Games to Play If You Love the Honor and Back-Stabbery of Game of Thrones
Most of these games and TTRPG systems aren’t Game of Thrones, but they’re darn close if you’re looking for that back-stabby vibe.
Love it or hate it, Games of Thrones is a very specific kind of fantasy with a very specific tone. Sometimes it’s fun and nice and people get along. But much more often there’s betrayal, back stabbing, and powerplays. So what do you play when you’re looking for more of that feeling between episodes or seasons? Or, if you’re like me and waiting for all of House of the Dragon to be out before deciding to sink all of that time into the series again.
1. Song of Ice and Fire RPG
You knew there had to be a game for this exact world, right? Or even more than one? Because of course there is. There’s no way that the biggest show on TV for the better part of a decade was going to have a fantasy setting but not have tabletop RPG system. If your goal is to play and tell your own stories in Westeros, this is probably the system for you. The worldbuilding is done with all of the major houses and players pre-made and planned for. But what if you want the vibe but not necessarily the world?
2. Pendragon
From one very specific sandbox to another, Pendragon will have you fighting battles, being knighted, and choosing between loyalty, chivalry and … not. But in King Arthur’s Britain. If it sounds like that will be a bit more stuck up and fanciful than you’re looking for, I promise there is room for all of the treachery and double crossing that you could hope for with battle mechanics that are brutal.
3. Burning Wheel
Of course, if you don’t want to play your game within any particular kingdom and instead just want a game with the general feel of a Game of Thrones inspired setting, Burning Wheel is a character driven fantasy RPG that will start out by asking you about your character’s beliefs, goals, and ethics. Every choice has consequences, and sometimes that will involve sorcery or vicious combat. If you want a fantasy tabletop RPG that feels like Game of Thrones but technically isn’t Game of Thrones, this just might be the closest you can get.
4. Coup
Sometimes we need a shorter game that’s a little more family friendly, but still want that ultra competitive play style. For that, Coup is a fast paced last man standing style card game. Games are generally about fifteen minutes a piece, and you’ll be trying to out-bluff everyone at the table the whole time. This is one of those games where you know everyone at the table will be yelling at each other at some point… but in a fun way. Sometimes back stabbing is fun.
5. Mythras
This is another solid option for a game that’s not quite Game of Thrones, but still manages to check a lot of those boxes. The system itself is flexible and open enough that you can more or less put your own kingdom there and build your own sandbox instead of playing in somebody else’s. The story tends to progress based on the character’s motivations and choices, and character creation asks you to think a lot about your character’s culture and community relationships.
Just so you know BoLS may collect a share of sales from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them.
