The Purpose of It All

"ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is first and foremost a game for the fun and enjoyment of those who seek to use to use imagination and creativity... ...the reader should understand that AD&D is designed to be an amusing and diverting pastime..." AD&D 1e DMG p. 9


I don't usually quote Gygax as Holy Writ, but I do find this little gem to be useful when I find myself getting sucked into gaming as more than gaming. I try to game with the intent of finding fun, enjoyment, amusement, and diversion. It is why I don't waste time or energy in gaming polemics or edition wars. Life is hard enough without fighting about a game with elves, flumphs, and funny dice (There is a Wikipedia entry for Flumph...how groovy is that?).

Live and Let Game

My path to gaming peace began with avoiding 4 words while thinking about, blogging, or discussing games:

• Right--As in, "You are not playing that right."
• Wrong--As in, "That is the wrong way to do a role-playing game."
• Should--As in, "You play this game this way."
• Shouldn't--As in, "You should play that game, it is not __________ (you fill in the blank)"

While I still find myself tempted to get sucked into gaming geek slapfests, what holds me back is the knowledge that gaming is about indulging personal preference, not holding to ideology. It also is about dice, being a dwarf, flying a space ship, and freeing the village of vampires. It is about fun and enjoying my time with my fellow gamers as we collectively leave the real world behind for a few hours. When I think about how cool that is (and at the same time, utterly silly), it is easy to live and let game.

What part of gaming brings you the most enjoyment?