Listen to the companion podcast here.
Do you have an answer for this?
Is it a good answer?
Is it inviting of new players to RPGs?
I have an answer, and I think it’s the right answer.
What is the best RPG?
The one you play.
Because if you’re not playing it, it isn’t the best one for you.
My answer is all about playing RPGs. If someone is spending all their time complaining about some RPG they never have and never will play, are they really gamers? Do they even play?
If all you do is shit on other’s fun, then you are a miserable lonely person.
For me, RPGs are about getting a group together and having fun.
Back in the day it was hard to get a group together. All we wanted to do was game. We started letting our little brother’s play, and they gladly towed the line because they wanted to play. If we weren’t so shy around girls and thought they’d play, we would have asked them.
We had kids from all the different groups involved. The majority were in band, theater, art, or National Honor Society. There were a few jocks in the mix too. We didn’t turn away gamers because you never knew when you’d be hard pressed and need to invite them to fill out the table.
Complainers complaining about games they won’t play or run can sit in their rooms complaining to the walls. The rest of us want to play.
I’ll play almost any RPG and any gamer that is courteous and respects the others at the table and allows each player to have a share of the spotlight. I have less patience for those that seem to naturally hog the focus to the exclusion of others. We can SHARE the table and each have a bit of the focus.
Play the GAME and have FUN!
Complaining isn’t fun. Complaining is a form of gatekeeping as it seeks to dissuade others from “bad/wrong fun.” That’s the kind of fun one shouldn’t have because it only occurs when playing or discussing games that complaining complainers can’t stand for some ill-defined but supposedly valid reason. I’m not sure they understand what a role playing game is, let alone what it takes to play one.
Games are supposed to be fun, and games are meant to be played.
If you find that a game isn’t for you, that’s all you really need to say about it. If pressed, just the facts will do. Such as, the mechanics or the theme, or whatever just doesn’t appeal to you. That’s OK. But going on a vindictive crusade and ridiculing play styles, types of RPG, genres of RPG, some aspect of players, and stereotyping players of the RPG you don’t like is counterproductive.
If you spent half that energy on doing something positive, like playing a game you do like, or writing your own game, adventure, or novel, you’d be cranking out a lot of product every year.
So go find the best RPG for you, and play it!
Because the best RPG is the one you play!
This means that the best changes as what you are playing changes. It’s OK to have one favorite, or a group of favorites you rotate through.
