What Question Is Your Game Asking
To discover if my army can vanquish your army.
To flirt and find out if the other player has a crush on me.
To reveal what compromises my character is willing to make in pursuit of their goals.
Whether you are inviting your friends over for an RPG session or planning a mini game campaign or designing your own game, It can be fruitful to reflect on the discovery: what questions do you want answers to through play?
With many perspectives, there are many questions at one table. While the game designer might have a core question, like can the characters survive the dungeon. Each player might be looking for something else. Might it be helpful to ask the people at your table what questions they are asking? If you know the questions being asked, it might help orient what is happening at the table towards those answers.
Some questions are in the fiction:
How will my character change in response to a shattered world?
How will the party overcome inherent tensions?
Who can take the throne?
Some questions are interpersonal:
Where am I ranked amongst other players based on how many points I can score?
How am I as a host, and do the snacks and atmosphere resonate with these people?
Can the players in this game grow into a friendship beyond the table?
Though not everything needs to be drenched in intentionality and purpose, consciously or not, players have expectations when they show up to the table. Asking these types of questions can help deliver on those expectations and help people discover new reasons to be at the table, refining and expanding what is possible through play. Whether you are inviting your friends over for an RPG session, planning a mini-game campaign, or designing your own game, it can be fruitful to reflect on the discovery: What questions do you want answers to through play?
