Throw me your best definition of "TTRPG"

[Jolly Ruby]

I will introduce some folks to TTRPGs this Saturday, and while I think I can give a good explanation of "what's a TTRPG" to someone who never played any before, it got me thinking. So, as a fun though experiment, I ask you: what would be the best definition of TTRPG if you were explaining it for a complete clueless person?

 

[SakanaSensei]

"This is a game where we will create a story together, mostly by talking. If whether something can or cannot happen isn't clear, we'll (roll dice/draw cards/interact with whatever resolution mechanic the game you're introducing deals with)."

Depending on the game, you may need to introduce the concept of the game master as a kind of referee or facilitator of play.

 

[Celebrim]

My standard explanation is to say that remember how as a kid you used to play games of "Make Believe" with other children, but then you probably reached a point where such games ceased to be particularly entertaining because they just led to arguments because no one would agree how to play. For example, you might be playing a game of cops and robbers but when the robber tried to shoot the cop Bang the cop said, "No, you missed me. I shot you! Bang". Impasses like that invariably caused most young people to lose interest in the game.

RPG's are sets of rules for playing games of make believe in such a way that when everyone can't agree on what the story is or what it is should be, you have rules for deciding that.

 

[GMMichael]

. . . what would be the best definition of TTRPG if you were explaining it for a complete clueless person?

Tables are required for playing some games. Some games, you play under the table. Well, these . . . you play on top!

 

[loverdrive]

As of definition, my favourite one (obviously influenced by my favourite kind of games) is "it's like watching and shooting a film at the same time".

But as of expaining what RPGs are to clueless people, I just... Run them an RPG.
– RPGs? What's that?
– OK, imagine: you are leaving for work in the morning, you unlock your front door and... It doesn't open. You apply more force, but the damn thing just won't budge. What ya gonna do?
– Uhm, I don't know, I'm gonna call my boss to warn them I'll be late and call a locksmith?
– You pull out your phone. No signal. And you start hearing things. Whispers? You can't exactly place the language, but those sound like words. So, what ya gonna do?

and this goes on for several minutes, and then I wrap up: "So this is more or less how RPGs are played, but we'll also have rules to make communication and stuff easier and to provide prompts to jump off from".

 

[Aldarc]

I will introduce some folks to TTRPGs this Saturday, and while I think I can give a good explanation of "what's a TTRPG" to someone who never played any before, it got me thinking. So, as a fun though experiment, I ask you: what would be the best definition of TTRPG if you were explaining it for a complete clueless person?

The game fiction matters.

 

[Haiku Elvis]

Imagine if you were playing a board game like Cluedo and decided your character was going to leave the board and go to the petrol station you saw down the road to see if their CCTV caught anyone suspicious heading towards the mansion. And instead of saying "You can't do that!", the guy whose game it is says "Sure, how are you going to get them to give you the tapes?".
That's a TTRPG!

Plus there's like dragons and Rev Green can make zombies run away and stuff.

 

[dragoner]

A collaborative story telling, or talking space with friends, usually involving dice and or rules.

 

[Darth Solo]

" A game where YOU pretend to be a fictional person doing things in a fictional world."

 

[Manbearcat]

The best definition I know of is a game where the participants all reference rules, a shared imagined space, and an established fiction when declaring actions or framing situations and consequences.