The Guardian on Reading RPGs: Why don’t RPG manuals count as books?

Roleplaying games are being mentioned in the mainstream press again, and you don't get much more mainstream than The Guardian. An article today, by Damien Walter, discusses the joy of reading (as opposed to playing) roleplaying games, and compares them to other forms of book reading as he asks the question "You don’t have to actually play a role-playing game for it to fire your imagination, so why don’t RPG manuals count as books?"

You'll find the full article here.

 

[Tonguez]

Not sure about you, but in this country you will not find RPGs in either Bookshops or on Library shelves (I've only seen two libraries that stocked two books of RPG theory) and thats because they are regarding as Board games or Hobbies rather than books to be read. The only places to buy RPGs in this country are the few Comics/RPG shops or online.

That said, when I lived close to a Comics/RPG shop I use to enjoy reading GURPS supplements, and the DnD Gazetteers and Ecologies. Reading different rules systems and settings is fun and allows for exploration of the imagination as well as formal comparisons between different narrative and mechanical approaches. "Ergodic" sounds like a good word to add to my vocabulary of obscure jargon

 

[Jhaelen]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you are reading these books because you intend to use the setting material or game mechanics for the RPG games that you do play. If you never played a single RPG in your life and you never intended to in the future, would you still enjoy reading these books? What would be the point of reading about the inner workings of RPGs if you never had the intention of utilizing that information?

Well, I got started reading Ars Magica books because I have once played it. But that's almost two decades in my past. I've continued reading the books because I enjoy reading about history, but normal books about it are too dry for my taste and I enjoy books about alternate histories even more. For me they're in a similar category as novels about alternate history, e.g. Philip K. Dick's 'The man in the high castle'.

And my interest in game mechanics results from having designed board games (and an RPG) in my past. I don't necessarily intend to design a new game or port mechanics to other games, I'm simply interested how other designers resolve in-game actions and how (roleplaying) game design in general has evolved over time. I also enjoy reading articles on game design, btw. E.g. there's plenty of articles about video game design on the internet that typically also provide some insight into general game design.

Why is anyone interested in the inner workings of anything? Imho, it's most often nothing but curiousity. I'm interested in astronomy and astro-physics, as well, despite having no intention to ever start a career in that field.

 

[Desalus]

Why is anyone interested in the inner workings of anything? Imho, it's most often nothing but curiousity. I'm interested in astronomy and astro-physics, as well, despite having no intention to ever start a career in that field.

That's a very good point. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective.

I also approached the question from a point a view that didn't acknowledge that people have different interests. Some people really enjoy mathematics and statistics, while I quite dislike them. While I really enjoy reading about history, other people find it utterly boring. I never imagined someone enjoying reading an RPG rulebook for the sole purpose of reading, because I came at the question from my own point of view. I therefore apologize to anyone that I offended by insinuating that your interests were objectionable.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

Who says they don't count as books?

 

[GM Joe]

Back when there was practically a new AD&D 2E splatbook every week, I kept buying them even though we hadn't played D&D in years. I bought them mostly out of habit, but I did read them. Sometimes they were pretty good.

These days, when I have time I enjoy re-reading some of the few remaining classic RPG supplements I still own. I don't have time or interest to buy truckloads of new RPGs like I did when I was a kid, just to learn what new ideas they might contain. I'm content just keeping up with the few games I actually run on a regular basis.

But I don't fault anyone for reading RPGs just for pleasure, with no intention of ever using the material.

And I certainly don't understand anyone saying RPG books aren't books. Unless, of course, they were to just say that for clickbait. That, I could understand.