Press [Chaosium] "What *other* game should be on the ideal RPG shelf?" – Monte Cook's Call of Cthulhu essay from Hobby Games: The 100 Best

[Michael O'Brien]

​

"Since the early days of the hobby, if you were to ask virtually any roleplayer what other game should be on the ideal RPG shelf... it's likely the answer would be Call of Cthulhu."

So says GAMA Hall of Fame designer Monte Cook in his chapter for Hobby Games: The 100 Best (2007, edited by James Lowder).

With the kind permission of the author, you can read the essay in full on our website:
https://www.chaosium.com/100-best-games-call-of-cthulhu

 

[Blue Orange]

It's one of the few games from the early days of the hobby to survive this long.

I think it probably works because it's the anti-D&D, so there's a bit of market segmentation--characters use guile not force, they're weak and get weaker not strong and getting stronger. And the monsters are cool. You really can't overlook that.

 

[Michael O'Brien]

It's one of the few games from the early days of the hobby to survive this long.

It also helps that Call of Cthulhu is pretty much backwards compatible, all the way to first edition. You can play something from 1981 today using the current 7th edition rules on the fly – for the most part it just needs some multiplying by five in places.