Last RPG Purchase

I've got out the habit of doing gaming memes, but I'll do this one. Lunchtime Poll 30: Whaddaya Got?

What's the last board, card, or roleplaying game you bought, and what do you think of it?

That would be Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne

Empire of the Petal Throne is one of those legendary games. It was one of the very first fantasy RPGs to follow in the wake of the original Dungeons and Dragons, and has been through several editions with wildly different rules. Earlier version had the reputation of being next to impossible to GM unless you were the world's creator, Professor M.A.R.Barker. One of the claims for the new edition is that they've made it much more accessible for new players.

Tékumel is a a pulp fantasy, with a setting that's not the usual generic fantasy mix of medieval Europe and American wild west. Instead, the cultures are inspired by those of India and pre-Columbian South America, with caste and clan-based societies, and polytheistic religions that fit naturally rather than looking crudely bolted-on. It's a style of game that's rather out of fashion nowadays, about deep immersion in a strange culture, some of whose values look barbarous to our own eyes.

The system is based on the d10 version of Guardians of Order's "Tri-Stat" system. It avoids fashionably funky dice systems or dubious mechanical gimmicks in favour of something that looks solidly straightforward and playable, although I have yet to put this to the test.

I have to admit that this is a game I'm unlikely ever to run, although I may well sign up to a Tékumel game if I see one running at a convention. I've really bought it as much to mine for ideas for my own games as for anything else.