I do note that a quick google search for 'Tekumel' gets me almost 40,000 results and a slew of related searches. Online access hasn't just made older media outdated, it's changed the basics of how we look for and consume information. Newspapers are virtually meaningless to most people, generalist magazines are almost a thing of the past, and the internet has led to people (at least anyone with basic search skills) looking for reviews by deliberately searching for them on specialized sites rather than just skimming the entertainment section of a local or national paper. They aren't, but I'd contend there's no such thing as a 'mainstream periodical' these days. '.are roleplaying games reviewed in mainstream, non-gaming periodicals after the fashion of this one?' He begins his review by commenting on the game's price, hence the headline above. Based on his review, his effort was successful, as he accurately describes the game and Tékumel itself. Even more surprising was the fact that Filiatreau not only seemed to understand what roleplaying games were – remember, this was published prior to the James Dallas Egbert affair brought RPGs to wide public awareness – but that he also made a serious effort to understand EPT itself. Occasionally, I'd hear some of the older guys make reference to it, but it wasn't until I obtained a catalog from the Dungeon Hobby Shop that I saw good, hard evidence of the game's existence (and the Ral Partha miniatures created to support it).Ĭonsequently, when Thaddeus Moore sent me a clipping from the Jedition of The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, I was surprised to see that it was a lengthy review of Empire of the Petal Throne, written by John Filiatreau. I never saw a copy on any store's shelves nor did I read about it in the pages of Dragon, my main source for roleplaying news in those days. By the time I entered the hobby in 1979, EPT was far from a household name.

Gamers often forget that Empire of the Petal Throne is one of the earliest RPGs, appearing in 1975, about eighteen months after the release of original Dungeons & Dragons and only slightly after that of Tunnels & Trolls.

Empire of the petal throne review