12. Pendragon (1985),br>
Pendragon is an elegant, near-perfect game for what it is: a recreation of the Arthurian romances in an interactive form, with a focus on simulating knighthood as it developed through Arthur’s fictional reign. I don’t know another game that so precisely portrays its subject matter through mechanics, theme and design. That said, if you’ve no interest in the legends of Arthur or the romance of knighthood, this game will probably bore you to tears (though the combat is often shockingly deadly).
Much of the game is caught up in politics, military campaigns, family affairs (the game assumes players will play successive generations of knights from the same line) and navigating several sets of conflicting codes of behavior that don’t entirely make sense to modern conceptions of good behavior (the recent film The Green Knight is a good example of the last – Gawain is trapped in a web of pagan, Christian, knightly and chivalric codes of honor, all at odds with each other). A set of opposing character traits help track the virtues and flaws of character knights (modest versus proud, for example), allowing players insight into how to push their characters toward the heroic glories and tragic ends they desire.
I played this briefly in high school, but like so many other games I played in my teens, I played it like it was D&D. That is: entirely wrong. Coming to it years later, and more thoroughly understanding how it is meant to work, has made me keen to run it, if only I can find a group willing to commit to several years of campaigning…
