I Believe…

I believe gaming is awesome.

I believe gaming has made my life better. I believe without it, I wouldn’t have as many friends. I believe without it I wouldn’t have as great a home life. I believe without it, I wouldn’t have a career and job I love.

I believe you don’t need shitloads of new, shiny mechanics and options to have fun. I believe player skill is not defined by rules knowledge.

I believe the GM’s job should be easy, fun and rewarding. I believe the GM should sometimes say no.

I believe compelling stories and richly described locales are more important than an enemy’s abilities or spells.

I believe low-level play is much more fun than high-level play.

I believe you don’t need to rush through the lower levels to have fun. I believe resource management, encumbrance and exploration are essential parts of the game. I believe “it’s cinematic” is never a good enough justification on its own.

I believe the harder something is to achieve the greater the satisfaction when it is achieved.

I believe the PCs should sometimes come up against things they can’t kill. I believe they should have easy encounters they can romp through. I believe running away is a skill well learnt. I believe a player’s greatest asset is imagination.

You might not have got this far. That’s cool. You almost certainly don’t agree with everything I believe. That’s also cool. Play the games you want to play. And that’s the point of this post. I exhort you to think about what you believe to be true about gaming. Seek out games you want to play; games that excite you; games that are so much more than “okay”.

What Do You Believe?

What do you believe about gaming? Let me know, in the comments below.