Can you play the game wrong/incorrectly?

[eris404]

-Using pewter minis as slingshot ammunition.

-Stabbing players when they take damage.

-Attempting to summon satan with AD&D books.

Yeah, that would pretty much sum it up for me.

 

[Faraer]

You can play in a way that's less fun/fulfilling/etc. than another way would be, especially in the long term. I wouldn't say that's playing wrong or incorrectly, but I also don't go along with the 'all play styles are equally valid' idea.

 

[Elephant]

Can you play D&D wrong?

Quasqueton

Voted yes, but it includes the caveat "if you're playing in the same group as me, and our styles are incompatible."

Obviously my style is "right" and your style is "wrong" if there's a clash.

(note: yes, I realize that this is a very self-centered perspective. It's intentionally so.)

 

[RFisher]

Yes...I mean, no...I...er...blue!

This may be tangential, but...

I've always thought that it is important--when playing a game--to first try my best to fully understand how the designer meant it to be played. Only after I've done that do I feel comfortable moulding it to my will.

(&, unfortunately, the actual text of a game may not be a very accurate representation of the designer's intentions. So much the better if I can find other resources to give me insight into those intentions.)

My groups have often been a bit annoyed at me for wanting to run any new system as much by-the-book as possible the first few times.

This point has been driven home even more to me in the last few years as I have revisited games that I had thought I thoroughly understood, but which--after re-examining with a fresh eye--discovered new insights.