Zachary at RPG Blog II is hosting a poll / contest about the Top 25 RPG’s of all time. My first thought was that I hadn’t even played 25 different roleplaying games, let alone could think of enough to vote on. But when I finally started compiling a list, I realized I’ve played well over 25. In fact, it was kind of hard for me to narrow the list down to just that many. Here is a list of my personal favorite Top 25 Roleplaying Games Of All Time. I have no illusions that this is not close to the actual top 25, but I felt that I could only comment on games that I have played. There are several games that I consider to be top games, but I haven’t played (hence, they didn’t make my list). Also, I didn’t agonize to death over the exact order and ranking of the list, I felt that my first list with a simple second look was good enough.

1. Dungeons & Dragons – It doesn’t matter what edition you choose, D&D is the premiere roleplaying game. If someone only knows one roleplaying game, this is it. Odds are you’ve played it, whether you like it or not.
2. Shadowrun – Despite a game system that seems to be getting worse and worse as time goes on, the game itself has a bigger history than most. It has spawned multiple video games on multiple platforms. Maybe they’ll be able to balance the game a little in 5th edition?
3. Star Wars (D6) – In my opinion, there is no other way to play Star Wars than using the D6 version. It was the premiere D6 game and still stands the test of time. It is a simple system with a world that everyone knows.
4. Call of Cthulhu – The ultimate game in providing player death. The game has been imitated but never truly duplicated (well). I can honestly say that the only time I’ve ever been actually scared during a roleplaying session was once and we were playing this game. Ironically, it was a dark and stormy night…
5. Delta Green – A completely underrated game, in my opinion. The world and lore that was put together for this game is phenomenal. If you are a conspiracy theory guru and a roleplayer that hasn’t picked up this game, buy it now! It will be the best money you’ve ever spent on an RPG book.
6. Deadlands – Originally came out with a spectacular, award-winning system that had a pretty unique setting. In my opinion, it was really a catalyst for getting the Savage Worlds system up and running. It has been the flag-bearer for the system ever since.
7. Mechwarrior (Battletech) – I probably have a personal bias with ranking this game so high, but it was the first roleplaying game I ever played. My parents wouldn’t let me play D&D so this was the next best thing. It’s done pretty well for itself over the years too, but more as a tabletop strategy game than a roleplaying game.
8. Palladium FRPG – Both 1st and 2nd edition rules are equally horrible, but the world is marvelous. The game itself really harkens back to the time of early edition D&D with a twist. Too bad Kevin Siembieda doesn’t feel like creating a game system that is up-to-date.
9. Marvel Superheroes – Combine spectacular superheroes with an incredibly fun character generation system and you have this game. The charts that it required to play sucked, but the crazy superheroes you could make were awesome. A system like this wouldn’t fly at all these days, but back when the game came out it worked well enough.
10. Rifts – Holy overpowered and unbalanced classes, Batman! Great world, great classes, horrible balance and system. If you don’t care about game balance but love stories, then this could be the game for you. Personally, I’ll just take my Glitterboy armor and destroy everyone with the touch of a button.
11. Vampire – This game, as well as other World of Darkness games, should probably be ranked higher on the overall list, but I never had a ton of experience with these games. It still is the number one LARP’ing game in the world though, since there are people out they LARP’ing the game that don’t even know it (Goths, or Vampire LARP’ers? You decide).
12. Mage – A pretty inventive, free-flowing magic system. I remember reading this book at a bowling alley for the first time and thinking, “Dang, you could do anything with these characters?!” If you could think it, you could cast it. Provided that your character had the ability to do it, that is.
13. Werewolf – This game was fun, especially coupled with Vampire. I loved taking my Werewolf against Vampires in 1st edition and destroying them, mostly because the systems weren’t balanced to go together. I also give the game props for having that 1st edition hard cover with the claw marks in it, great advertising.
14. Paranoia – The only game that you start out Mario style with six lives. You die once; your clone comes in later to replace you. It is also one of the few games that I think the print adventures were usually better than the adventures created by the game master.
15. Spycraft – This game advanced leaps and bounds from the 1st edition to the 2nd edition. I believe they could be poised to advance up there with WotC’s D&D and White Wolf’s World of Darkness. Only time will tell, but the game has a ton of potential.
16. Gamma World – I always thought this game should have gotten more props than it did. The random character generation charts were awesome. What other game could you play a poison spewing plant-thingy?
17. Cyberpunk 2020 – A very lethal, near future game. The game is cool because it is pure cyberpunk. No trolls, orks, or magic, just pure guns and chrome. Yet another game system which completely falters in the face of the world setting, but still a great game.
18. Warhammer FRPG – I don’t know which came first, the miniatures game or the roleplaying game. But the Warhammer roleplaying game is a nice alternative to D&D. It also has a lot of backing with being the biggest miniatures game out there, as well as tons of video games and computer games further enhancing the world.
19. Earthdawn – According to FASA, it was supposed to be Shadowrun but in a fantasy setting. The game had a pretty unique system and setting, but for some reason it always felt kind of bland when you played (sometimes like 4th edition D&D). The game did pretty well, however, and still has a small following.
20. Hackmaster – Best critical hit tables ever. I remember running this for our gaming group and just hoping that every time someone made an attack roll that it would be a critical hit. You never knew what part of your body was getting mauled or completely chopped off.
21. Talislanta – Another fairly under-rated game, in my opinion. Talislanta had some pretty awesome artwork when the game came out, as well as a huge list of character classes and races. Unfortunately, the system was almost too simple and lackluster.
22. Legionnaire (Renegade Legion) – This is one game that is probably on my list and no one else’s. It was the first game I ever game mastered. It was supposed to be Shadowrun and Earthdawn, but in the distant future. I remember having a lot of fun designing adventures and running them for people, but it was so long ago I couldn’t tell you what even one of them was.
23. Twilight 2000 – I have a special place in my heart for post-apocalyptic settings and this game does it well. They created a new version of the game which I haven’t played yet, but I always had a lot of fun in this pseudo Mad Max kind of setting.
24. TORG – A D6 based game that I only played a handful of times, but it had one of the wackiest settings I’ve ever played in. That is partially because they gave the game’s players control over the direction the game timeline went. It is probably a good example of why you have professional writers write a game, and not the players.
25. Beyond The Supernatural – Another game that probably won’t make it on anyone else’s list. Call of Cthulhu is a better setting and has better game system available for it. But there was always something about the adventures that were published for this game that I found pretty intriguing.

If you’re interested in checking out the poll / contest, go visit the RPG Blog II. You can read the original post of “Vote For The Top 25 RPGs of All Time!” and the updated post, “Top 25 RPGs: Update, Sponsors, Prizes, and Voting!” If you want to participate, make sure to get your entry in before the April 20th deadline.