We’re making different arguments, though (assuming I’m reading your comment correctly). You’re arguing that in GMing the only real rule is that all rules can be changed, and that that’s the most important thing to bear in mind, right? I would argue that that’s a subset of the golden rule.

The heart of shaping rules and adapting to your tastes and your players’ tastes is making the game fun for everyone.

Even no taking it to that extreme, if the GM makes adaptation his or her goal and the game is not fun would that not be a misplaced priority? I do not see how your rule can be given the highest priority in many situations, and therefore it should not be the “first rule”. To each his own though.

@Magnificat – Tough one. That would be time for a meeting in my group. I would talk to the players outside of the game and let them know that I want them to have fun, but not at the expense of the group’s fun. How will they make their characters’ spotlight moments fun for the group? If those spotlight moments are not fun, will they cooperate with me when I move the game forward from those moments?

You know your players best, so YMMV and this approach may not be applicable. With my groups it seems to work well. I’ll give the players exactly what they want if they will deliver soemthing of equal value to the group. Of course, I as the GM am the final say on these matters but if I can involve the group I will. That makes it better for everyone IMO. I hope that helps you, and please let us know if you find a solution that works for you.

It happened to me in two cases, at two different times, with two different people using the same “strategy”. They pretended to be bored and they kept complaining not in a direct way but showing somehow they were not having fun (looking distracted, reading game materials, talking about other campaigns, especially nice episodes in which they character were saving the day). I say “pretend” because they didn’t leave the game and when they couldn’t attend, it seemed like a tragedy and pressed everyone to postpone the date. I realised then that both were game masters, sort of power players but not 100% and usually trying to be in the spotlight both as characters and as players (suggesting the other players what to do etc.).

So basically, I realised they both tried to be back in a game master position, trying to play they wanted to play, sure of the fact that the game they wanted to play was the game that everyone wanted to play! But neither was open about it: they preferred the subtle (!) subterfuge of making believe me and the other players that the game was not fun, or at least not so fun.

What I am trying to say is: What about the Golden Rule and problem players?

“There are no rules, only adaptation”

Looking back over our deep and growing article archives, it hit me that we didn’t have too many articles aimed specifically at novice GMs. I hope this series is useful to novices and experts alike.

@LordVreeg – Good corollary!

Also I’m stealing the clip the golden rule to your DM screen. My players seem to have a good time, but making sure is never bad.

I’m looking forward to reading where you head from here, Martin! Bring on Part II!

I think we can forget the fun, when a game starts to feel more like work. Good advice up there, for if it isn’t fun, then what really is the point of prep?

Though a lot of fun comes from a good challenging fight/negotiation/whatever, it takes more than the math behind it to make it fun.

We can get so tangled up in the latest gaming craze, our own vision, the rules, and everything else that we often forget about the whole point of this exercise: Fun.