>However, I do think that it would be cool for there to be another
>Gloranthan game. Currently in print there a paper 'n dice role
>playing game (HW/HQ), and strategy computer game (King of Dragon
>Pass). In the misty past there are legendary board games, but I
>don't think they've been in print for a long time?
They are real Glorantha enthusiasts games, I've got an early edition of White Bear/Red Moon and the amount of background is wonderful. However I'm not convinced it is actually playable - there are just too many counters with special rules and remembering them all and working out how to deal with interactions is just too difficult for me. So to introduce newcomers, even from a hex board game background, they are non-starters.
>Certainly it would seem that, given the richness of Glorantha, there
>was room for more ways to enjoy it. Issaries needs to focus its
>resources on its main line, and the fan run companies have more
>limited resources. However you'd think that maybe a "convention
>game" produced cheaply would work. Thinks along the line Credo, or
>the old Steve Jackson "pocket" games. Thing is, for something like
>that to do well, it needs to be so appealing that it spreads largely
>through word of mouth, which means you need an inspired game
>designer, plus license to set it in Glorantha....so I don't consider
>it likely, but it would be cool.
Judging by the board games which seem to be popular at present the first requirement is for simplicity, followed by an attactive association. Unfortunatly Glorantha has a negative effect in that context - it is associated with complexity - but an hour playing time game which was easy to learn could well reverse that effect.
On the wider issue of expanding the market I get the feeling the bottleneck is narrators rather than players. You can play HW without knowing much of the background provided the narrator knows the stuff relevent to the game they are running. A novice narrator has a problem however, they need either a prewritten scenario or a lot of background material to make their own. I know there is quite a bit of stuff on the internet and some excellent scenarios available but for a narrator who's looking to start out without spending too much it isn't clear what to buy. Hopefully the HQ set will provide the solution - it should be a complete game including some scenarios to get people started.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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