Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Fun vs Rules

aaron819 · 02-02-2019, 10:50 AM

I don't think there is such a thing as too much fun, but there's definitely such a thing as the wrong type of fun in a given situation. If your fun breaks the rules of the game or takes fun away from other players or the GM, then it's the wrong type of fun.

For instance, I sometimes run GURPS After the End when I have time. I make players keep track of all of their resources, since survival is an important part of the game. Handwaving stuff like the weight of your food or ammo may be more fun to some people, but it breaks the rules and is the wrong kind of fun for this particular game.

Another example would be the first game I've eve run (still AtE). I didn't know as much about the system as I do now, so I made the mistake of not making one of the players use a template (there was a few hours before everyone else showed up so we had time). He made the classic 100 Points in Guns Man. Everyone else used templates, so aside from the character being pointless at anything other than combat, he pretty much carried everyone through combat. This may be fun for the combat monster who does nothing but shoot things, but not for everyone else.

02-02-2019, 10:50 AM	#14
aaron819 Join Date: Jun 2017	Re: Fun vs Rules - When is too much fun a bad thing? I don't think there is such a thing as too much fun, but there's definitely such a thing as the wrong type of fun in a given situation. If your fun breaks the rules of the game or takes fun away from other players or the GM, then it's the wrong type of fun. For instance, I sometimes run GURPS After the End when I have time. I make players keep track of all of their resources, since survival is an important part of the game. Handwaving stuff like the weight of your food or ammo may be more fun to some people, but it breaks the rules and is the wrong kind of fun for this particular game. Another example would be the first game I've eve run (still AtE). I didn't know as much about the system as I do now, so I made the mistake of not making one of the players use a template (there was a few hours before everyone else showed up so we had time). He made the classic 100 Points in Guns Man. Everyone else used templates, so aside from the character being pointless at anything other than combat, he pretty much carried everyone through combat. This may be fun for the combat monster who does nothing but shoot things, but not for everyone else.