Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 156

'S SilWIllMH'ai PW'jaP4 Friday 32 Section 7 Chicago Tribune, Friday, November 24, 1989 CN i Tribune pnoto by Bill Hogan Role-playing games are popular among teenagers and college students. Updates keep popular hobby going forward By Michael C. Neubauer he popularity of role-playing games contin- KTii Find but as we take an exciting new look at the art of photography. Don't miss THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF INVENTION: AMERICAN PICTURES OF THE 1980s. On exhibit through January 28.

It's sure to get a reaction out of you. ues to nse, especially among teenage and SestiieMCAtf) The Museum of Contemporary Art. 237 East Ontario Street, 280-3161. of his stories. Supplements to the fourth edition of the basic Call of Cthulhu rules include Masks of Nyarlathotep, a world-spanning adventure campaign; The Great Old Ones, a series of six independent adventures; and a "Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands." Car War, Steve Jackson Game, $25.

Car Wars is self-descriptive: vicious combat takes place on the highways and waters of a future that Is not a kindler, gentler America. Leading the pack in the recent Car Wars releases is the Car Wars Compendium, containing the complete rules to Car Wars Deluxe, Boat Wars and numerous additional modifications. It is not a complete game and requires ownership of Deluxe Car Wars, Boat Wars or other supplements to be played. The Car Wars supplements are becoming increasingly sophisticated and recent releases include City Blocks 3 and 4, which allow players to fight it out In futuristic combat arenas. Other supplements include Auto Duel Quarterly, a magazine for Carwars players, and Volume 7 of the "Road Atlas and Survival Guide." Carwars is compatible with GURPS.

Dungeon, TSR, $19. TSR has recently released the second edition of its well-known Dungeon board game. The game Includes a hard-board, playing pieces and numerous cards for character spells, treasures and monsters. A family-oriented game, Dungeon Is very simple and quick to play. Players Interested in a more detailed fantasy board game might want to check out Avalon Hill's, Magic Realm or Games Workshops' Dungeon Quest and Its supplements.

Eif Quest, Chaoaium, $20. Chaosium See Role, following page college-age players. Game store owners and publishers report that sales are increasing, far outshadowing sales in the competing wargaming hobby. This year was, however, a relatively quiet one for new role-playing releases, as publishers focused on supplementing and updating earlier role-playing systems. Wisconsin-based TSR, one of the industry leaders, finally released its long-awaited second edition of Advanced Dungeons Dragons ($20 for the Player's Handbook, $18 each for the Dungeonmaster's Guide and Monstrous Compendium), streamlining and modifying many of the first-edition rules.

Steve Jackson Games also released the third edition to the popular GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System), a remarkably adaptable and mul-tifaceted game, and has strongly supported GURPS with many supplements. This isn't to say that there haven't been any new products in the role-playing market. Leading the pack of new releases is FASA's Shadowrun, a science-fictionfantasy role-playing game set in 21st Century America. It features a combination of magic, political breakdown and genetic mutation that creats a very inter-esting situation indeed. Shadowrun also plays upon many elements of punk fashion and style.

Here are some of the other role-playing games now on the market: Call of Cthulhu, Chaoaium, (20. Fantasy role-playing in the world of H.P. Lovecrafts novels and short stories. Call of Cthulhu Is not exactly your typical role-playing series. Rather than a series of slasri-and-kill combat encounters, Call of Cthulhu emphasizes a gradual, detailed Investigation of the creatures, myths and legends of Lovecraft fantasy worlds.

Solution of the mysteries, player cooperation and a suspenseful atmosphere are more important than Individual glory. Fans of Lovecraft works may want to purchase some of the Call of Cthulhu material just to enhance their enjoyment 'Ml- 5 War CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA NEEMEJARVI, Conductor Friday, November 24 at 8:00 Saturday, November 25 at 8:00 Tuesday, November 28 at 7:30 Arvo Psirt: Symphony No. 3 (Chicago premiere) Scriabln: Poem ofEcstacy MussorgskyRavel: Pictures at an Exhibition Tickets: $5 to $44 Come early on Tuesday for a free informal Pre-Concert Conversation in the Ballroom PETER SERKIN Pianist in recital Sunday, November 26 at 3:00 Eleven new works for solo piano commissioned especially for this recital from some of today's most compelling musical minds. Tickets: $25, $20, $17.50, $12.50, $5 METRO CHAMBER PLAYERS Sunday, November 26 at 7:00 Presented by the Chicago Symphony Chamber Series Musicians from the Orchestra performing chamber music from the Baroque, the Classical and the contemporary in Orchestra Hall's intimate, elegant Ballroom. Music by Boccherini, Schubert and Michael Haydn.

All tickets $7 unreserved seating. TICKET TIP Good seats are almost always available on concert day. Call PhoneCharge for the latest information. PhMMCharg (312) 435-6666 between experienced players can be played in 4 to 6 hours. Also available from Avalon Hill is an Expansion Kit ($6) that allows players to fight the battle until the Soviet counteroffensive In November, 1942.

World In Flames, Australian Design Group, (SO. Two- and multi-player game ol strategic World War II combat. Australian Design Group has released the "4th and a hair edition of this classic game of strsteglc combat in the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. The new edition features beautifully detailed counters that set a standard In the hobby. World In Flames ia a very complex, lengthy game featuring two large maps and nearly 1,000 counters.

Players may command any of the major warring powers and the game has many innovative features such as variable U.S. entry and turn length. Play Involves all aspects of the war, including submarine warfare, strategic bombing and production. World In Flames is In many respects superior to Its closet competitor, Avalon Hill Third Reich, as ft lacks the "perfect plans" and sometimes stereotyped play that characterize that game. In rts scope and the variety of options available to players, World In Flames Is one of the best buys In wargaming today.

many. Each hex represents one mile and turns are three hours of real time. Including many types of Soviet, American and West German forces, the game emphasizes command control, electronic warfare and close interaction between ground and land combat elements. TacAIr covers the whole range of modem operational land combat hi playable form; the basic game requires only four pages of rules. It is a worthwhile addition to any modem war gamer's library and Is an alternative to Game Designers Workshop's more complicated Third World War series.

TacAIr Is moderately suited for solitaire play. Turning Point Stalingrad, Avalon Hill, (25. Two-player game of World War II combat. It portrays the opening weeks of the German attempt capture the Soviet city of Stalingrad In 1942. Counters represent Individual battalions and each turn Is one day of time.

Also Included Is a beautifully detailed map of Stalingrad. Based on Avalon Hilt's earlier Storm Over Arnhem game, Turning Point Is a moderately complex game that, although slightly marred by an unnecessarily murky set of rules, Is one of the more playable games on this popular topic. It is ideal for solitaire because of the unpredictable length of each game turn. A two-player game Continued from page 28 talre play. Space Hulk, Games Workshop, (48.

Two-player game of tactical space com-bat. This is the type of game that dedicated war. gamers hate to admit they enjoy: tense, action-packed science fiction combat between the Imperial Space Marines and the major-league ugly aliens who yes, you guessed It look exactly as If they walked off the "Aliens movie set. And, guess what, that's precisely what they did. The only thing miss-' Ing Is Slgoumey Weaver toasting a few monsters and Pvt.

Hudson screaming "Hey manl" Space Hulk Is terrific entertainment as the Marines try to execute various missions as they fight both the aliens and the clock In a derelict space ship, ft even Includes nifty plastic models of the Marines and bad guys. Highly recommended (but pricy) two-player entertainment, especially for xenophobes. TacAIr, Avalon HIM, (26. Two-player game of operational land combat In Work) War II. The companion game to the mora tactically minded MBT, TacAIr ern (ana ana air combat in central Ger.