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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 2843134" data-attributes="member: 3424">By this definition, Snakes and Ladders is not a game.Many simple gambles (e.g. heads = double, tails = nothing with a fair coin) also cease to be games.I think what sustains interest in these simple games is not that the players' skills can affect the outcome, but the simple fact that the outcome is uncertain. The players enjoy the tension and excitement they experience while they watch the outcome unfold.Even if the outcome is not in doubt (consider Saturday morning cartoons where the forces of Good and Justice always triumph, for example) it could be fun just to watch how they do it. Don't people re-read books and re-watch movies? Even if the plot holds no surprises for them after the second or third time, there are other elements of the book of film that they enjoy.The same can go for a RPG also. Maybe the buttkicker barbarian simply likes hewing down hordes of weaker foes and gets a kick from his feeling of invincibility. Maybe the specialist paladin enjoys the vicarious thrill of putting down evil again. Meanwhile, the storyteller bard is just interested in the unfolding narrative. Of course, the DM still has to maintain the illusion of the possibility of failure, or the tactician wizard won't feel challenged.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 2843134, member: 3424"] By this definition, Snakes and Ladders is not a game. Many simple gambles (e.g. heads = double, tails = nothing with a fair coin) also cease to be games. I think what sustains interest in these simple games is not that the players' skills can affect the outcome, but the simple fact that the outcome is uncertain. The players enjoy the tension and excitement they experience while they watch the outcome unfold. Even if the outcome is not in doubt (consider Saturday morning cartoons where the forces of Good and Justice always triumph, for example) it could be fun just to watch how they do it. Don't people re-read books and re-watch movies? Even if the plot holds no surprises for them after the second or third time, there are other elements of the book of film that they enjoy. The same can go for a RPG also. Maybe the buttkicker barbarian simply likes hewing down hordes of weaker foes and gets a kick from his feeling of invincibility. Maybe the specialist paladin enjoys the vicarious thrill of putting down evil again. Meanwhile, the storyteller bard is just interested in the unfolding narrative. Of course, the DM still has to maintain the illusion of the possibility of failure, or the tactician wizard won't feel challenged. [/QUOTE]

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