Unpopular Opinion: People Shouldn't Review Adventures They Haven't Run

[Tun Kai Poh]

I'll give my thoughts and assessments for a new game product, but certainly you need to run through it to review it.

Even my Actual Play of Avernus Chapter 1, which included first thoughts on the book, was tagged as an Actual Play, not as a review.

 

[Morrus]

It’s not an unpopular opinion. I hear it frequently. A better fix might just be to clarify what’s a review and what’s a preview.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Allow me to be the voice of dissent (or don't, you're not the boss of me).

Not only should you (yes, I mean you) be reviewing adventures before you run them. You should review those adventures before you've read them, before you've seen anything about them, before they're even written. An illustrative example follows...


There is no such adventure as, House of Krampus. Nor is there a breakout sequel, Return to the House of Krampus. But those worthy adventures are not what I'm talking about today. Today, I am talking about the stinker that is Son of the Return to the House of Krampus. This adventure is terrible in every way.

From its tryhard production values, to its 'twist ending', Son of the Return to the House of Krampus fails in a way that has not been exceeded since The Forest Oracle....


eh... Anyway, I don't think its really a stretch to say that not everyone is cut out to be a reviewer, so you should take your product purchasing advice from a trusted source, and... you know... determine who is a trusted source only after careful consideration.

 

[Morrus]

Reviewing is hard. That's why I don't do it. The only review I've written in the last decade was for the Pathfinder 2E core rulebook.

 

[jasper]

harrumph harrumph. ..Preview? For sure!... Please call your previews PREVIEWS. THE OP HAS SPOKEN.

..Unbox? Excellent idea... BARF! I wish I could put people who post unboxing videos in a pine box, what has been boarded shut with rusty nails.

.Give first impressions? If you must.,,, OR name your reviews FIRST IMPRESSIONS. THE OP HAS SPOKEN.

I kind of agree with OP but that just how language works. Best practices should be a REVIEW and then POST PLAY REVIEW. I have posted campaign logs of the games I running. Part is this is a campaign log, the other two parts are for people to catch me in a rule mistake, and it is post game review.

 

[Hussar]

Hang on a tick though. I've gamed long enough to be able to read a product and have a general opinion about whether or not this or that product has glaring flaws or not. Do I really have to run The Forest Oracle to know that it's a bad adventure? Gargoyles?

Heck, I actually ran Dragon Heist, but, if you've run DH, that means you'Ve only used about 1/4 of the module. Do I have to run all four seasons of the module to be able to judge it?

 

[Reynard]

Hang on a tick though. I've gamed long enough to be able to read a product and have a general opinion about whether or not this or that product has glaring flaws or not. Do I really have to run The Forest Oracle to know that it's a bad adventure? Gargoyles?

Heck, I actually ran Dragon Heist, but, if you've run DH, that means you'Ve only used about 1/4 of the module. Do I have to run all four seasons of the module to be able to judge it?

Not if you use all the villains at once in a glorious Mexican Standoff situation like God intended.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Hang on a tick though. I've gamed long enough to be able to read a product and have a general opinion about whether or not this or that product has glaring flaws or not. Do I really have to run The Forest Oracle to know that it's a bad adventure? Gargoyles?

Heck, I actually ran Dragon Heist, but, if you've run DH, that means you'Ve only used about 1/4 of the module. Do I have to run all four seasons of the module to be able to judge it?

Sometimes adventures play differently than they read.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I think the reviewer should say whether they ran or only read the adventure, because I do believe there is a big difference in how an adventure reads, versus how it plays (even if you have years of gaming experience). But that said, as long the reader knows which it is, an experienced reviewer/GM, can gain a lot of insight about a module just from reading it.

 

[Hussar]

Sometimes adventures play differently than they read.

Oh, for sure. I get that. And, anyone reviewing should be clear that they haven't actually run something. Fair enough.