I've finally tried Paranoia, and I love it!!

[the Jester]

My record as the Computer: 24 dead clones in under an hour. We were playing 1st edition adventure Clones in Space. All the clones are activated and sent to outerspace. One player herded his clones into the airlock and then hit the blinking read button (opening the outer door). The others tried to wield a piece of metal over a small crack with a plasma gun (blowing out the side of the ship). Sad thing on that was that I told them that the crack was not losing enough air to be a concern.

One of my very few TPKs, and I got no blame whatsoever from the players.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many Paranoia games I have played or run that wiped the pcs before they even got to the mission... and once or twice, even before we got to the briefing.

 

[the Jester]

Wikipedia has a nice summary of the various editions.

It is worth noting that the 2004 XP edition, which introduced the possibility of running it straight, was done with full approval of the original designers who viewed the later West End editions to be too cartoony in their presentation of the satire. The first edition was a much darker, less humorous take on the world than second edition.

I... I don't know whether I agree with this or not. 1e was very humorous. Yes, it's grim humor, but it's a hilarious game from the very beginning.

 

[Wicht]

I... I don't know whether I agree with this or not. 1e was very humorous. Yes, it's grim humor, but it's a hilarious game from the very beginning.

I never played first edition, so I will defer to your expertise. I was taking others at their word that the 1st edition rules were darker and more straight and that it was the supplements which helped introduce the more slapstick humor leading into 2nd edition, which is the edition I started with.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I hope I won't break the no politics rules but isn't one of the points of Paranoia is to be political satire? It was published in 1984 when a significant part of the population really feared a nucular attack by the political forces mentionned in the game and a significant party in a large country had a representative who garnered a strong reputation (worldwide) for his radical stance against said other political group that is satirized in the game by being adopted by the Computer.

Wouldn't a 2021 Paranoia game be true to the original spirit if it indeed made fun of said populous country political party's leaning satirized to an extreme view instead of making fun of a 50 years old stance of a party from said country ? I am pretty sure the jokes about the enemies of the Computer don't ring the samz now than they did in 1984 and many more societal concerns could be represented into secret societies that didn't simply exist nack then.

 

[the Jester]

I never played first edition, so I will defer to your expertise. I was taking others at their word that the 1st edition rules were darker and more straight and that it was the supplements which helped introduce the more slapstick humor leading into 2nd edition, which is the edition I started with.

Oh God, was 1e slapstick and dark humor from the start. Oh yes it was. The original box had, I think, three books in it- a GM's book, a Player's book, and an Adventure book. The player's book really set the tone, with a strong emphasis on 'you don't get to know that' when you ask about... well... anything. Rules, setting info beyond the basics, etc. The answer was pretty much always, "What's your security clearance, citizen?"

Anyone who read or played the 1e game, even if they only read the player's book (which was 12 or 16 pages, and that's all you get to see as a pc), could not possibly miss the satirical nature of it. I'm pretty sure anyone who says that either never actually read or played 1e, or else they are conflating it with a far more serious game or something. From the very first, there was no doubt about the tone Paranoia was going for.

 

[the Jester]

I hope I won't break the no politics rules but isn't one of the points of Paranoia is to be political satire? It was published in 1984 when a significant part of the population really feared a nucular attack by the political forces mentionned in the game and a significant party in a large country had a representative who garnered a strong reputation (worldwide) for his radical stance against said other political group that is satirized in the game by being adopted by the Computer.

Wouldn't a 2021 Paranoia game be true to the original spirit if it indeed made fun of said populous country political party's leaning satirized to an extreme view instead of making fun of a 50 years old stance of a party from said country ? I am pretty sure the jokes about the enemies of the Computer don't ring the samz now than they did in 1984 and many more societal concerns could be represented into secret societies that didn't simply exist nack then.

Well, a friend just got me the newest Paranoia edition a few weeks back, and one of the major changes is that instead of Commies being the big boogeyman, it's Terrorists.

 

[aramis erak]

My record as the Computer: 24 dead clones in under an hour. We were playing 1st edition adventure Clones in Space. All the clones are activated and sent to outerspace. One player herded his clones into the airlock and then hit the blinking read button (opening the outer door). The others tried to wield a piece of metal over a small crack with a plasma gun (blowing out the side of the ship). Sad thing on that was that I told them that the crack was not losing enough air to be a concern.

One of my very few TPKs, and I got no blame whatsoever from the players.

Last time I ran Paranoia, all players ran out of clones in the end of the second scene... the one where the door opens... (Into the outdoors with Gun and Camera).

 

[Bird Of Play]

I've only played one session of Paranoia so far, but it seemed clear it's social satire. This is why I made comparisons with Monty Python and their absurdist humor, as well as 2000 AD and their surreal cynism.

That one session I played definitely felt like the British sci-fi satire of the '70s-'80s.

I guess that's one of the reasons I liked it so much. I'm always into social commentary expressed through humour.

On a side note, there's a game called "Starmancer". It seems to be a lot like "Paranoia, but played as a serious game".