Return of the Gamesmen: a look at "When Good Games Go Bad"

(This review originally appeared at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_reviews_info.php?&reviews_id=80493&products_id=106127 which is where all those backslashes came from.)

     A solid hit. It\'s going over the center fielder\'s head! It\'s going - it\'s going!! It\'s GONE, right out of the park!! A solid HOME RUN!!

Sequels are rarely as good as the originals. Hardly ever do they TOP the original! I can only think of two in the movie field: Bride of Frankenstein and Spider-Man 2. As for games, there\'s this, the sideways-sort of sequel to the Gamesmen of Kasar - and a partial answer to the riddle of what IS the motivation of these Gamers? And who are they?

You\'re a person of some note in this solo. That is, you\'re of interest to the government (such as it is) of the planet, and they\'d just as soon jettison you into the nearest star. But if you can solve the problem/mystery of why the bizarre building, which houses an arena or something (No one really knows.) has gone berzerk and sent out robots to kidnap citizens -- well, that\'s just unseemly! And the robots and building being impregnable to their enforcement agents -- that\'s a disaster in the making!

So you courageously (?) walk up to the entrance, announce yourself as another of the many who used to play their game in their arena, and wait to be show in --

To what?

Robots, aliens, monsters, and a big honking -- no, I shan\'t reveal it. But one of the most glorious of the classic monsters can be yours for the low, low price of taking the wrong turn.

And you\'ve got to love Jeff\'s art - If H.P. Lovecraft merged with Earl Otis and had a pawkish sense of humor, this is the art he\'d create. To make it even more bizarre, Jeff is blind - and still one of the best artists in the business.

This solo opens up what may be a campaign, and delivers more mystery even as it answers some of the mystery of the Kasar solo.

Roy Cram has been absent from adventure creating for far too long! His return with \"When Good Games Go Bad\" has us excited for further adventures in this series.

Creepy as it might be.

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