I’ve been interested in role playing games ever since my friend shared a copy of AD&D on our elementary school playground one day, but never really was able to get far into the hobby. I played and GMed a couple games over the years but it never really stuck. Recently I’ve been getting into reading rule books (thanks to our awesome friend local game store, Chance Encounters in Roosevelt) and have built a pretty big library.

I still wasn’t playing much at all though until I starting getting into Call of Cthulhu. That was a big surprise for me since I’m not really at all interested in the H.P Lovecraft mythos nor the 1920’s setting. I mostly checked it out after learning it was the most popular TRPG in Japan. Many of the reasons for it’s popularity really attracted me:

1. It’s a pretty simple system to get into and to teach others. The starter set is also amazing to get introduced to the game with.
2. While it can be played in longer campaigns, it’s also intended to be played in more episodic sessions without a huge long term commitment.
3. There are a ton of pre written scenarios that you can buy or find for free online, so prep as a GM can be minimal if you want.
4. It can very easily be played with just one player and the GM. There’s are scenarios written specifically for duet play but I’ve also found you can just run a lot of other scenarios that way.

Of all the reasons, that last one has probably had the biggest impact. Being able to go out with Allison on a random Friday or Saturday night and spend an evening investigating mysteries and confronting (or creating) horrors together has been great. It’s given us both many more chances to enjoy the hobby without having to deal with finding and scheduling a bigger group. We’ve also gotten to enjoy many of the really cool game cafes we have in the area (particularly Around the Table in Lynnwood and Zulu’s in Bothell, which we’re really looking forward to biking to this summer).

It’s also given me more inspiration to continue working in my Japanese. A lot of the Japanese CoC scenarios are set in a more modern setting, which is what we prefer, so I’ve spent a little time trying to translate some of them so we can play. There’s also an amazing genre of youtube videos called TRPG Replays (TRPG リプレイ) that have been super entertaining to watch (and sometimes understand). Definitely recommend checking it out.