I like it, yet I hate it.  There's too much a focus on sex, the game rules are very weird, and Vincent Baker seems incredibly pretentious.  However, there's something about the simplicity of the rules that draws me in.

Yeah, the strange rules on sex are what curtails any interest I have in it, but I am curious as to what other have to say.

Quote from: dragoner;701071Yeah, the strange rules on sex are what curtails any interest I have in it, but I am curious as to what other have to say.

In theory, you could play without them, but I think Vince might have an aneurysm.  Something something exploring the human condition.

Though I respect Vincent Baker as a designer, I avoided Apocalypse World for the reasons you state. Try Dungeon World. It's less focussed on sex and less pretentious in its writing, but still has all that good about AW in it.

Quote from: Archangel Fascist;701083In theory, you could play without them, but I think Vince might have an aneurysm.  Something something exploring the human condition.

Being a middle aged guy, and my group being as well (some even are grandfathers), let's just say that isn't happening. My 'why I game' could include: explored the human condition, sick of it, thus recreational gaming.

Quote from: Skywalker;701084Though I respect Vincent Baker as a designer, I avoided Apocalypse World for the reasons you state. Try Dungeon World. It's less focussed on sex and less pretentious in its writing, but still has all that good about AW in it.

They may use the same central mechanics, but AW and DW do very different things with those mechanics. Dungeon World creates play centered around a group of adventurers working together to go on adventures. The fight monsters and deal with dark rituals and other adventurous stuff.

AW is more centered around a group of dysfunctional badasses squabbling with others and each other over the remains of civilization. The rules assume different intentions and drives, focus on expressing different archetypes than DW's. If you approach it with the mindset of heroes going on adventures, the moves aren't going to gel with what you're trying to do. It's not an adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world. It's a post apocalyptic game.

I do think AW is a little harder to digest than DW. None of the sex stuff really bothers me, though I play it as a 'fade to black' for the actual sex, and the game works fine.

Yep. I agree with that Adric. If AW doesn't work for you but you like some of it ideas, DW (or one of the other *World games) may be a good suggestion.

Quote from: dragoner;701086Being a middle aged guy, and my group being as well (some even are grandfathers), let's just say that isn't happening. My 'why I game' could include: explored the human condition, sick of it, thus recreational gaming.

Same here.  It's why I won't play "dark" games or "crapsack" worlds; I already do that 24/7.

Quote from: Old Geezer;701170Same here.  It's why I won't play "dark" games or "crapsack" worlds; I already do that 24/7.

I'm not a big fan of the grimdark stuff either, and most of the current games that do figure on some sort of apocalypse happening, lay it on too thick.

Quote from: Archangel Fascist;701066There's too much a focus on sex, the game rules are very weird, and Vincent Baker seems incredibly pretentious.

Nngh. Thread... too easy...

My buddy bought a copy of AW and I gave it a skim when it first came out.

Sex issues aside, well shit it's part of the issue I have with AW although not for the usual reasons, it seems like the author was trying way to hard to be edgy.

Between the sex stuff, the profanity and the general tone of the writing, it's almost as if the insecure little brother of Mr Torg from Borderlands 2 was screaming at me until I agreed that AW was awesome.

Quote from: Adric;701152They may use the same central mechanics, but AW and DW do very different things with those mechanics.

QFT. I actually prefer AW, but DW is a good game and plays quite differently. Although, I'm not quite sure how DW could be seen as alternative to AW.

Quote from: dragoner;701071Yeah, the strange rules on sex are what curtails any interest I have in it, but I am curious as to what other have to say.

Monster of the Week, tremulus and Dungeon World all use the same rules with 100% less Sex Moves. I generally find tremulus to be a good time. (Haven't actually played the other two yet.)

Tremulus, huh? I haven't heard of that one, cool.

If you're looking for...
1. Rules Simplicity (without "weirdness" as you put it)
2. Lack of Obvious Sexual Issues or Pretentiousness on the part of the author.

Then take a look at:
1. Barbarians of the Apocalypse - made with the Barbarians of Lemuria rules, it's a toolkit approach that helps you construct your own apocalypse type.  Like BoL, it's rules-light and archetype based.
2. Atomic Highway - more rules then BoA, but vehicle rules make it better for Mad Max type of PA.
3. Other Dust - Like all Crawford games, is filled with a ton of tables to help the GM make creation of the PA world very easy.