Can you GM a game without knowing its rules?

It seemed like a fairly simple yes-or-no question. Then the calls started coming in, and it became increasingly obvious that “knowing the rules” might not be the useful measure we think it is.

In Broadcast 002, we’re talking about how much a GM actually needs to know before sitting down to run a game, the difference between knowing the rules and knowing the game, what happens when rulings replace too much of the system, and whether rules knowledge really needs to live entirely inside the GM’s head.

Featuring incoming transmissions from Matt, Alex, Dennis, Ava, Ed and Laurence.

The lines are open at https://www.speakpipe.com/GamesMasterFM 

Are you a GM or a player?

It seemed like a perfectly reasonable question when Millie put it in an Instagram poll. Then the answers started coming in, the lines opened, and it became increasingly obvious that she might have asked entirely the wrong question.

In Broadcast 001, we’re talking about the strange divide between GMs and players, the little cardboard wall we put between them, what the rulebooks actually say, and whether being the person running the game means you’ve somehow stopped playing it.

Featuring incoming transmissions from Philip, Dennis, Mira and Ava.

The lines are open.