I've been playing tabletop RPGs since 1979. That's a lot of tables, a lot of systems, and a lot of opinions about what makes a game worth your time. This series is an attempt to put some of those opinions to work.

Here's the premise: sixteen games, four lanes, one winner. The lanes are OSR, NSR, Narrative, and Others. Each lane has four games seeded one through four. First round matchups pit the one seed against the two seed and the three against the four. Lane finals, semifinals, and a final follow from there.

Each post covers one matchup. The format is straightforward: I write honestly about both games, make a case for each, and then pick one. Every post includes an honest case for the loser, because a pick that doesn't acknowledge what it's leaving behind isn't worth much. I've played all sixteen of these games at the table. The picks come from actual sessions, actual memories, actual moments where the system did something I didn't expect.

New posts go up Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Bracket

OSR

• (1) OSE v (4) ICRPG

• (2) AD&D 1e v (3) Shadowdark

• Lane final: TBD v TBD

NSR

• (1) Cairn v (4) Under the Floorboards

• (2) Mothership v (3) Mausritter

• Lane final: TBD v TBD

Narrative

• (1) Public Access v (4) Kintsugi

• (2) Trophy Gold v (3) Teeth

• Lane final: TBD v TBD

Others

• (1) Crash Pandas v (4) Kingdom

• (2) Toon v (3) FATE Accelerated

• Lane final: TBD v TBD

Semifinals

• TBD v TBD

• TBD v TBD

Final

• TBD v TBD

I'll update this post with links and results as the series runs. If you think I've seeded this wrong, or that a game has no business being in this bracket, or that the game I picked deserved to lose: tell me in the comments. That's half the fun.

The first matchup goes up Friday. See you then.