Since the first cut of GAMERZ was finished in 2005 we have become aware of a recent mini-landslide of RPG themed movies. We wish these movie makers all the best, and hope you will check out their films, AFTER you have enjoyed GAMERZ, the Big Scottish Mac of the genre ;-) ! The good news is that the angles that these films have taken on the fantasy gaming phenomenon all seem to be very fresh and different, and the fact that there are so many (and from all over the world) just serves to illustrate the strong fascination people have with this funny, widespread wee sub-culture. This imperfect guide is simply meant to steer people away from confusion. Omissions? Mischaracterizations? Don't haud yer wheesht, drop us a LINE.

MAZES AND MONSTERS (1982)

A fresh-faced Tom Hanks stars in this paranoid anti-RPG movie whose premise was that playing fantasy games would 'turn your heid' as we say in Scotland. This was based on a rather sensationalist, sentimentalist novel by Rhona Jaffe, which was in turn based on the real-life disappearance of Dallas Egbert, a troubled young Dungeons and Dragons player from Michigan State University. (The best way to find out about this is to read the riveting non-fiction account by William Dear, the private detective hired to find Dallas.)

EL CORAZON DEL GUERRERO (2000)

We hadn't heard of this one until we met director Daniel Monzon at Fantastic Film Festival in Lund, Sweden. Aloha Daniel! It's from Spain, and we look forward to seeing it.

THE GAMERS (2002)

Directed by Matt Vancil and created by the lovable troupe of Washington State comedians, writers and gamers known as the Dead Gentlemen, this much-loved short about a dopey group of fantasy fans has become a cult hit on the RPG convention circuit.

THE GAMERS (2003)

Yes, another one - we haven't seen it, but it seems to have been the USC film school graduation short of Philip Broste, now a director and visual effects supervisor.

UBER GOOBER (2004)

A well received feature-length documentary about the gaming subculture, including an interview with the grand-daddy of Dungeons and Dragons, E. Gary Gygax himself.

GAMERZ (2005)

Modesty forbids... (FYI our film has shown up on some US sites as GAMERZ: ONE GAME TO RULE THEM ALL. Which we sorta like but didn't come up with.) Thank goodness we didn't call our film 'GAMERS'!

THE GAMERS: DORKNESS RISING (2006)

This movie is a feature-length spin-off from the Dead Gentlemen's short 'THE GAMERS'. We haven't caught it yet but it seems to be gathering a similarly loyal following to its shorter forebear. We wish the Dead Gents luck and we look forward to seeing it soon...!

GAMERS (2006)

Directed by Christopher Folino, this is a Christopher Guest / Spinal Tap type mockumentary of a bunch of arrested adolescent roleplayers. We haven't seen it, but hear that it involves 'equine ejaculate'. Which is fine by us.

DARKON (2006)

Another documentary about gaming, this time a closer portrait of two LARPers. Sounds cool.