Quick quoting:

A rule is a function of [game] mechanics. A role is a function of theater. Rules frame interaction with the game, roles frame interaction with the players.

This got me thinking about role-playing games, and how they are also rule-playing games. And chess.

In chess, each player has 6 possible roles each move (pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, king). These are mostly perceived as rules (bishops can only move diagonally), but they are also roles, having to do with how each piece controls lanes on the board and supports or threatens other pieces.

That applies to games like D&D also. If I'm playing a cleric, I have to follow the system rules for cleric, which in turn direct the role I will play for my party.

But not totally - I can be a healer or a harmer, the player who increases the combat-readiness of the warfighter, or the warfighter himself.

And even if I'm a healer, I can play that character as a total dick, which will color both my character's relationships within the party, and possibly the outcome of the whole game (depending on what effect my dickitude has on the NPCs, etc).

D&D is overarchingly structured around combat. The vast majority of adventures are lost or won by combat. That makes it more like chess (which all mini wargames descend from); more focus on the rules/game system, less on the roles/theater. But those still have an effect; how great an effect is largely up to the gaming group, I think.

Anyway, I thought it was a neat way to build a spectrum of gaming. I'm all about the gray area.

I also enjoyed playing Ace of Aces, a similar kind of game about WWI biplane combat.

I used to LOVE playing Ace of Aces. I always meant to pick up a set, but never did.

I think they share the same designer but are not directly related, design wise.

Going back to the discussion about the 4E DMG, and its usefulness or lack thereof. There's an article on the WotC website about the design philosophy behind the DMG here: [link]

There are people out there who think the new DMG's fantastic, I personally (like others here) didn't get much out of the Role-Playing 101 sections. I actually found it more interesting reading about the designers' motivations for doing things the way they did. One quote in particular cught my eye:

t "The 3rd Edition Dungeonscape book included an extensive -- one might say exhaustive -- discussion of adventure setting, detailing the many kinds of dungeon rooms and features. Our first inclination in putting this section of the DMG together was to draw on that excellent material. Ultimately, though, I decided that it lacked focus, and it was too much information for the first DMG."

I expect future PHBs and MMs to be pretty similar in structure to the first ones (just with different classes, feats, monsters etc). Sounds like that may not be the case for the DMGs. (Which, good, I didn't really need one primer on role-playing, let alone several.)

Check this out: D&D origami. [link]

Joey Ramone Video Game Reviews - circa early 80s.

Weekend Gaming Report:

Tigris & Euphrates. Still excellent. I won the first game handily, then got my ass handed to me twice.

Kingdom. Reiner Knieze is still a god. (God of Sticking Random Themes on Clever Designs...it's a niche). Kingdom is basically tic-tac-toe on steroids, for multiple players and with winning as a possibility.

Inkognito. Meh. Clue for grown-ups. Other people liked the new "Carnivale in Venice" theme; I missed the little props from Clue. Best quote, following an information exchange: "These cards do not have four asses."

Kingdom. Reiner Knieze is still a god. (God of Sticking Random Themes on Clever Designs...it's a niche). Kingdom is basically tic-tac-toe on steroids, for multiple players and with winning as a possibility.

I understand he took out the Spiel des Jahres award this year, though really he should've won the year he released T&E.

The track listing for Rock Band 2 is out.

That list is awesome! A lot of songs/artists I love are on there.

In other news, I beat Call of Duty 4 ! It was shorter than I expected. It only took me a weekend and change. And when I say "a weekend," I mean staying up till 4 in the morning. So it probably would have been an even shorter game had I not died so many damn times. But, hey, eventually I saved the Eastern seaboard, so there's that.

Really fun game, highly recommended.