Pro tip: I finally figured out why my gaming group kept falling apart mid-campaign

I used to think it was the game system or the scenario causing people to bail after session 3... turns out it was something way simpler. Over the last 6 months I tracked when folks dropped out and realized it always happened when two players had totally different rules knowledge levels. One guy would argue every edge case and the others would just zone out. Switched to a lighter game for our latest group and suddenly everyone stayed for the full 8 week run. Has anyone else noticed this dynamic wrecking their sessions?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael_jenkins3920d ago

...and that's the thing, when you got that rules lawyer type who knows everything and then the newbie who barely remembers what a d20 is, it creates this weird tension that kills the vibe. I've seen it in my own group where one guy would quote the page number from the rulebook every time someone tried to do something creative, and the rest of us would just sit there checking our phones. Did you try splitting them up into different sessions or just straight up telling the rules expert to chill for a bit before switching systems? Like, I'm curious if the lighter game helped because it made everyone feel more equal or if it was more about having less rules for people to argue over in the first place.

diana_west2720d ago

Was it the lighter rules or just having fewer arguments that actually fixed the problem?

lindal1319d ago

Isn't it more about the person than the rules though? I've seen rules lawyers ruin a beer and pretzels game and be totally fine in a crunchy system. @diana_west27 I think the lighter game just gave the guy less ammo to be a jerk with.