Manbearcat
Legend
Right quick.
Here is the origin point and the relevant bits of Vincent Baker's "Say Yes or Roll the Dice."
So.
Is something at stake? Yes? Roll dice.
Is something not at stake? No? Say yes!
If there is no conflict, no danger, no threat...say yes. Otherwise, roll dice.
The same thing goes for Apocalypse World and its derivatives. For instance, every swing of a sword in DW isn't a "Hack and Slash" move. Sometimes its "the thing is dead/destroyed" or "roll damage."
There is plenty of advice in pretty much all PBtA games that speaks to eliding content, zooming in or out, and basically saying "yes." Just like in Dogs, PBtA GMs are meant to drive play toward conflict, make the character's lives not boring, fill the character's lives with adventure, etc. So the overwhelming majority of play is going to feature a gamestate that is threatening something the PCs' care about. However, there will be moments where nothing is (or really should be, given context) at stake. So you say yes rather than rolling the dice.
Here is the origin point and the relevant bits of Vincent Baker's "Say Yes or Roll the Dice."
DitV 138
Drive Play Toward Conflict
Every moment of play, roll dice or say yes.
If nothing's at stake, say yes to the players, whatever they're doing. Just plain go along with them. If they ask for information, give it to them. If they have their characters go somewhere, they're there. If they want it, its theirs.
Sooner or later...sooner, because your Town is pregnant with crisis...they'll have their players do something that someone won't like. Bang! Something's at stake. Launch the conflict and roll the dice.
So.
Is something at stake? Yes? Roll dice.
Is something not at stake? No? Say yes!
If there is no conflict, no danger, no threat...say yes. Otherwise, roll dice.
The same thing goes for Apocalypse World and its derivatives. For instance, every swing of a sword in DW isn't a "Hack and Slash" move. Sometimes its "the thing is dead/destroyed" or "roll damage."
There is plenty of advice in pretty much all PBtA games that speaks to eliding content, zooming in or out, and basically saying "yes." Just like in Dogs, PBtA GMs are meant to drive play toward conflict, make the character's lives not boring, fill the character's lives with adventure, etc. So the overwhelming majority of play is going to feature a gamestate that is threatening something the PCs' care about. However, there will be moments where nothing is (or really should be, given context) at stake. So you say yes rather than rolling the dice.