Best RPG Games

Here is a list of the ten best pen and paper roleplaying games of all-time. Although there is no scientific way to prove the ‘best RPG games’ ever, this list takes into account the overall popularity of pen and paper roleplaying games since the industry was first created.

10 – Gamma World – The original post-apocalyptic game. This game is also classified as a science fantasy roleplaying game. It was one of the first roleplaying games where you could play a plant that shoots poison, a monumental achievement in itself.

9 – Vampire the Masquerade – Some may argue which is the best World of Darkness product. But Vampire the Masquerade was the game that put White Wolf on the map. Vampire the Masquerade has also become the number Live Action Roleplaying Game in the world. Go LARP’ers!

8 – RuneQuest – Many years ago, this game was recognized as one of the ‘Big Three’ roleplaying games with the largest market share, the other two being Dungeons & Dragons and Traveller. Over time, RuneQuest lost some of its market share but still remains one of the most popular fantasy roleplaying adventure games of all time.

7 – Champions – This was the original comic book / super hero roleplaying game. Many others have followed, like Marvel Super Heroes, Mutant’s and Masterminds, Heroes Unlimited, and more. But Champions was the first game to break the mold and put the player in control of a comic book super hero.

6 – Tunnels & Trolls – This game was created in 1975 making it older than the author of this article, as well as older that all other roleplaying games (except for one!). Also known by its shortened name of T&T, this game has long played second fiddle to the original fantasy roleplaying game.

5 – GURPs – The Generic Universal RolePlaying System is able to adapt itself to any game environment. Any setting you can think of has been created for the system. Its creator, Steve Jackson, is one of the most well-known game designers in the industry because of this game.

4 – Star Wars – This is definitely the most well-known space opera setting of all time, and some may argue the best of all time. However, the debate will continue on about which is the best edition, d6, d20, or Saga Edition.

3 – Traveller – Although not the most famous space opera setting (See #4), it is the ‘original’ space opera setting for pen and paper roleplaying games. Traveller was first published in 1977 by Game Designers’ Workshop, but has been printed by other companies since then. It still remains one of the longest running and best RPG games of all time.

2 – Call of Cthulhu – The most famous horror-themed pen and paper roleplaying game. This setting is based off the horror fiction writings of H.P. Lovecraft. This game has many different editions, using many different systems, and has won multiple awards.

1 – Dungeons & Dragons – Love it or hate it. If you’ve gamed, odds are you’ve played it. There are editions wars over rapid roleplaying fans. But one thing they can all agree on is that Dungeons & Dragons is the grandfather of all roleplaying games. Even people that have never roleplayed in their life have heard of Dungeons & Dragons.

If you count the different editions from each game as separate games, then this list would turn out to be a very different list. In general, there were specific editions to each game that were vastly preferred over others. Sometimes it was the newer edition and sometimes it was the older edition. But this list is a good representation of the best pen and paper roleplaying games ever.