The RPG Design Playlist

Essential Games to Play, Run, and Experience

The Alexandrian’s “RPGs: The Essential Reading List” provides a solid historical context, but it makes me cranky, and I’d go a different way. I’m not bagging on Alexander; I can appreciate his historical list. The reasoning is written out right there for you, and he said he’d take a survey/historical approach to construct it. Many other ‘essentials lists’ feel like folks phoning in the work, of stuff rehashed annually. My experience, however, is different.

If the question is:

“If you were teaching an intro-level college class on roleplaying game design, what would be the reading list?”

I’m interested in teaching what is possible in TTRPG game design—inspiring folks in my class to reach further, to push the envelope, dig deeper, and see RPGs' wild, vast potential. Here’s my read-and-play list. In this class, reading is not enough; we must get these games on the table for the play experience—that’s the weekly lab portion!