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This is correct. If folks weren't clear, my living world approach is only one type of sandbox campaign. There are others like Ben Robbins West Marches, Hexcrawl, etc.

Let me make sure I’m following. You said individual actual play isn’t a reliable testbed, that we only get useful information in aggregate across many groups. So I responded with four decades of experience running campaigns across dozens of groups in home games, stores, conventions, and...

That really depends on the campaign context. To get at the heart of this question, I'd first suggest thinking about how you arrived at that observation. What kind of campaigns were they? What was the dynamic between prep and player direction? You don’t have to answer me, but it’s worth...

Your contention is that one home game is not meaningful, that is reasonable However, my experience isn’t limited to a single group or a narrow context. Over the past four decades, I’ve run sandbox campaigns across home groups, virtual tables, store games, and convention events. I’ve...

Just in time Worldbuilding.

This is incorrect. While nothing is specifically created by the referee for the players as their characters. During the pre game and the campaign detailed locations and NPCs are created because of the players choices either for their characters or as their characters.

It started because I am partially deaf, and it was just easier for me to have the player point at the map and show me what their character was about to do. But over the decades, I found that, used judicially, it really enhanced play. Of course, I did the occasional elaborate set piece like the...

Thanks for the answer. Of course—nuance is always part of the conversation. I agree. While I didn’t speak specifically about real-life tragedy earlier, this falls under what I consider essential: a referee must practice good leadership. And that always takes precedence over campaign structure...

You say my behavior can’t support a general approach to play, but actual play is the only meaningful testbed we have. What I’m describing isn’t a personal quirk, it’s a structured method built on various techniques and methodologies. It’s reproducible, teachable, and has worked with many groups...

My point was about good communication. That’s a misstatement. My assertion was that game mechanics can serve as a terse and structured form of communication, and that they can be used to communicate how a campaign operates. You are not giving enough information about DW or PbtA to discuss your...

Square that and take the integral and we may yet obtain true number of spirals. ;)

Good communication is never outdated. It’s the foundation upon which everything else is built when it comes to small group interactions. If communication is presented in the form of game rules, then it will be treated like game rules, regardless of intent, whether that’s 100 years ago, 10 years...

You’re seriously downplaying the player’s role in all this and focusing too much on the referee’s. In my Living World sandbox, the referee doesn’t steer play by deciding what’s important in the moment, the players do that through their choices and initiative. The magic hat, or any other object...

If it’s in the middle of a campaign, no, I wouldn’t reveal in-game secrets as a rule. But I also wouldn’t be coy about it. I’d just say, “If I talk about this, it’ll be a spoiler for things I think you’d rather discover in play.” Then we’d have a conversation from there. But honestly, that’s...

Also, in my experience, players who say “that’s what my character would do” often can’t back it up when questioned. By contrast, I’ve said multiple times that players are free to question what’s going on in the campaign, and I’m always prepared to show my work. If a decision comes from the...