The best selling historical RPGs of 2021

Yesterday, we listed the best selling family RPGs published this year at DriveThruRPG, the day before was fantasy and like today’s list, historical, the genre is surprisingly hard to assign RPGs to.

Is a game with magic a historical game? Or is it just fantasy? This chart uses DriveThruRPG’s system, and that’s up to the game designers. These are self-declared historical games.

What’s certain is that this table is a way to get an exciting look at games newly out this year and perhaps see names new to us. And names familiar, too.

Best selling historical RPGs of 2021

1. BLASTER: Volume 3 by BLASTER.
2. Mythic Babylon by Design Mechanism.
3. The Between by The Gauntlet.
4. FLAMES OF FREEDOM Grim & Perilous RPG: Core Rulebook – Powered by Zweihander RPG by Andrews McMeel Publishing.
5. Through the Breach RPG – From Nightmares (Expansion Book) by Wyrd Miniatures.
6. Tiny Cthulhu by Gallant Knight Games.
7. Brancalonia – Spaghetti Fantasy Setting Book ENG by Acheron Books.
8. BEOWULF: Age of Heroes by Handiwork Games.
9. Occam’s Razor – An Anthology of Modern Day Call of Cthulhu Scenarios by Stygian Fox.
10. Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide by Modiphius.
11. The Invisible College by Well of Urd Press.
12. Fantasy AGE Trojan War by Green Ronin Publishing.
13. For Coin & Blood: Second Edition by Gallant Knight Games.
14. Hearts of Wulin by The Gauntlet.
15. Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide by Modiphius.
16. TinyZine Compendium – 2020 by Gallant Knight Games.
17. Jackals: Bronze Age Fantasy Roleplaying by Osprey Publishing.
18. Legend of the Five Rings: Wheel of Judgment by EDGE Studio.
19. Brancalonia – Macaronicon ENG by Acheron Books.
20. Malifaux Burns Expansion Book – M3E by Wyrd Miniatures.

The platinum best seller BLASTER: Volume 3 by BLASTER is top. That’s a standalone game called Sludge War and four expansions for other games.

Blaster itself is the cooperation of five wargaming designs of note; Joseph McCullough, Mike Hutchinson, Ash Barker, Joseph McGuire and Sean Sutter with some incredible art.

Wargames certainly make their presence felt on this chart; Wyrd Miniatures list twice with Through the Breach RPG – From Nightmares (Expansion Book) and Malifaux Burns Expansion Book – M3E. Osprey, known for wargames, also gets a listing with the d100 lite RPG Jackals: Bronze Age Fantasy Roleplaying.

Gallant Knight Games sets the high bar for inclusion with three products listed and indies Handiwork Games, Stygian Fox and Well of Urd find success with BEOWULF: Age of Heroes, Occam’s Razor – An Anthology of Modern Day Call of Cthulhu Scenarios and The Invisible College.

Acknowledgements

You’ve read the disclaimer on how “historical” is defined, and it’s also worth accepting that bestselling charts are just one way to define success.

Some publishers do most of their business through Patreon and Kickstarter. Geek Native publishes weekly Kickstarter heat charts to show just how fiercely competitive that particular sector can be.