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Message: <blockquote data-quote="buzz" data-source="post: 2385563" data-attributes="member: 6777">FWIW, Dancey states explciitly that this is his opinion, and presents the anecdotal evidence that led him to form said opinion. I'm willing to give his opinion some weight simply based on his experience, and the test situation he describes is more formal than any observation I've been abel to make.While his opinion may not be 100% irrefutable, I think there's a germ of some kind of truth in there.Perhaps, but haven't we also been told many times that it's the sales of core books that really provide most companys' meat and potatoes? If a truly "lite" RPG had really connected with an audience, isn't it possible that it would have sustained itself even wihtout a barraeg of supplements? I mean, most boardgames are just a single product, right? If Monopoly or Risk can sustain itself for decades with basically a single product (keeping in mind the theme sets are a pretty recent thing), why couldn't an RPG?I think the closest exmples we can find of rules-lighter games that have sustained themselves are Vampire and Call of Cthulhu. The latter could possibly be considered "lite", but the former is still somewhere in the middle. Their product lines also seem to focus less on crunch and more on adventures and setting material. Granted, CoC isn't really a big player anymore...Ultimately, I think that truly "lite" RPGs simply appeal to a very limited audience. Contrary to popular belief, it's really the experienced gamer that is drawn to system that let them rely less on rules and more on their own years of experience. Yes, it may be that "lite" games are easier for newbies to learn, but, IMO, only when aided by the guidance of an experienced gamer (barring an exceptionally-written rulebook). Give something like Everway to a group of nothing but newbies and you'll see a lot of head-scratching. Give them something like the Basic Set (a focused version of a complex game that provide clear goals for gameplay), and you give birth to a hobby.</blockquote>

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