''Challenge'' was a

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

magazine published by

Game Designers' Workshop Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a Board wargame, wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers. History Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. ...

(GDW) between 1986 and 1996.

Publication history

In 1984,

's original magazine '' Journal of the Travellers Aid Society'' (JTAS) ended with Issue 24, but there had already been an announcement in Issue 22 that a new and as yet unnamed magazine would replace it. The new magazine would feature a larger format (8.5"×11") to allow for printing of things such as deck plans or sector maps that would not fit in the smaller ''JTAS'' format. It would also add coverage of GDW's new release '' Twilight 2000'' and other GDW games. The new bimonthly periodical, ''Challenge'', appeared in 1986; to maintain continuity for the '' Traveller'' fans (and ''JTAS'' subscribers), the first issue was numbered Issue 25, rather than starting again with Issue 1. Also to maintain continuity, ''Challenge'' featured a separate section labeled "Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society", which covered ''Traveller'' exclusively; this special section lasted through Issue 28. After that issue, ''Traveller'' articles continued to appear, but the magazine was more frequently dominated by articles of other GDW gaming systems, including ''Twilight 2000'', '' 2300 AD'', and '' Space 1889''. In Issue 30, the magazine expanded to 64 pages. In Issue 35 (1988), under new editor Michelle Sturgeon, the magazine expanded to cover the entire genre of science fiction role-playing games rather than focusing solely on GDW games, including ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime fiction, crime, wit ...

'' by

FASA FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargaming, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA In ...

and ''

Paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

'' by

West End Games West End Games (WEG) was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York City, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Its product lines included ''Star Wars'', ''Paranoia' ...

. In Issue 39 (1989), the magazine featured "The Hinterworlds," detailing of a sector in Imperium space for '' MegaTraveller''; in subsequent issues, ''MegaTraveller'' articles were featured prominently. In 1991, starting with Issue 51, the magazine became a monthly periodical, but in 1993, the magazine dropped back to bimonthly with Issue 68. The following year, only four issues were published. The magazine ended publication in 1995 with Issue 77. In 1996, the demise of GDW brought any future publication to an end. Between 1986 and 1995, fifty-three issues of ''Challenge'' were published.

Reception

In the January 1989 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' (Issue #141),

Jim Bambra Jim Bambra (born 1956)Jim Bambra: Director Summary
Company Check Ltd is a Briti ...

called the magazine "an excellent source of adventures, ideas, and hardware for GDW's ''Twilight 2000'', ''2300 A.D.'', and ''MegaTraveller'' role-playing games, but many of its other features are also easily converted to other game systems." In the October 1990 edition of ''Dragon'' (Issue #162),

Allen Varney Allen Varney (born 1958) is an American writer and game designer. Varney has produced numerous books, role-playing game supplements, technical manuals, articles, reviews, columns, and stories, as well as the fantasy novel ''Cast of Fate'' ( TSR, ...

approved of the expanded vision of the magazine to cover all science-fiction games, not just those produced by GDW. Varney commented, "There's no challenge in learning to like this solid periodical."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge (Game Magazine) Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1986 Magazines disestablished in 1996 Role-playing game magazines Traveller (role-playing game) Bimonthly magazines published in the United States