Are there Fun/Unique/Interesting Differences in American vs. UK gaming sensibilities?

[innerdude]

This is really just a topic that interests me, for edification and cultural enlightenment, and I'm certainly open to hearing from people in other countries as well, if they think there are interesting differences.

Since the principal "owners" of ENWorld are from the UK, I thought it would be interesting to compare/contrast the similarities and differences in gaming between us.

For example, being closer to the Continent, are there certain game design influences in the UK that we don't see as much here in the U.S.?

I know that most of the hugely popular board games of the last 10 years here in the States (Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, Dominion) are European in origin, typically German.

Since D&D was an American product originally, are there certain tropes, cultural attitudes, or things our British counterparts find that don't translate as well?

I think this could be a fun, enlightening topic, so I'm really interested to hear what folks have to say.

 

[Lancelot]

As a Kiwi, I probably fall more towards the UK gaming sensibilities.... but I've spent 4-5 years living in the US and Canada, so I've had some feel for the environment there as well. My personal observations (which may be wildly inaccurate)...

• UK game settings tend to be "grittier" (low magic, high bloodshed) than US game settings. Some examples:
  • Warhammer: heavy Lovecraftian themes, chaos triumphant, and points-of-light almost overrun by vast evil
  • Warhammer 40k: everything is war, and even the "good guys" are uber-fascist religious nutjobs.
  • Dragon Warriors: grim medieval setting with corrupt lords, downtrodden peasants, and soul-less fey.
  • Judge Dredd: similar to 40k, but with even more police-state overtones.
  • Slaine: the primary "heroes" are blood-crazed berserkers who scorn civilized culture and leave mounds of skulls.
• There seem to be higher expectations for PC casualties in UK games, even when playing supposedly low-casualty games like 4e D&D. In my gaming experiences in the US, the groups I've played with tended to see PC death as a bit of a shock/tragedy, whereas the local groups here almost expect PCs to die every other session. Some of them even relish it.
• There is far more emphasis on "gaming with close friends in long-established groups, in one of your houses in the suburbs" in the UK/NZ. Probably because we have so few public RPG venues (stores, conventions, etc) compared to the US. This changes the dynamic of play somewhat. It's more beer-and-chips, a lot of in-jokes, go out to lunch or dinner together, know each other's family and jobs well, etc. It also can mean a slightly more eclectic mix of people. It's not always easy to find new members of the group (much smaller population, fewer venues), so you tend to put up with player "eccentricities" a lot more.

Again, my observations only... which means it could simply be based on the groups I've played with, and the settings I've played in. Personally, I reckon gamers are gamers. Apart from the [terrible] beer, inability to understand rugby, and mis-spelling a bunch of words that should have a "U" in them (like armour and honour), my American gaming brothers seem much like gamers anywhere else.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Probably the most interesting aspect of UK rpging is that the phenomena of the dominant system - D&D in the US, The Dark Eye in Germany, Drakar och Demoner (I think) in Sweden - isn't as strong here.

This is just based on my personal experience, no statistical evidence whatsoever, but my perception is that in the UK D&D is not as popular as a percentage of the total as it is the US, tho I suspect it is still the biggest single system, while Warhammer, White Wolf, Call of Cthulhu and maybe RuneQuest are more popular over here. General speaking Brits like dark and 'realism' more than Americans do.

The other major difference here is that rpgs aren't played on military bases. There are no rules against it, it's just a cultural thing.

 

[DragonLancer]

I think you've both hit in dead on here in your posts. I've only ever roleplayed with Americans online (the old White Wolf chat servers) and the American style is very different from what I'm used to here in the UK.

I think it is also fair to add that British roleplayers tend to be more laid back about things than American players, whether it's rules or character deaths. At least from my experience.

 

[Anselyn]

Interesting topic.

I believe this is touched on in Robin's Laws of Game Mastering - a point I remember as it is in agreement with my observations.

When it comes to "Heroism", the UK version is overcoming adversity and suffering to probably achieve an objective. The US version is experiencing an overwhelming success - probably in combat. (I was going to say: Killing lots of people - but I restrained myself for a sentence on that). You can see similar ideas as to what constitutes a good match or competition in sport.

Summary: Consider "Scott of the Antarctic" vs "Rambo"

Also - more generally. There is an idea at the heart of D&D (OK - perhaps old D&D) which is about a fantasy Old West. The adventurer cowboys are ridding the frontier of the orc-injun menace. There is less cultural self-confidence in the post-colonial UK. The adventures are more likely to have shades of grey in moral questions.

It's interesting that in Glorantha the original focus was on playing Orlanthi freedom-loving barbarians fighting the Evil Empire. The British-led RQ-renaissance of the 90s had more focus on the Lunar Empire, its cults and issues.

So - there's my (our) tuppence worth. I should note that I'm British, my wife is American. We met 27 years ago at a university RPG club.

 

[nedjer]

Interesting topic.

I believe this is touched on in Robin's Laws of Game Mastering - a point I remember as it is in agreement with my observations.

When it comes to "Heroism", the UK version is overcoming adversity and suffering to probably achieve an objective. The US version is experiencing an overwhelming success - probably in combat. (I was going to say: Killing lots of people - but I restrained myself for a sentence on that). You can see similar ideas as to what constitutes a good match or competition in sport.

Summary: Consider "Scott of the Antarctic" vs "Rambo"

Also - more generally. There is an idea at the heart of D&D (OK - perhaps old D&D) which is about a fantasy Old West. The adventurer cowboys are ridding the frontier of the orc-injun menace. There is less cultural self-confidence in the post-colonial UK. The adventures are more likely to have shades of grey in moral questions.

It's interesting that in Glorantha the original focus was on playing Orlanthi freedom-loving barbarians fighting the Evil Empire. The British-led RQ-renaissance of the 90s had more focus on the Lunar Empire, its cults and issues.

So - there's my (our) tuppence worth. I should note that I'm British, my wife is American. We met 27 years ago at a university RPG club.

Can the UK be represented by someone other than Scott? Dude tried to used ponies to cross icefields - wtf?

 

[innerdude]

Really interesting responses so far.

I think I find that I "buck the trend" quite a bit when it comes to the "American" gaming style, and it sounds like I'd be more at home amongst my European brethren and lades.

I think I've always liked grittier styles better, because I think it makes character choices more interesting (i.e., if you fight, you probably die).

What do you attribute the lack of a dominant system to? Is it marketing? Is it the style of games produced? Is it a conscious decision on gamers to simply be more open to different systems? or could it be a product of a consumer market that's not as heavily invested in super-brands?

This is good stuff.

 

[malcolypse]

what most foreign (and when i say foreign, i mean "not american", because i am of course convinced that america is the totality of the civilized world and that no one else could think any other way) roleplayers probably don't realize is that we americans roleplay correctly. i doubt that most other roleplaying nations are even aware of the intricate and time honored (notice that i did not include any unnecessay vowels, i'm looking at you "u", in the word honored.) traditions that we american roleplayers esteem, though they have been forgotten or ignored by the gaming world beyond our sacred borders....

no, the major differences are probably in individual groups and games. in our hearts, i like to think that we all want to share a great story with friends and take a break from our real lives to be adventurous. the joy of the game is universal.

and i can totally understand why non-american gamers wouldn't follow some of our traditions. i've never understood why we have to juggle fox kits when rolling our dice.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have to say this is a bit of an eye opener for me- even though I've been aware that gaming outside of the USA exists...OK, and that its a bit different...I never really thought about my own personal horizons in the hobby vis a vis the RW.

I'm an Army brat who picked up gaming in 1977 AFTER our family returned from Europe. Even though I've gamed with guys & gals in a few states and 6-10 cities (depending on how you count suburbs), I've never gamed with a foreign gamer. Not a Canadian, a Mexican or even a naturalized American- all of the gamers I've associated with are natural citizens of the USA.

Hmm.

What do you attribute the lack of a dominant system to? Is it marketing? Is it the style of games produced? Is it a conscious decision on gamers to simply be more open to different systems? or could it be a product of a consumer market that's not as heavily invested in super-brands?

My guess? Its because its a homegrown hobby here, but when it crossed the oceans into other countries, the hobby already had other entrants. IOW, in the USA, D&D started off as a monopoly. Everywhere else had multiple simultaneous or nearly contemporaneous entrants to the market.

 

[pawsplay]

I always assumed the continuing dominance of D&D had a lot to do with the existence of ToyS R' Us. Did the UK have a major toy retailer selling D&D to ten and twelve year olds during the golden D&D years of the 1980s? If not, I think the UK tradition would reflect stronger hobbyist roots.