

B&B is a 36-page role-playing game of intelligent rabbits. When I first learned of this game's existence, in the late 70's, I initially presumed that it, along with Tunnels and Trolls, were published as some sorts of satirical pokes in the eye of D&D.

B&B is anything but. While it takes its inspiration from D&D, it was designed to be played "straight", by emulating the real world, as seen through the eyes of rabbits. The game is frustratingly open-ended: it provides little in the way of suggestions as to what sorts of misadventures your Bunny alter-egos may become entangled in. A B&B gamemaster, and the players, will have to be imaginative to come up with compelling situations and challenges.

Not surprisingly, considering the publish date, the illustrations appearing in Bunnies and Burrows are not unlike those in the original D&D LBB's. Amateurish. Here we have a representation of one of the Bunny character classes: Seer. Ahoy there, mateys, have ye seen me spell components? This Bunny looks like a cross between pirate and magic-user.

Here we have another Bunny character class: Scout. Apparently these Bunnies have the advantage of riding other Bunnies, as they perform their scouting duties.


This next Bunny is a Herbalist, and is testing some herbs to determine their effects. B&B has a rather complex set of rules for adjudicating the effects and uses of various herbs. It predates by several years the AD&D medicinal herbs rules found in the DMG, yet the B&B rules are just as detailed.


Empaths are the Jedis and Clerics of the B&B universe, being able to both heal other bunnies and deal empathic damage. Capes are optional.

Storyteller Bunnies are the extroverts and leaders of the burrow. They have an improved chance of pursuading other Bunnies, and get bonuses for mating. Apparently Does like Bucks that can make them laugh.

I can't help but notice that this next Bunny is wearing a backpack. I'm not sure if the creature he has discovered is a rat. Now would be a good time to have a dagger or other weapon handy.

B&B includes eight different Bunny classes, or professions. When adjudicating combat between Bunnies, the following chart is used to determine the effectiveness of an ability.

The above illustrations are by Charles Loving. The two illustrations, below, are by Jeff Dee. The illustration below accompanies rules for adjudicating the effects of pests and diseases upon a burrow.


B&B also includes rules for avoiding and springing traps. Here we have another Jeff Dee illustration, of a Bunny narrowly avoiding the effects of a beartrap.




Bunnies and Burrows has its own character record sheet. The influence of D&D can be seen here, with the inclusion of the six standard attributes, along with two additions, Speed and Smell. Smell, of course, referring to the ability of the Bunny to detect scents, not the reverse.


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Really? What's The Point?

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Cunning, Comedy, Casual Cruelty?

If your answer to this question was The Dying Earth RPG, you'd be right.


The Dying Earth RPG is a role-playing game intended to emulate the world -- and words -- contained in Jack Vance's Dying Earth series of novels and short stories. You'll note that I did not include "Combat" in my alliterative title. I did this for a very simple reason: The Dying Earth RPG actively discourages you from engaging in mortal combat, and the game system reinforces that by making combat very deadly. You only need to take a couple of blows before your character is out-of-commission, or more likely, dead.


What then is The Dying Earth RPG about? It's about clever repartee, social combat, cunning subterfuge, laughter, and casual cruelty.


Clever Repartee


The principle game mechanic of nearly any role-playing game is the system governing the accumulation of experience points. Experience point award mechanics are important in role-playing games, as they are the mechanism permitting character upgrades. The experience point mechanic of an RPG is thus a powerful communicator of what is expected of a Player. In The Dying Earth RPG, experience points are ONLY awarded for clever repartee. No experience for combat. No experience for treasure. Just witty dialogue, elegantly framed in the Vancian style, and delivered with impeccable timing. Therefore, The Dying Earth RPG is a game like no other: it is a role-playing game to its very core.


Social Combat


I'm not a big fan of social combat systems. My reasoning is that those combat systems either encourage conflict between players (PvP conflict typically happens as a matter of course, but i'm not interested in encouraging it) or govern the interactions between player and DM (in which case, as a "fair" DM, you should be able to judge when you have been verbally bested and concede defeat, without having to resort to a die-roll). The Social Combat system in The Dying Earth RPG is based on dice pools. Each player (and any encountered NPCs) has a dice-pool made up of d6's, and can continue spending dice from their pool until they or their opponent has exhausted theirs. Scoring a 1-3 means failure, while a 4-6 means success, with the 1 and 6 being catastrophic failure and incredible success, respectively. Depending on your roll, your opponent may have to expend more, or fewer dice, to respond to your success or failure. This mechanic feels artificial to me, as I would rather engage in the actual role-playing, of two combatants trying to convince the other of the superiority of their position, but the dice-pool is a reasonable substitute, for those who are uncomfortable "talking with funny voices".


Cunning Subterfuge


Like the characters in Vance's Dying Earth books and short stories, each of the Player's characters are lazy, self-absorbed, covetous, avaricious, and arrogant. So are most of the NPC's they encounter. Therefore, the game resolves around the planning and execution of cunning strategems to gain wealth, comfort, power, prestige, fineries, and delicious food, with as little effort and risk as possible.


Laughter


As was mentioned earlier, experience points are awarded for clever repartee. This is accomplished through a mechanism whereby the DM provides several Vancian phrases to each player, prior to the start of the game session. They must weave those phrases into the game at some point during the session. For those who deliver their line, at an innapropriate time, no experience points are awarded. For those lines delivered when appropriate, but eliciting no positive response from the other game participants, one experience point is awarded. But when the line is delivered, and elicits positive responses, propels the adventure in a humorous or unexpected direction, or garners laughter from the other players and DM, two or even three experience points are awarded by the DM. Therefore, Players are encouraged to ham it up, directing the in-game conversations in such a way as to allow for the delivery of their appointed lines.



Casual Cruelty


Casual Cruelty, or "man's inhumanity to man", is a common theme in the tales of the Dying Earth. You see this in the Liane the Wayfarer stories, or in Cugel's treatment by, and of those he encounters in "The Eyes of the Overworld". The author of The Dying Earth exhorts the DM to insert scenes of casual cruelty (sparingly), establishing the nature of the cruelty, and allowing the imaginations of the players to fill in the horrifying details. He opines that a successful scene of casual cruelty will nag at the players after the game, as they think more fully of the implications.


The Dying Earth RPG allows you to run the full gamet of emotions during a role-playing session, from hilarity to horror. The Dying Earth RPG is clearly not for your typical hack-n-slasher, and is more appropriate for your more cerebral gamer. What I love about this game is its respect for the Vancian source material, and its overt discouragement of mortal combat, which is a refreshing change from the direction Dungeons and Dragons has recently been drawn to.
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Sayonara To Synnibarr

My copy of The World Of Synnibarr is off to Andreas Davour of The Omnipotent Eye.

I have mixed emotions about Synnibarr's departure. At 475 pages, it is far too long to qualify as a game of imagination, since that many pages of rules and setting sucks the imagination out of any game.

Instead, it is better thought of as a historical document, representing the imagined universe of Raven c.s. McCracken, flawed though that universe may be.

Still, letting go is hard to do, as Synnibarr is a signpost in the history of role-playing games.

Admittedly, that signpost is buried deep in a dark and boggy valley. Raven's own personal history is also rather storied, which is why i'm hesitant to throw any large rocks at him, or his game.



But both the World Of Synnibarr role-playing game, and most of the accompanying art, is pretty mediocre.



There seems to be little that is novel, either in the game design or in alternate visions represented by the artwork.



But before letting Synnibarr go, I thought I would capture the best of the artwork to share with my readers. Others have highlighted the worst of the worst when it comes to Synnibarr artwork, so there's no need to cover that ground again.



Below is my favorite illustration from Synnibarr, and it is so incongruous, next to the rest of the artwork, to merit special consideration.




The illustration shows to combatants, locked in battle, in what appears to be a very conan-esque scene. The illustration is out-of-place for two reasons: one, this is a highly visceral, raw, action-packed illustration, with a great deal of motion and emotion. You can almost hear the scream of the axe-wielding warrior, the sing of the other warriors blade, the crash of sword against shield. This illustration is out of place, as the rest of the artwork in Synnibarr is overwhelmingly static or science-fiction-y.


Two, I have seen little in Synnibarr to suggest that it is a swords & sorcery role-playing game. I'd love to know which of the stable of credited Synnibarr artists produced this: it is one of the few pieces of Synnibarr art that I truly love.


Here's another piece of art from Synnibarr that also warrants recognition.



I call this illustration two moons (in reference to the two moons in the sky, and not for some other less tasteful reason). It shows two Amazons, being surprised by a black panther. This illustration is notable for the same reason as the other illustration, in that it has a very ancient greek vibe to it, which is not in fitting with the assumed setting of Synnibarr, which is a planet/spaceship, includes modern weapons and science fantasy and super powers. This illustration also possesses some interesting energy, as if the two Amazons have been caught quite unawares by this large cat.


There you have it. The above are, in my opinion, the only notable illustrations in the World of Synnibarr game book.


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World Of Synnibarr Redux

Many moons ago it was mentioned that I had a copy of The World Of Synnibarr in my collection.

Now it seems it is potentially off to a good home.

The World Of Synnibarr is liberally derided by many. Having read, but never played the game, I admit my perspective is somewhat shallow.

I've heard vague reports that Raven McCracken's campaign was not unlike that of Dave Hargrave's.

But while Hargrave is hailed as a hero of self-publishing and gonzo D&D house-ruling, McCracken is mocked for his World Of Synnibarr setting.

Interestingly, one of the criticisms of World Of Synnibarr is this: "McCracken is, incidentally, addicted to the percentile dice roll, and not in the good Unknown Armies / Call of Cthulhu way; he'll use them for everything. You'll see more of this later."

Is McCracken's material that bad, or does he get unfair rap?Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/bizarre%20games
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Playing Dead Characters: Delian Book Of The Dead

All this talk of Arduin over at Jeff's Gameblog has me thinking about another set of old-school, gonzo, D&D-compatible rulebooks : The World Of Delos.



Ben & Mary Ezzell wrote The World Of Delos game supplements in the 1980's, and dedicated their "Planes of the Afterlife" section of The Delian Book of the Dead to Arduin's author, Dave Hargrave.


The cover art of The Delian Book Of The Dead ("the Dead") is by Roland Brown, who also provided the cover and interior art for Arduin's The Lost Grimoire IV. The cover of the Dead shows a deceased Amazon, heavily armored, lying upon a funeral bier, attended to by the Grim Reaper, as her spirit slowly rises from her body.


The 145 pages of the Dead cover a lot of novel role-playing territory, as does the entire World Of Delos book series. The Dead provides rules for a new class, the Archaeologist (intended to emulate Indiana Jones, Rick O'Connell and other egyptologist-type characters from film and literature), a long section of helpful tips and adventure locations for prospective tomb-robbers, six pages of magical doors, windows and mirrors to delight, confuse and confound your players, 10 pages of gems, including a description of the possible magical uses for each, several pages on unique magic arms and armour whose benefits and drawbacks go beyond mere combat adjustments, potions and poisons of uncommon use and effect, a long chapter on the variety and ecology of Delian spiders, a section on the acquisition, care and feeding of strange pets, and an adventure that takes you through several "Planes of the Afterlife" in search of an artifact that may lead the adventurers to a most singular conclusion.


In addition, the Dead provides a new character class: Phantoms. Phantoms are former player characters, whose deaths came violently, suddenly, or prior to the completion of some important quest, and are thus unable to leave the prime material plane until their unfinished business is concluded.

I must admit, the idea of player characters as Phantoms has a certain allure. I am reminded of the old 1978 film, Heaven Can Wait, if in title only. In that film, the incomparable Warren Beatty plays a narcissistic and reckless football quarterback, whose guardian angel transports him to heaven before his time. Due to the mix-up, Beatty's spirit is sent back to Earth. Unlike the Phantom class, where he would exist as spirit, he is placed in the body of a wealthy, recently-murdered industrialist, until St. Peter can find a suitable replacement body for Beatty, with hilarious and sexy results.


The allure of the Phantom class is that it allows players to continue playing a favorite character, but at the same time honoring the old-school tradition that, once you're dead, you're dead.


The mechanics are relatively straight-forward. If a character dies, the player may choose to roll to see if there is sufficient purpose keeping her from ascending into the afterlife. She combines her Int, Wis, Level and prime Attribute, which is her base percentage chance to remain on the material plane. That score is modified by other variables, for example, whether the character was on an important quest before her passing, whether her belief system included an afterlife, whether her death was violent or sudden, and so on. If the player rolls percentile dice and the result is lower than the final number, her character can come back as a Phantom.


Phantoms lose all of their prior class abilities, and start as 1st level Phantoms, with their own experience table, and additional hit-points and special abilities gained at each subsequent level. Phantoms are invulnerable to normal attacks, although they are susceptible to magical weapon and spell attacks, and are doubly vulnerable to attacks from the undead. At first level, they are unable to impinge upon the prime material plane, other than being visible in darkness, and can only communicate telepathically. They recover hit points normally, but if the Phantom should ever be reduced to 0 hit points, the character immediately and unavoidably ascends to the afterlife. Some of the special abilities that are gained by higher level Phantoms include the power to become material, cause fright, telekenesis, teleaudience, detect poison, project cold, and control flames.


Part of the limitations of the class is that the Phantom must never stray from the purpose for which she remains on the material plane. For example, if the party was on an important quest when she died, the Phantom must continue towards that goal. If the party abandons the quest, the Phantom must continue on. As another example, perhaps the purpose of the Phantom is to protect her friends, Then if the friends die, she would ascend to the afterlife. Another purpose of the Phantom might be to avenge her own death. In that case, once her killer died, her purpose would be fulfilled and she would leave this world.


The chapter on Phantoms concludes with some suggested reading for playing and refereeing with this class: Blithe Spirit, by Noel Coward; Hamlet and MacBeth, by Shakespeare; Immortality Inc., by Robert Sheckly; Brief Candles and Happy Returns by Manning Coles; and Topper by Thorne Smith.
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The Arduin Grimoire As ODnD Supplement

Reading and reviewing Dragons at Dawn led me to reminisce about another rule set, that also held itself out as a complete game system, but was really best used as a supplement to original Dungeons and Dragons. That other rule set, is, of course, The Arduin Grimoire.

Much (but not enough) has been said about The Arduin Grimoire. Authored by Dave Hargrave, who sadly passed away in 1988 (at the age of 42), the first three Arduin Grimoires were published in 1977 and 1978, some three years after the release of original Dungeons and Dragons. Like Dragons at Dawn, the Arduin Grimoire provided a myriad of alternate and supplementary rules and campaign suggestions, but Arduin was infinitely more extensive and table-laden. The first three Grimoires -- The Arduin Grimoire, Welcome to Skull Tower, and The Runes of Doom -- were nearly 100 pages each: the later six Arduin volumes were even longer.

But unlike Dragons at Dawn, the Arduin Grimoire (at least the books I have had access to) was, to put it politely, of uneven quality. For every blinding insight or brilliant suggestion, you would encounter some text equally execrable. But Hargrave never gave up on even his ugliest creations, often pleading with his readers to give his ideas a try, as it was only in the crucible of a role-playing campaign that the true value of his creations would be revealed.

Although this set of books was, and still is, passed off as a complete game system, it was born from Dave Hargrave's experience running original Dungeons and Dragons. It could be said, then, that The Arduin Grimoire is an example of OD&D house-ruling run-amok. A train-wreck perhaps, but a glorious one! While much of his material was largely derivative, there were some unique inventions sprinkled throughout his works, enough that many gamers considered his Arduin Grimoire to be part of the OD&D canon. TSR was not impressed with how close Hargrave hewed to their intellectual property, including explicit mentions to OD&D in his rulebooks, and famously slapped a cease & desist order on him. That resulted in the removal of any mentions of D&D in The Arduin Grimoire, although it probably did little to dampen its' sales. In some cases he simply whited out references to Dungeons and Dragons in his books, replacing those references with phrases such as "most often used ruleset".

The 12 black & white illustrations for the first Arduin Grimoire volume were created by Greg Espinoza and Michio Okimura. The above Greg Espinoza illustration appears on the back cover of the original Arduin Grimoire. I love Greg Espinoza's illustrations: there is a darkness, energy, and tension to them, absent from much of the modern art being produced for more recent versions of ye aulde game. It is rumored that the female in the above illustration first appeared top-less: even the intransigent Dave Hargrave was cowed into covering her nakedness in this, his second, censored edition. As for the fighter in the background, opening the chest of treasure, he was reportedly modelled after Clint Eastwood.

And in case you doubt my objectivity with regards Arduin, I am happy to quote from someone else that you may, given the circumstances, feel has little to gain from extolling Arduin's virtues and vices. Jonathan Tweet had this to say about Arduin:

"Arduin's appeal isn't in its elegance, its comprehensiveness, its game balance, or its presentation. It's the author's enthusiasm that counts. Hargrave loved running his Arduin campaign, and the books read like the campaign notes of a manic DM. He often refers to his own campaign and how he makes rulings, runs combat, handles treasure, etc. Hargrave's enthusiasm is contagious.

The good folks of Emperor's Choice have reprinted the Arduin trilogy, so this piece of RPG history is available again. They've reprinted a later edition from 1981 or so. It has references to Dungeons & Dragons edited out, and it has better art than the original. (The bare-breasted woman on the back cover, however, got a leather bra for the second edition.)"Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/bizarre%20games
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Lords Of Creation RPG: How Did I Miss This?

I was mentioning earlier that I am a big fan of Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers series. It informed my early conception of D&D. I am also a big fan of Avalon Hill Games. So I'm wondering how this game slipped under my radar? Lords of Creation is authored by Tom Moldvay, the same guy who edited that much beloved D&D Basic Red Box ruleset.

Published in 1984, by Avalon Hill, Lords of Creation is a role-playing game where the players travel from one pocket-dimension to another, with each dimension having it's own physics and theme. The characters travel through inter-dimensional gates, and, as the characters increase in level, they ultimately unlock their own super-powers. Apparently, one of the early sample adventures is the search for a special horn that will allow the players unfettered access to myriad pocket dimensions.

I am sitting here, blown away. First, how did I miss this game? As as fan of Avalon Hill, I thought I kept myself up-to-date on what they were publishing. Obviously not.

Second, i'm thinking to myself, this game has got to be a role-playing game, based on the Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers series!

I go hunting for a review of this game, and I come across a couple:

A review on RPGNet

A review on Jeff's Gameblog

Andy Collins' review

No mention of Philip Jose Farmer. No mention of The World of Tiers.

Am I seeing something that isn't there?Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/bizarre%20games
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Tales of the Bizarre: Bunnies & Burrows RPG

I round out today's resource-card-development-avoidance blogs by posting a blog about another little gem from the 1970's: Bunnies & Burrows.


I tried to find a copy of this cover on the interwebs, so I didn't have to scan my copy of B&B, but I could not find my cover version, only the first printing and the GURPS version. So here is a scan of my copy of B&B, which I presume is the second edition, or perhaps just a reprint with a different cover.


We actually played this game, back in the day, and had a hoot.
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Tales of the Bizarre: Space Quest RPG

In an earlier post, Robert Saint John was asking me about sci-fi games that I may have played in the past. There was one very peculiar, strange little science fiction game, that came to mind. It was a "space-opera with monsters in space" sort of game. That game reminded me of some of the more outlandish "monster-filled" Star Trek episodes.


In the moment, while responding to RSJ's comment, the name of the game escaped me, but, since I was in the basement the other day rummaging through my old gaming collection, I thought I had spotted it. Indeed, I had. And when I went and pulled it out of storage, the irony of RSJ's question struck me, as it occurred to me that he had referenced the game, in a blog he wrote some nine months ago.


The game is called Space Quest, and was published around 1977, so it seems to pre-date Traveller. I have the 2nd edition copy, which was published in 1979. Space Quest rpg was published by Tyr Gamemakers Ltd., with authorship credited to Paul Hume and George Nyhen, who hailed from Arlington, Virginia. I say it was a peculiar, strange little game, because (to my knowledge) it never amounted to more than a single 110 page booklet, and it had monsters in space. It was a glorious, inspired, terrible, corny, delicious little game, and was too eclectic for its own good. Paul Hume is credited with producing several other game titles, including Aftermath!, Bushido and Shadowrun. I was a fan of Aftermath! (though I preferred The Morrow Project), but I never played Bushido or Shadowrun.


From the introduction:


"This is a large and confusing game. Hopefully, the confusion will lessen as the rules become familiar, but the size will still be huge! We have here a game operating on scales ranging from two men shooting it out, or even dueling with swords, to the clash of whole fleets or armies. We have developed a scale for interstellar transport, and one dealing with the taboos of a single planet's culture. We have tried, in 110 pages, to create a set of rules allowing campaigning on any level desired for science fiction-fantasy wargaming.


Naturally we have failed in many areas. We have no rules for detailed on-planet adventures, and nothing to deal with the personal scale of 'where in this building am I?' There are holes galore (black and otherwise) in the structure of this book. Much of this is purposeful, for to give a fuller picture would have required us to make the background of our own campaign the basis of the game.


And we won't do that. This game is designed for the growing number of gamers who get off on the creative challenge of building their own campaign, with no premises beyond the mechanics of play, for players to get fat and lazy with."


Based on those comments, it is easy to see that this early science fiction game falls, whole-cloth, into the old-school gaming philosophy camp. Other than the barest-bones of the game mechanics, the game designers assume that each GM will make the game unique, tinkering and modifying to make the campaign her own (and that of her players).


One of the innovations of Space Quest was the use of a 30-sided die. You should understand, there was no 30-sided die available when this game was published (nor was there a 10-sided die), so the idea of using a 30-sided die was very unusual.


The Space Quest role playing game also employed a very well-developed (for its time) skills-based character system.


While this science fiction game certainly had its charms, it also had its share of corny elements. For example, it had 8 pages of deep-space travelling monsters, including a "void-shark" that could fire lasers from its eyes, and space dinosaurs.
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Tales of the Bizarre: The World of Synnibarr

I am pleased to say I own a copy of this game.



Not because its a good game. Not because it is a classic. But because it is an infamous example of a fantasy heartbreaker.


I came by this game quite by accident. The parents of a friend of mine called me, several years ago. The friend in question is now a professor of pure math, in Italy somewhere, if I recall correctly. Anyway, they were clearing out some of my friend's old gaming stuff, and gave me a call to see if I wanted to buy it. He had quite a collection, and I let his parents name their price ,and took the whole lot.


Among the many gems in his collection was this stinker. I can't bring myself to part with it, even though I am careful to keep it separate from all my other gaming materials, lest it pollute the rest of my collection.


A scathing review can be read here. I must admit I have not read the thing myself, so I cannot say that it is as bad as the reviewer says. It's reputation as a game design and setting disaster is well-established, however.


A cautionary tale, for us tinkerers.
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Tales of the Bizarre: A Fistful of Turkeys

I gather there were some hard feelings when Steven Jackson left Metagaming, in the early 1980's, to set up Steve Jackson games. Steve Jackson had developed The Fantasy Trip, along with several other microgames, if I recall correctly, and it must have been a bit of a blow for Metagaming to lose that talent. I don't know the full story of the split, but I have always been curious.

If we knew the full story about the departure of Steve Jackson, we might forgive the production of this microgame. Was this game produced out of malice, or was it simply good-natured ribbing?

A Fistful of Turkeys is, I presume, both homage to the movie "A Fistful of Dollars" starring Clint Eastwood, and a send-up of Steve Jackson's "trade-dress" and game design style.

I've never played, nor seen a paper copy of, A Fistful of Turkeys, although I have quite a collection of microgames. If it is actually worth owning (for it's gameplay) please let me know.

As for the Steve Jackson microgames, I had Steve Jackson's "Car Wars" game back in the day, but that perished in a garage fire, and was one of the games that, while I enjoyed it as a teenager, I never felt the need to re-establish it in my collection.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/bizarre%20games
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Tales of the Bizarre: Dat's My Leg!

Why, oh why, did I not buy this game when I saw it at The Sentry Box, lo these 20 years ago. According to BGG, the game description is as follows.

"The Trollsome game of Bodybuilding. Trolls are stupid! I mean , really, really thick. Quite often, they leave bits of themselves lying around in troll holes. A troll almost never notices he has lost a leg or even his head! He soon grows a new one anyway, so he doesn't care two hoots! Players move their Gobbos around the board, trying to collect enough "Troll Bitz" to make 2 complete trolls.
From a line of 4 kids games Games Workshop Ltd. released so that the kids would have something to play while you and your mates played Warhammer. Each included a Trollish Tunes tape which included silly songs sung by Trolls."Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/bizarre%20games
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