#RPGaDay2018 Day 3 – What gives a game “staying power”?
I don’t know if I have the wisdom/experience to be able to answer this question. I’ve only been playing rpg’s for 5 years now (GMing for 4 years, not consecutively). Now for most things 5 years is a significant amount of time. For gaming though, when there are so many games to choose from and a campaign can last a year or more, 5 years doesn’t even scratch the surface. I’ll see what I can squeeze out of my noggin.
I have played a good amount of games, but only a few that I’m actually apart of as an ongoing campaign. My gaming group has gone through a couple player changes, but the core members are Malcolm, Rachel, my brother Christian and Myself. Recently added Aiden and might have one noobie joining the team. Everyone in the group loves to GM just as much as we love being players. Rachel is wanting to GM soon, we are all pretty proud of her. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with. Now she has the Dungeon Masters Guide and Monster manual (3.5).
Just recently we switched to a method where for a month (4 sessions) one person will GM a game then next month the next person takes over and runs their game. For right now there is a 3 GM turn order. I do my D&D 3.5 game, Christian does Tenra Bansho Zero, and Malcolm does Whatever he feels like (Miraculous, Kingdom Hearts etc). “Ok Dez, what are you trying to say”? well what gives a game staying power? put the book down once in a while and pick up something new. You don’t ever want to get burned out by a game, and never play it again. That is the worst case scenario. Play another game for a bit then come back.
You never really forget your first . . . for me that was Dungeon World. I don’t know if this next part will answer the question, but let me explain how this game is my trusty pocket knife to deal with many situations. Although I rarely play this game anymore, this is my go to game to introduce someone to the hobby. It’s super easy for newcomers to wrap their head around it. Having said that you can use the rules and slap on any theme that you so desire. We played Mutants and Masterminds with this system, and soon in the near future we are going to use this for a Pokemon game, but also add in some other mechanics as well.
If I ever wanted to do a oneshot or a quick pick up game I would pull this out. It does not take long to create a character, so you can play it in no time. This system also doesn’t let the GM have all the burden thrust upon them, it gives power to the players. Not much prep, is a plus in my book. The game is small and compact that it’s perfect for traveling. If you and some people get stuck at the airport, play some Dungeon World to spend your time. Going to visit family for the holidays etc.? “guess what I brought !!! who wants to play some Dungeon World?”
Again I don’t know if I really answered the question. Maybe I just spouted some random mumbo jumbo. It was a really difficult question for me. I hope you can understand what I’m trying to say. Like I said earlier I’ve only played for 5 years, and there are so many games I want to try out. Give me several more years and I could probably come up with some sort of conclusion. What do you think? What gives a game “staying power”?