#RPGaDay2021 - 7 - Small

 

Day 7 - Small

Today's word is 'small'. 

I'm increasingly attracted by smaller format games, especially self-contained ones. I love the 6x9 / digest format, especially in hardcover. It's portable and convenient, and also works brilliantly when transferred to PDF for an e-Reader. I find that full-size books tend to get read more slowly, as they're less convenient. They're also much more space-efficient; I have too many RPG books and adding smaller ones causes less shelf stress. And certainly less stress with the better-half about the shelves.

A significant turn-off for me is when a publisher makes a big thing about how huge their book is. I'm more interested in the quality of the writing, the hooks and how well it's laid out. Size doesn't reflect useability. 

When City of Mist arrived in its original format, it was a massive turn off for me. I had a glorious looking volume the size of the old Yellow Pages and Phone Directories combined, too heavy to read easily and with aspects of the layout that were out of scale with the book. I'd been expecting 6x9 from the mock-up. They've subsequently fixed this with the new edition, but the hugeness meant it took me more than a year to get the game to the table properly.

I have the trilogy of core books for D&D5e, but two of them are rarely used. The Player's Handbook is referenced most often, with the Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide only coming out occasionally. Perhaps part of that is because I'm running a pre-made campaign using a VTT with the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual integrated into it, so I don't need to reference books. The focus on having most of what you need in the Player's Handbook makes sense; this is the heart of the game. It may not be 6x9, and it could do with some taughtening, but it's clear, well presented and focused.

Size matters, but perhaps not in the way tradition suggests.

'Small'. Concise, clear, focused. These are winners for me. 

7 August 2021 (belatedly)