Games I own that I'll never play (again)

[Manbearcat]

D&D 1e, 2e, 3e, 5e. I still run Basic, RC, 4e and those cover discrete play experiences that I want from D&D

13th Age and Beyond the Wall. Good games, but once was enough.

Monsterhearts. Great game, brilliant tech, but once was enough.

Mouse Guard. I think this last, 16 session or so, game probably scratched the itch for the lifetime. Maybe another one shot for my friends’ girls.

GURPS. Very much not a game for me.

Agon. Excellent game for what it’s designed for but the 15 session game I just finished basically resolves all the Greek Myth for my life.

Aliens. Interesting aspirations. Resolution mechanic execution didn’t get there for me.

 

[payn]

Playing a character with a mortgage would be fun for me! I wouldn't make a payment, of course. And things would get interesting when the sheriff showed up . . .

I wish thats how it would go. My first Traveller my players did everything possible to avoid adventure so they could make sure not to default on their mortgage. "ohhh that sounds dangerous. Please tell us about the textile market on this planet instead. I think we could make a tidy sum selling them in two jumps..." Every. Single. Adventure Hook.

 

[Velderan]

Maybe 5e D&D. Not that I dislike it or anything, but I have so many other great games at this point, and I want to force myself to play other games and not be stuck in an endless cycle of playing just D&D.

Same. I whittled down a lot of my 5e material a few months ago and kept only what I actually might use if I ended up as a PC in a game again, but at this point I've found companies like Paizo and Chaosium are making things much more in line with what I want from a system I'm GMing.

 

[Bagpuss]

I'll start but what are yours?

Could pretty much list my whole collection...

Things I almost definitely won't play again, but have played and worthy of mention.

Shadowrun 1st Ed to 4th - Rules got progressively more complex with each edition, just not the sort of thing I'd like to play, rather play a real cyberpunk game. Played every weekend for several years so it takes up so much shelf space.

Weapons of the Gods - Really love the mechanics of this game, but it is very lore heavy for both the players and the GM, don't think I will find folks willing to invest the time in learning the lore.

Duty and Honour - Sharpe Rifles the RPG, not sure the setting suits modern gamers sensibilities.

Champions - Or Hero System in general, don't think I would play or persuade other to play a game this complex anymore.

Birthright for 2nd Ed AD&D - Easily the most interesting setting for the game, not sure 2nd Ed were everyone is human is likely to be a popular campaign suggestion.

Flashing Blades / En Garde! - Sexism of the historical period makes it less appealing, see Duty and Honour.

Star Wars (any edition, and I have far to many editions) - Disney have made me loose all interest in the franchise.

The list goes on and on, Alternity, MERP, etc. Most of the ones I mention above I have fond memories of, but just are really unlikely to hit the table again even though I kind of would like them too. Now one I will never play again out of a real dislike...
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Things I haven't played and suspect I never will (but would like to. It will only get played if I run it and I would rather be a player)

The Expanse - Suffers from same issue as Star Wars, and other licenses, the main characters in the original media already did the most exciting/important stuff.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Same reason as above.

Don't Rest Your Head - Insomniacs in a mad world, interesting dice mechanic and concept, but of a difficult setting to grasp and run for a group.

Underground - Ex Military Super Heroes returning to a civilian life that rejects them.

Millennium's End - Too complex but great source material for anything modern.

James Bond 007 - Got the set, it's really nice to look at but a RPG that's really about a lone agent? I just don't see it working for group play.

There are several more but these are the ones I'm most disappointed about not playing.

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Weirder games I want to get to the table but haven't yet (but will even if I am the one forced to run it)

Zombicide Chronicles - the RPG of the Board game. Want to see how the adrenaline mechanic works in play.

Conspiracy X - The original edition, with Zener cards for psychic powers, and building your own cell.

Dread - Jenga horror game, need the right players and it is not my current group.
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If I had the choice to never play again... (somewhat joking here)

Pathfinder and/or D&D - God I hate high magic heroic fantasy, particularly with classes and levels. Its what my current group prefers.

 

[payn]

Birthright for 2nd Ed AD&D - Easily the most interesting setting for the game, not sure 2nd Ed were everyone is human is likely to be a popular campaign suggestion.

I miss my old Birthright games. The rules were pretty messy Id kill for a modern 5E clean up.

 

[Jadeite]

D&D 3, D&D 3.5, D&D 4, D&D 5
Pathfinder 1
VtM, WtA, MtAs, WtO, CtD, HtR, DtF
SR 1-4, SR 6
Midgard 3-4
7th Sea 2
Warhammer 3rd
Avatar RPG

 

[Retreater]

So here's the difficulty for me. I have to ask these questions....

• How long does a typical campaign last? Probably 6-9 months.
• Can this be literally "my next campaign?" If not, it will be over a year before it will be up for consideration again.
• How do I know what my group's interest will be in 12 months? 18 months? Do I even know what group of people I'll be playing with?

Curating an RPG collection is different than almost anything else.

• Want to play a board game? Sure - you can do that. Call up some friends one night and play it.
• Want to play a new video game? Load that game up. No one's going to care.
• Want to read a book? Read the thing.
• Want to watch a Netflix series or movie? Load it up.
• Want to play a guitar? Plug it in.
• Want to play a new RPG? Call up people. Have them all schedule around it. Teach them the rules. Have them commit to doing this 2-4 times a month for half a year.

Part of what makes (most traditional) RPGs a terribly inconvenient hobby is the darn hubris involved in its design.

• Want to host the game? You're going to need to get these 3 books that are going to total $150 or so. Oh, and it might not even be "the right fit" for your group. So be ready to get various collections and study them to be able to suggest a good fit for your group.
• Want to play in the host's game? You should probably buy one of those books for $50ish. And learn it. And it's 300+ pages.
• If you're a player and you can't make it for any reason, there's a good chance the game falls apart and no one gets to play. Enjoy having all that responsibility on you. Are you really sure you want to commit to this hobby?
• And if you're the host and you can't make it, the game is definitely ruined for everyone.
• Want to get a pre-packaged adventure? It's going to run you $50 and take a 6 month - 1 year commitment to play.
• Hope you like reading. If you're going to host the game you're going to spend 2-4 hours planning each weekly session.

 

[Velderan]

Part of what makes (most traditional) RPGs a terribly inconvenient hobby is the darn hubris involved in its design.

• Want to host the game? You're going to need to get these 3 books that are going to total $150 or so. Oh, and it might not even be "the right fit" for your group. So be ready to get various collections and study them to be able to suggest a good fit for your group.

That's one of the reasons I really commend publishers that make a GOOD starter set. For example, the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set has enough rules (which are also available for free) to play through a few included scenarios and they've also published a couple of books with additional scenarios that can be used with the Starter Set rules so if you're just playing casually, you never need to upgrade to the full ruleset. Before I ran my first game, I skimmed what was in the free Quick Start rules and asked my players to look over a couple sections just to understand the high level mechanics I'd be asking them to roll using.

 

[thullgrim]

Pathfinder 2e. I’ve honestly tried four times to have some success with it and failed all four times.

GURPS - potentially, I’ve recently started a GURPS DFRPG game. This will be the fifth time I’ve tried to play run a GURPS campaign. If it fails I’ll shelve the books for the duration.

I buy a lot of games to convert to systems I like so I can’t really count those.

I don’t want to be the guy that only runs Savage Worlds but we have a lot of success with that game.

 

[payn]

Pathfinder 2e. I’ve honestly tried four times to have some success with it and failed all four times.

Out of curiosity, what were the reasons it didnt take?