Name Conflicts

[SheikhJahbooty]

This might be a fun thread, so I might as well give it a go.

Mention games that have name conflicts.

For example: Polaris.

The first time someone brought up that he wanted to try Polaris with me I was totally thrilled because I never thought I would meet an American role player that spoke enough French that he would have read this French JDR about people living under the sea after an apocalypse that has rendered the skies dangerous to be exposed to.

But no. He wanted to play Ben Lehman's game of Chivalric Tragedy, which once I learned what it was, was kind of cool in itself.

Ooh, another example: d20.

This also caught me off guard because I'd stopped playing Dungeons and Dragons, but I did play Traveller, so I was familiar with the d20 system, it was the system that TNE uses. So someone asked me, if I knew how to play d20 and I start asking him if he was putting together a Traveller game or Dark Conspiracy or Twilight 2000, and he looked at me like I was old, which was of course the case.

And then, miraculously, an edition of Traveller came out that used the new d20 system and they called it T20.

Does anyone have any other examples?

It can be games that other people have written or you can bring up games that you wrote and wanted to give a certain title, but some publisher beat you to it.

[Rob Lang]

Icar was originally called Star Fleet, named after the organisation in which most games took place. It was called that for about 5 years before I realised Star Fleet was a Star Trek name. So I wanted to call it Icarus but when I searched on the net back in 1995, there was already a free RPG called that (since disappeared). So I shortened Icarus to Icar and it stuck. Now Icar is the name of the flagship of the Imperial Star Fleet.

I know a chap who signed up for a Dragons and Dungeons RP group when he moved to a new town. He thought it was cool and easy to find a D&D group (back then it would have been 2ed) so easily. When he turned up, it was a bespoke system the DM had written as a HUMUNGOUSLY COMPLEX roleplaying game that had evolved from 1ed D&D into a rules monster that the players all knew. He played it for a year or so and then convinced the players to play traveller, which put the DM's nose out of joint and he left the group. I think that's what happened, twas a long time ago.

Earlier this year, a chap sent me a WIP free roleplaying game who's working title was "It's Not Rifts" with a subtitle of "But it f*cking close". I pointed him at my guide to organising an RPG and I haven't heard from him since.

Can't think of any others.

[Sanglorian]

[misterecho]

Some intresting ones from Rob's point of view

1. Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees - http://www.icar.org.uk
2. Indian Council of Agricultural Research - http://www.icar.org.in
3. International Committee for Animal Recording - http://www.icar.org/

[SheikhJahbooty]

Sanglorian just used four of my favorite words in rather quick succession.

Kooky
Alien
Game
Free

Link us already!
That sounds awesome.

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Polaris is also the name of a star, a comic book hero, and a submarine ballistic missile. RPG is both a programing language, and a Russian Acronym for "Hand-Held Anti-Tank Grenade Launcher" (No reference to rocket as the common English transliteration reads...)

I'm pretty sure there is are a few games under the title "Gangland" besides my own. A quick search reveals a free MMO (http://www.gangland.org/), a 2004 RTS, and a history channel documentary.

[misterecho]

RPG-7

Translates exactly as "BoomStick" in Pashtun

[SheikhJahbooty]

Sorcerer.

For a while there people were calling it Ron Edwards' Sorcerer, because White Wolf had an RPG called Sorcerer which was just like Mage but magic was more limited and ornate, less like reading Robert Prisig while taking acid.

[SirDonzer]

LOL!

My own game of "StarCadets" had a name conflict. WIth a rock band of the same name....
I hope I haven't disappointed that bands fans with my simple little game...

[Dyson Logos]

Dread: the first book of Pandemonium
Dread (the game with the Jenga tower)

Meddling Kids - a print RPG about playing scooby-doo type games by Pandahead games
Meddling Kids - a free RPG about playing scooby-doo type games by Bill Butcherson