My 15 Games In 15 Minutes

Oh all right. It seems that every other blogger has jumped onto the 15 in 15 bandwagon, where they are asked to list the 15 games that have affected them the most in their gaming life. And they must do so in 15 minutes. So, without further ado, here are mine as they come to me:

1. Mutant Future - The Blasted Earth Retroclone that brought me back into the gaming fold. Seriously, is anyone surprised that this is number one on this blog?
2. Gamma World - The first gonzo post-apocalyptic RPG I played and one that showed me there was more than just Dungeons & Dragons out there.
3. Dungeons & Dragons - Of course I cut my teeth on the granddaddy of all RPGs in a long-running campaign that, I know, is still running 20 years later.
4. Ghostbusters RPG - My first exposure to the D6 system and the game that showed me that RPGs could also be incredibly funny.
5. Toon - A maniacal RPG that encourages action over planning. Great fun to run at conventions - especially with a sound system blasting Warner Bros. cartoon theme music.
6. Call of Cthulhu - Unlike the lighter comedy RPGs I enjoy, this showed me that, sometimes, there are no winners. Eventually you will either die, go insane, or be eaten. Horror done right.
7. Villains and Vigilantes - Played and enjoyed this supers game long before exposure to Champions. Still have all of my original books from the FGU days and am glad to see it back!
8. Dark Cults card game - Not exactly an RPG, but I grabbed this eerie little storytelling card game years ago, and it was a regularly played diversion for years. Still have it on-hand too.
9. Timemaster - Loved Pacesetter's stuff back in the '80s, and a time travel RPG was just icing on the cake. Really well-thought-out time travel mechanics with interesting adventures in the past and future.
10. Chill - My other favorite Pacesetter game. Less dire than Cthulhu, but no less deadly. If CoC was the "Hammer Horror" of RPGs, Chill was "Universal Monsters."
11. Stuperpowers - Long before I found out about Mystery Men and Flaming Carrot, I had stumbled across this spoof of heroes with useless powers. Hysterical in small doses. "Prehensile nipples," anyone?
12. Stalking The Night Fantastic/Bureau 13 - Discovered the original spiral-bound photocopied STNF at a local convention years ago. Thought the idea of a government branch fighting the forces of the supernatural was very cool.
13. Space 1889 - Didn't play it much, but loved the concept. My first exposure to the steampunk genre.
14. Tunnels and Trolls - Played a few games and loved the simple mechanics of the system. Plus it was a bit more lighthearted than other fantasy games which was nice.
15. International Fantasy Gaming Society - Yup, I was a LARPer for many years. Role-playing on a tabletop is one thing. But get back to me when you've actually explored a dungeon, turned a wave of undead, or slain a troll lord in real life. I have. ;)

Honorable Mention: The original Illuminati by Steve Jackson Games. Fnord.