After thousands of votes, we now have our annual list of most anticipated tabletop RPGs for the coming year. As I do every year, I recently took nominations for the most anticipated tabletop RPGs for the coming year, and then opened the floor to voting. Here are this year's winners - the most anticipated tabletop RPGs of 2023!
Previous winners include 13th Age (2013), Star Wars Force & Destiny (2015), Rifts for Savage Worlds (2016), Trudvang Chronicles (2017), Vampire: the Masquerade 5th Edition (2018), Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (2019), Dune: Adventures in the Imperium (2020, joint 2021), and Twilight 2000 (joint 2021), and Blade Runner (2022). Who will join their ranks this year? Read on to find out!
10. Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme (Exalted Funeral)
Exalted Funeral made quite a splash when they announced this game earlier this year, which went on to make neary $2M on Kickstarter. And how could they not? It's Monty Python fergoodnessake! A rules-lite gaming system, spam, a minigame with catapults, spam, coconut dice rollers, spam, and an irrepressible Python-eque sense of humour. Did I mention the spam?
9. Old Gods of Appalachia (Monte Cook Games)
This is MCG's first entry onto this annual poll, and with over $2M raised on Kickstarter, it has certainly earned its place! Based on a podcast series, this game drips with flavour, the Appalachian mountains forming tombs for ancient beings of eldritch power. A standalone, Cypher-powered game and tons of accessories and add-ons, Monte Cook Games knows how to run a Kickstarter.
8. Warhammer 40K Imperium Maledictum (Cubicle 7)
Cubicle 7 is no stranger to this list, having previously featured with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4E, and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound. There's a lot of Warhammer games. This one is focused on investigation and social encounters and uses a d100 system. Combat is deadly, so you should only enter into it very carefully. Lifted out of the endless toil that most citizens in the Imperium suffer, you are tasked by your patron to carry out secret missions.
7. The Walking Dead Universe RPG (Free League)
It wouldn't be our annual most anticipated TTRPG poll without a showing from Free League (spoiler: this isn't their only entry in the list this year!) Announced recently, this official Walking Dead TTRPG uses Free League's usual Year Zero Engine. There's not much else known yet, but if you've seen the TV show, you probably know exactly what this game will be like.
6. Shadow of the Weird Wizard (Schwalb Entertainment)
Rob Schwalb's family-friendly incarnation of his Shadow of the Demon Lord ruleset featured last year at #7. Announced in 2020, this game went through numerous names, and has been long in the making, and redesigns the Demon Lord system for a new audience. The Weird Wizard is an eccentric character who lives in Clockwork City, and whose magic has transformed the lands.
5. Mothership 1e (Tuesday Knight Games)
Tuesday Knight Games had a clever strategy with this one -- the Mothership game was available for free long before the epic Kickstarter, slowly gathering its forces. When the official '1E' boxed set launched on Kickstarter, a ready-made audience was waiting. This is sci-fi horror at its best -- you can play scientists, teamsters, androids, and marines using the d100 'Panic Engine'. Yep, it's Alien(s), pretty much.
4. Household (Two Little Mice)
So you're in an abandoned house where each room is a 14th century nation. You play 'littlings' (which are kinda faries) and go on adventures using a d6 dice pool system. There's spiders and rats and centipedes to fight, and ton of miniatures, cards, and other accessories. This hit Kickstarter fairly recently, making nearly half a million dollars.
3. 13th Age, 2nd Edition (Pelgrane Press)
Designed by lead designers on D&D 3E and 4E, 13th Age was the most anticipated game of the year way back in 2013, when we first did this annual poll. 10 years later, it's back with a new edition! This edition will be backwards compatible with your existing 13th Age books and is currently undergoing public playtesting. It comes to Kickstarter this year.
2. Dragonbane / Drakar och Demoner (Free League)
Free League always does well in these polls; they have two games in the top 10 this year, and were in the #1 position for both 2021 and 2022, with Twilight 2000 and Blade Runner, respectively. Drakar och Demoner is a Swedish RPG, 40 years old; Dragonbane is the new, reimagined English language version (the new version is also available in Swedish under its original title). It's classic fantasy with a playstyle they call 'mirth and mayhem', and comes in a boxed set which focuses on the Misty Vale, a hidden mountain valley under threat of orcs.
1. King Arthur Pendragon, 6th Edition (Chaosium)
In this list for the third year running, Pendragon 6E was #4 in 2021 and #3 in 2022. This year, it's right at the top -- officially the most anticipated TTRPG of 2023! Pendragon was created by the late great Greg Stafford in the 1980s, and has passed through various editions and owners over the years. Now it's back with Chaosium, and a 6th edition is on its way. Pendragon is one of those games which designers speak of with reverent tones -- it appears in any 'best of' list, has won many awards, and is often regarded as a masterpiece. In this game, you don't just play a character, you play a lineage -- campaigns can cross generations, with players taking on the roles of the heirs of their previous characters.
So there we have it. Pendragon 6E is officially our most anticipated TTRPG of 2023. Congratulations to every game which made this list -- it has formed my shopping list for the year, for sure!
PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE ANNUAL EN WORLD MOST ANTICIPATED TABLETOP RPG OF THE YEAR
Previous winners include 13th Age (2013), Star Wars Force & Destiny (2015), Rifts for Savage Worlds (2016), Trudvang Chronicles (2017), Vampire: the Masquerade 5th Edition (2018), Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (2019), Dune: Adventures in the Imperium (2020, joint 2021), and Twilight 2000 (joint 2021), and Blade Runner (2022). Who will join their ranks this year? Read on to find out!
10. Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme (Exalted Funeral)
Exalted Funeral made quite a splash when they announced this game earlier this year, which went on to make neary $2M on Kickstarter. And how could they not? It's Monty Python fergoodnessake! A rules-lite gaming system, spam, a minigame with catapults, spam, coconut dice rollers, spam, and an irrepressible Python-eque sense of humour. Did I mention the spam?
9. Old Gods of Appalachia (Monte Cook Games)
This is MCG's first entry onto this annual poll, and with over $2M raised on Kickstarter, it has certainly earned its place! Based on a podcast series, this game drips with flavour, the Appalachian mountains forming tombs for ancient beings of eldritch power. A standalone, Cypher-powered game and tons of accessories and add-ons, Monte Cook Games knows how to run a Kickstarter.
8. Warhammer 40K Imperium Maledictum (Cubicle 7)
Cubicle 7 is no stranger to this list, having previously featured with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4E, and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound. There's a lot of Warhammer games. This one is focused on investigation and social encounters and uses a d100 system. Combat is deadly, so you should only enter into it very carefully. Lifted out of the endless toil that most citizens in the Imperium suffer, you are tasked by your patron to carry out secret missions.
7. The Walking Dead Universe RPG (Free League)
It wouldn't be our annual most anticipated TTRPG poll without a showing from Free League (spoiler: this isn't their only entry in the list this year!) Announced recently, this official Walking Dead TTRPG uses Free League's usual Year Zero Engine. There's not much else known yet, but if you've seen the TV show, you probably know exactly what this game will be like.
6. Shadow of the Weird Wizard (Schwalb Entertainment)
Rob Schwalb's family-friendly incarnation of his Shadow of the Demon Lord ruleset featured last year at #7. Announced in 2020, this game went through numerous names, and has been long in the making, and redesigns the Demon Lord system for a new audience. The Weird Wizard is an eccentric character who lives in Clockwork City, and whose magic has transformed the lands.
5. Mothership 1e (Tuesday Knight Games)
Tuesday Knight Games had a clever strategy with this one -- the Mothership game was available for free long before the epic Kickstarter, slowly gathering its forces. When the official '1E' boxed set launched on Kickstarter, a ready-made audience was waiting. This is sci-fi horror at its best -- you can play scientists, teamsters, androids, and marines using the d100 'Panic Engine'. Yep, it's Alien(s), pretty much.
4. Household (Two Little Mice)
So you're in an abandoned house where each room is a 14th century nation. You play 'littlings' (which are kinda faries) and go on adventures using a d6 dice pool system. There's spiders and rats and centipedes to fight, and ton of miniatures, cards, and other accessories. This hit Kickstarter fairly recently, making nearly half a million dollars.
3. 13th Age, 2nd Edition (Pelgrane Press)
Designed by lead designers on D&D 3E and 4E, 13th Age was the most anticipated game of the year way back in 2013, when we first did this annual poll. 10 years later, it's back with a new edition! This edition will be backwards compatible with your existing 13th Age books and is currently undergoing public playtesting. It comes to Kickstarter this year.
2. Dragonbane / Drakar och Demoner (Free League)
Free League always does well in these polls; they have two games in the top 10 this year, and were in the #1 position for both 2021 and 2022, with Twilight 2000 and Blade Runner, respectively. Drakar och Demoner is a Swedish RPG, 40 years old; Dragonbane is the new, reimagined English language version (the new version is also available in Swedish under its original title). It's classic fantasy with a playstyle they call 'mirth and mayhem', and comes in a boxed set which focuses on the Misty Vale, a hidden mountain valley under threat of orcs.
1. King Arthur Pendragon, 6th Edition (Chaosium)
In this list for the third year running, Pendragon 6E was #4 in 2021 and #3 in 2022. This year, it's right at the top -- officially the most anticipated TTRPG of 2023! Pendragon was created by the late great Greg Stafford in the 1980s, and has passed through various editions and owners over the years. Now it's back with Chaosium, and a 6th edition is on its way. Pendragon is one of those games which designers speak of with reverent tones -- it appears in any 'best of' list, has won many awards, and is often regarded as a masterpiece. In this game, you don't just play a character, you play a lineage -- campaigns can cross generations, with players taking on the roles of the heirs of their previous characters.
So there we have it. Pendragon 6E is officially our most anticipated TTRPG of 2023. Congratulations to every game which made this list -- it has formed my shopping list for the year, for sure!
PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE ANNUAL EN WORLD MOST ANTICIPATED TABLETOP RPG OF THE YEAR
# | 2013 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13th Age | Star Wars Force & Destiny | Rifts for Savage Worlds | Trudvang Chronicles | Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition | Savage Worlds Adventure Edition | Dune | Dune/ Twilight2000 (joint) | Blade Runner |
2 | Numenera | Deluxe Exalted 3rd Edition | Mutant Crawl Classics | Tales from the Loop | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Fourth Edition | Pathfinder 2nd Edition | Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying | - | Broken Tales |
3 | Star Wars Edge of the Empire | Unified Rolemaster | 7th Sea 2nd Edition | Kult: Divinity Lost | Kult: Divinity Lost | Lex Arcana | Cyberpunk Red | The One Ring (2nd Edition) | Pendragon 6E |
4 | Shadowrun 5th Edition | Conan Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of | Conan Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of | Star Trek Adventures | Forbidden Lands: Retro Open-World Survival Fantasy RPG | The Expanse | Fallout | King Arthur Pendragon 6th Edition | Avatar Legends |
5 | Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition | Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls | DCC Lankhmar | Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of | RuneQuest: Role-playing in Glorantha | Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition | Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound | Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E) | Mothership 1E |
6 | Firefly | Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition | RuneQuest 4 | Starfinder | The Witcher Roleplaying Game | Dune RPG | Swords of the Serpentine | Rivers of London | Rivers of London |
7 | Fate Core | Feng Shui 2 | Torg: Eternity | The Witcher Roleplaying Game | Warhammer 40,000 Wrath & Glory | John Carter of Mars | Rivers of London | Pathfinder for Savage Worlds | Shadow of the Weird Wizard |
8 | Hillfolk | Fantasy AGE | Blue Rose AGE | Coriolis | The Expanse | Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition | Stargate | Brancalonia - The Spaghetti Fantasy RPG | Cy-Borg |
9 | Torchbearer | Paranoia | Paranoia | Delta Green Roleplaying Game | Legend of the Five Rings 5th Edition | Things from the Flood | Fading Suns 4E | Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition | Swords of the Serpentine |
10 | - | Shadows of the Demon Lord | Delta Green | Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2E | Numenera 2: Discovery & Destiny | Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD | Cortex Prime | SLA Industries, 2nd Edition | Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5e |
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