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Pink Dice Mechanics: Wisdom Check

As a father of 4 daughters, getting my daughters into gaming and ensuring they have a good experience has been a big part of my gaming life in the last few years.  This blog was really meant to capture my experiences along they way.  Without knowing it though, this blog wandered into a different idea completely.  The conclusion in gaming with my daughters is simple -- there is nothing special I need to do because I game with my daughters, because most all players want the same things in the game.

Players want a safe, comfortable environment to interact with other players and explore their own characters in an interesting story.  Of course, there are a lot of little details that make up a positive gaming environment, and that is a lot of what I have explored.  The bottom line though is that there is no unique reason to change gaming to help girls have a better experience; instead there are a lot of broad reasons to change gaming to make sure everyone has a better experience.

Over time, I have covered a lot of topics along these lines from different perspectives, both as a player and as a GM.  Being a good player and being a good GM take the same basic components at the table:
  • Value and respect the people taking time to game with you.
  • Dedicate yourself to making sure everyone at the table is having fun.
  • Communicate your views honestly and openly, and listen and care about other people's views.
  • Work to improve your skills and grow your experiences.
I know its somewhat underwhelming to read broad statements like those and have that somehow be the wisdom after years of gaming.  I guess its just like that Einstein quote says:  "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

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