#RPGaDAY2023 Day 12: “Old game you STILL play”

Can you guess which old game I still play? Yes, of course… it’s GURPS.

This week, I’ve been mostly playing the original GURPS. By this, I mean Man-to-Man – the GURPS combat system published in 1985 – and the earliest edition of the main game itself. If I am pushed on a preferred edition of that game, it’s going to be the Third Edition.

But you already knew all that.

Firstly, I have re-discovered the joys of playing the Man-to-Man fantasy combat system as a tabletop skirmish wargame in its own right. This has helped me realise that, deep down, I enjoy the too-and-fro of tactical miniatures wargaming at the person-to-person scale.

Secondly, I’ve realised that the early edition of GURPS provides a far better introduction to roleplaying than the current version. Because it was a new and developing system – facing many revisions between 1986 and 1989 – early GURPS presents us with a beautifully economic version of these generic universal rules.

What I like about Third Edition and earlier GURPS is the progression of options which grows through the supplements and settings. The genre treatments, such as GURPS Fantasy (1st ed) and GURPS Space (1st ed) alongside GURPS Space Atlas, provide wonderfully worked examples of how to set up your own games.

As a GM looking to play a more stripped-down version of GURPS, the early editions do much of this for me. While I can enjoy the full Advanced Combat on the tabletop, for my roleplaying I can easily dial it back to the Basic Combat rules and utilise the heart of the system. Without all the clutter of options in the modern Basic Set, it’s easier for me to see the core of the system.

So, yeah, I still play THAT old GURPS boxed set.

Game on!