Ratings for - RPGnet RPG Game Index

Statistics: Feng Shui

Core Game Ratings

Rating: 7.9 / Ranking: 8

These ratings are based on 86 ratings with 1.76 average weight and 10 reviews.

This is compared to an index-wide 3.64 average ratings and 1.98 average weight.

This rating earns an average level of trust.

Ratings + Reviews:

14%

26%

25%

27%

Index Ratings Only:

21%

23%

19%

RPGnet Reviews Only:

30%

40%

Core Game Comments

All User Comments

Rating	User	Comments
10 / 10	Janusian	Amazing game..very advanced for its time.
10 / 10	Ars Mysteriorum	The best kung-fu/cinematic action RPG out there, in my opinion.
10 / 10	Gunhex	Probably my most favourite RPG
10 / 10	NathanHill	Feng Shui is it - one of the best games I've ever owned and played. It's martial arts/action movie adventure at its finest, with an easy but fast flowing game system, great character archetypes that get you into the action, and a setting with tons of options (crazy science, animal people, magic, and more). You cannot go wrong with this game.
10 / 10	mxyzplk	It revolutionized some of my basic assumptions behind roleplaying. 1. Players get to author the game world somewhat, you don't have to "ask the GM" if there's a pizza cutter within reach in a pizza restaurant 2. You are actually rewarded rather than penalized for doing cool things 3. Since everyone starts off bad ass, it's not about scrabbling for more power; without the frenzied quest for XP suddenly even powergamer goons start getting into the story
10 / 10	JDCorley	It didn't get there first, but it knocked the other high-flying super-octane fists-guns-and-cars games off the top of the pile and has held it ever since. Changed everything that came after.
10 / 10	Kiero	Always going to be one of my favourites, especially from getting me away from the traditional mindset of what RPGs are "supposed to be about".
9 / 10	Longspeak	Very nice system for streamlining combat against the mooks while emphasizing the battles with the Big Bads
9 / 10	Ahrimanius	Cinematic Fights done right.
9 / 10	Nightwalker	Fast, fun, and simple. It's a book I'll always turn to when I want to make sure players have a good time.
9 / 10	Nagisawa Takumi	One of the best ever books, save for two flaws. One, it mentions classes that don't show up until a supplement for the Daedalus Entertainment edition, and second, the supplements came out so slowly.
9 / 10	Sensei	The system is crafted to play smoothly, with minimal set-up, and emulates the over-the-top action of a good martial arts flick. However, with very little modification, the Feng Shui rules (themselves an adaption of Laws' "Nexus: The Infinite City" rpg rules) can be used for any genre. I find the game as written to be immense fun, but I also enjoy the system itself as a vastly adaptable, all-around solid set of simple mechanics.
8 / 10	TrippyHippy	It's impact on release was akin to The Ramones in rock 'n' roll. That is, it went back to basics of how gamers like to create fun around the table top without pretense. A little shallow, and possibly dated in it's mechanics and appearance, but it's still an easy 'pick-up-and-play' game.
8 / 10	adaen	Exciting schtuff
8 / 10	alejandro	Great Hong Kong action implementation!
8 / 10	Yokiboy	Feng Shui is a near perfect Hong Kong action roleplaying simulation. It is literally as easy as one-two-three to come up with adventures for the game, and I mean "literally!" They give you a step by step approach to adventure generation, and following these tips you end up with a great action-packed romp every time.
7 / 10	-Blackhawk-	Great game that has sadly been showing it's age for several years now imo. A second edition could really benefit from the last 15 years or so of game design. However it's still quite playable and fun. Great gonzo setting too.
7 / 10	Ravenpolar	Nice background, ok system, not a bad attempt at HK action
7 / 10	Menchi	A good book with some truly innovative ideas - however let down by not excelling enough as a complete product.
7 / 10	Oliveira	Good game but the mechanics feel a bit wonky to me. Robin D. Laws style of writing and insights into gaming is a real eye-opener, though.
6 / 10	Skiorht	A breath of fresh air when it appeared, but neither the subject matter nor the rules approach appeal to me in the slightest. A landmark, nonetheless.
5 / 10	Simple Man	OK system, nothing to write home about. The Action Movie genre was never covered better!
4 / 10	Pig with Pen	Feng Shui targets eastern action movies in spanning the wide range from fantasy wuxia (e. g. Storm Riders) to gun-fu (e. g. The Killer). It embeds the different styles in a time-travel setting borrowed from some, now defunct, CCG. Feng Shui is famed for its wild, over the top spirit, but taking the rules as written, you hardly find any hint of this. The core mechanic is simplistic and minimalistic enough for fast play but the system itself is flooded with many details, special rules and powers, which are often organized in lengthy dependency trees reaching not quite GURPSesque levels. Character generation is confined to picking a template from some 30 very disparate archetypes (not really D&D-like classes, but character advancement is strongly focused) and minimally customising the character. While Feng Shui sheds character balance here, it does the source material justice. Feng Shui's appeal today is probably mainly the historic context. It is one of the first games that set out to especially deal with wild, over the top action (another contender would be Hong Kong Action Theatre) and formulates some important ideas and as such it is an important stepping stone for later games.
3 / 10	memorarenz	Average and dull.

Core Game Reviews

All RPGnet Reviews

[ Link Reviews ]

Rating	User	Summary
4 + 5	Robert Farquhar	Feng Shui: Action Movie Roleplaying. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Kevin Mowery	Feng Shui: Action Movie Roleplaying. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Prince Nightchilde	Feng Shui: Action Movie Roleplaying. [ Read Review ]
4 + 4	BlackSheep	Feng Shui: Action Movie Roleplaying. As befits a game based on Hong Kong action movies, Feng Shui isn't sophisticated. It isn't detailed. It definitely isn't subtle. It is, however, fun. And that's really all I ask of a game. If the subject matter appeals to you in any way, I can't advi [ Read Review ]
5 + 4	Papyrus	Feng Shui: Action Movie Roleplaying. If you’ve never seen a Hong Kong action movie, you’re missing a great deal. Feng Shui covers all this ground and more. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Ulf Andersson	Feng Shui: Shadowfist Role Playing. [ Read Review ]
4 + 4	Shadow Sprite	Feng Shui: Shadowfist Role Playing. [ Read Review ]
4 + 4	Bradford C. Walker	Feng Shui: Shadowfist Role Playing. [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	Frank Guyton	Feng Shui: Shadowfist Role Playing. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Jeb Boyt	Feng Shui: Shadowfist Role Playing. [ Read Review ]

All Magazine Reviews

Year	Magazine	Synopsis
1996	Shadis #27	Review of Daedalus Games' Feng Shui RPG.
2001	Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine #55	Reviews the Atlas Games' edition of Feng Shui.