To get people to play you’ve gotta tell them three MAJOR items: ConceptContentCommitmentThat’s really it.
Here are my answers to some basic preliminary questions so you get a sense of where I’m coming from: Concept“What’s a story game? How is it different from D&D?” A story game is a game where we tell a story together. In D&D, you carry the role of player or Game Master and the players play their player characters while the GM runs the rest of the world. Here in a story game, we’re playing out a scenario to see what happens. “Do I still play a character or just narrate? We play all the characters: protagonists, antagonists, and everyone in-between. Instead of being a specific character, you can shift around just like a movie. What’s important is not who you are but what happens next, which could be a character taking an action or multiple characters doing something or many other possibilities! “How do we decide what happens next?” Once we read out the scenario, you just say what happens. We all decide and build on each other’s ideas. Now you and I might have different ideas, in which case we roll dice to resolve the uncertainty. I like rolling two six-sided dice and the higher roller wins. Or if run into an uncertain situation and we want to leave what happens next up to chance, we can roll dice then too. Something like “let’s roll a six-sided dice: if it’s odds, option A happens. If it’s evens, option B.” “Is there a GM or a referee?” Not in this game, but there is a host. If any idea jumps too far out of genre or tone, something outlandish, the host can veto it. But it’s only a veto; the host can’t use this power to force their own ideas on the game. The host is also usually the one to introduce the scenario. But the snacks and drinks are EVERYONE’S responsibility. Wink, wink. “So what’s the point of the game? How do we win?” The point of the game is playing to find out what happens. We just start with a scenario with no idea of how exactly this thing is going to shake out, something like “Scooby-Doo and his friends are spooked when the Mystery Machine comes to life and begins driving around by itself.” We win when we tell a good story and have fun doing it. The play’s the thing, after all! “How do the rules work if it’s mostly talking?” We lean on what’s going on “in the world” or “on-screen”. Instead of having a rulebook tell us how gravity and romance and zombies “work” we can use our own intuition or discuss it with each other. We agree on the laws of the world as we go instead of referring to a set of pre-written rules. “Do I need to learn all the rules before playing?” Not at all! The rules are so short I could write them on a napkin. I can tell you everything you need to know before we start and then if you have questions, just ask during play. “How do we know when the story is over?” When the scenario is resolved, we stop. It’s usually pretty easy to tell, one of those “you know it when you see it” type deals. After that, we could narrate what happens now that the scenario is over, kind of like an outro. And then we grab more snacks and get our refills. Content“So what’s the scenario?”
I know you’ve been watching The Walking Dead, so I was thinking a zombie scenario. But I also know you're a Marvel nut, so I have two Spider-man scenarios we could choose from. And it’s a stretch, but because it’s around Halloween I have a Scooby-Doo scenario in the back pocket.
“Which characters in this scenario?” “What locations could hold the action?” “What’s the tone of the game? Is it serious, funny, weird, sad?” Commitment“How long will it take?” About the same amount of time it takes to play a board game or watch a movie. It’s only one session and ends when we resolve the scenario. “What do I have to bring?” Just yourself! I think I’ll bring some blank paper and pencils and maybe some dice, but I already have a few scenarios we can choose from to get us started! “Do I have to act in-character or anything weird like that?” Only if you want! A lot of times I narrate in third-person, like “Batman tells Alfred he’s going out for the night to catch some criminals.” No need for a voice or professional acting skills! And you don’t have to be flowery in how you talk or amazing at improvising conversation: it’s way lower stakes than that. Just say what happens next. “What if I don’t know what to say? I don’t think of myself as a very creative person…” Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to contribute all the time or be “super creative”! Sometimes there will be a lull in the conversation, but just focus on what happens next and what’s obvious to you. What you think of as clearly about to happen can completely surprise everyone at the table! FinConcept, content, commitment. You might vary up the order of these, leading with the exciting content or reassuring them with commitment first. You know the people you want to play with better than I do, but just keep these three things in mind and you’re well on your way! Just have the rules ready for reference at the table:
Then get a scenario or two ready and you’re golden! Get those people to the table! :) The Story Games Sojourn blog is FREE to all. If you wanna support this work, browse my itch.io page so you also get a game out of your generosity. Contact me directly here if you have any questions or want to tell me something cool. :)
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Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Getting people to play a story game is easy, actually
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