Let Me Explain...

I was at bar in Dover a couple years back.

I was in many bars in Dover a couple of years back actually.

On this particular night I was chatting with a friend of a friend who had heard me talking about "my game". She had no point of reference for the type of game I was working on and politely inquired about it.

I began to explain the name of the game is WEGS. Stands for the Wickedly Errant Game System. I called it "sword-n-sorcery an adventure game"...

(Blank stare)

I'd put forth "role-playing game"...

(Blank stare with strange quizzical upturn of lip.)

I then threw out, "Are you familiar with Dungeons and Dragons type games?"

(Quizzical upturned lip turned to worrisome snarl and a step back.)

She now realized that she was engaged in conversation with one of those devil-worshipper types. "Oh, no. No. I'd never play that type of game."

My sales pitch was quickly dying. I hate resorting to D&D comparisons as it instantly shuts doors in the minds of the unitiated. And the term "role-playing" always conjures up images of swinging married couples in costumes. Yet, WEGS is at its heart a big and bold sword-n-sorcery role-playing game (sans the costumed married couples).

Before my friend's friend turned away I quickly followed with, "Have you ever played Clue?"

"Well, of course! We played it in college a bunch."

"In Clue you play a character, right?"

"Yes - usually Mrs. Peacock."

"I'm a Professor Plum guy myself. So, say you and I were playing that game. We'd move about the board, exploring rooms, picking up clues, finding items like the lead pipe or the rope."

"Or the gun! I loved those little metal props."

"Well, that's very close to what WEGS is - except in a fantasy setting, like Lord Of The Rings. We would create characters and then move about the board together exploring the rooms of a castle. Unlike Clue, we're kinda like a team confronting castle guards or breaking into the treasure vaults."

"So, we're not playing against one another?"

"Well, not initially. (I hesitated to start discussing player vs. player options.) But if Peacock the Enchantress found an item that Plum The Warrior wanted, we might fight eachother for it."

"That sounds like fun."

"It's great when you play with six or more friends. The interaction of the characters is great! You just don't get that with Clue."

"Huh! That sounds fun."

Here enthusiasm was somewhat polite. I've seen it before and since.

I had done my best to enlighten a stranger to the hobby.

So I politely asked her what she did...

"Horse insurance broker."