Do you have a favorite genre for gaming?

[Anders]

And if so, what is it? Or do you prefer cross-genre games?

(genre taken very loosely)

Me, I'm an unapologetic fantasy gamer. I can play other kinds of games, but 'classic' fantasy is really what gets me going. Give me a sword to wave and a dragon to kill and I'm happy.

[Agemegos]

I like thrillers, in all sorts of setting.

[mook]

In theory, my favorite is cross-genre/all-genre settings, like GrimJack's Cynosure or Infinite Worlds, where the same group of heroes can have an Old West adventure, then a Cyberpunk one, then an Imperial Japan one, etc. This is where most of my tinkering energy goes (and probably explains why I love me some GURPS).

In practice, though, I don't find a lot of players as keen on that as I am. I'd say my two most frequent genres are Fantasy (usually in the Forgotten Realms) and modern day (either realistic, like SWAT/Spec Ops, or "hidden magic in the shadows of our world," like Dresden or The Masquerade).

I also have a big soft spot for Cyberpunk!

That's all as a GM. When I go to conventions, I play more than I GM, but genre comes in second on my list of choosing criteria behind GMs I've enjoyed in the past. Favorite genre for convention games is horror, followed by modern day action.

[zorg]

Cyberpunk, in a blatant action movie - pulp mode, where genre conventions trump realism. I can take Fantasy or leave it, and I'm OK with Urban Magic, but Cyberpunk is by far my favourite.

[combatmedic]

I don't have a clear favorite, but here's some stuff I like a lot:

• medieval fantasy
  
• cyberpunk
  
• gothic horror

I'm also keen on Westerns, but of my current players only my wife is interested in that sort of game.

[whswhs]

If you go by the games I run and the proposals I circulate, my two favorite genres are historical fantasy and supers.

Bill Stoddard

[sgtcallistan]

By my history, I like character-driven games (SF, historical, fantasy, etc.), tending to avoid Horror and (in general) non-cinematic situations.

So; I like many genres, but tend to avoid certain elements, rather than have a favourite.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Anders

And if so, what is it? Or do you prefer cross-genre games?

(genre taken very loosely)

Me, I'm an unapologetic fantasy gamer. I can play other kinds of games, but 'classic' fantasy is really what gets me going. Give me a sword to wave and a dragon to kill and I'm happy.

Historical fantasy, and modern (or semi-modern, as in 80's or 70's) action-thriller.

My Ärth setting is an example of the former, in combination with Sagatafl's magic systems (which defines the Ärth setting). My abandoned design, which I worked on for around 2006-08, Modern Action RPG, would have been pretty good for the later. Sagatafl should also be able to do it, once I figure out how to handle firearm damage and firearm projectile interactions with armour. Or GURPS Action, if that's your preference.

[kaulesh]

I think my absolute favorite genre is fantasy in most of its incarnations. If I could play in a campaign similar to the Black Company books, however, that would be just about perfect. Fantasy is also what I run most of the time.

I enjoy most genres, however. It depends on who is GMing.

I'm in a group right now where one guy is an amateur horror writer. Surprise, surprise - he mainly runs horror games. He's also really good at it.

One of the other group members is running a Star Wars game. It's wonderful. Yes, the events of the movies happened. They play next to no role in his story, however, aside from some little tidbits now and then, like a bar owned by refugees from Alderaan.

Finally, another of us is an amateur fantasy writer. Even when he lost his notes for the current adventure, he managed to perfectly insert a pregen into the world that he's already created.

I've got a soft spot for fantasy so you know I'm going to say his is my favorite. If I had to choose between the others, however, I don't think I could do it.

[Kromm]

What I've played the most, had the greatest success with, and probably am most skilled at GMing is kitchen-sink, hack 'n' slash fantasy that's all about fighting, gear, and level-ups.

What I enjoy the most is modern-day thrillers where commandos, corporate security, detectives, mercenaries, spies, terrorists, thieves, etc. are all in the mix and engaging in endless burglary, deceit, scheming, and silent killing, enabled by prodigious training, dubious techno-wizardry, and sheer audacity.

What I would secretly like to try the most is dirty sci-fi that's part Aliens, with its marines and bug-hunts, and part Borderlands, with its crapsack world and decay. It would specifically have to sweep the details of space travel and spacecraft under the carpet – "You travel for X days and get there. Now the story starts." – because I've played a crapton of space SF and found it utterly, brutally unengaging.