# RPG a Day 2023 - Day 20: Will Still Play in 20 Years
tags: #thoughts/RPGaDay/2023
![[RPGaDay2023.png]]
**[[All Things Zombie]]** from [[Two-Hour Wargames]]. Which might seem like a weird choice, given the other things I've been talking about during this ongoing month of discussing our games and preferences but it combines a simple and compelling core mechanic with a situation/set up which is so primal and easy to understand yet so broad, the restoration of the post-apocalyptic world, that there's no end to it.
For me, it has that sort of timeless sensation that others have when they talk about and think about [[Dungeons and Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]] and for some of the same reasons.
It's a world in which the individual hero can and should make a difference, a fallen world which could be restored, a place where a man can become a king, an Emperor, or even a god.
Couple that with solid, simple mechanics that make combat enjoyable but also threatening…
The zombies act as an abstract enough threat, an environmental threat, that pressure applied to the characters forces them to become crystalline, to distill out who and what they are in every given situation.
On top of that, you can layer it with other modern/postmodern games of compatible theme, like **[[Twilight 2000]]** or **[[Delta Green]]**, or **[[Aliens]]** for a sci-fi twist. All within the same style of mechanic.
In 20 years I can see myself breaking out **ATZ: End of Days** at a convention again, setting up some terrain, convincing some people to wander over and go survivalist in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and everybody having a great time without even thinking about it.
And that's great.