Uncertainty in Games: Meaning

Poorly written rules are frustrating. Ambiguity can lead to disagreements or confusion. But the meaning of specific terms or abilities isn't always a detriment to gameplay.

When a game purposefully uses non-standard terms for standard game mechanics, it's a strain on any player's brain, forced to unnecessarily learn. When left open-for-interpretation, magic or other abilities can be wildly misused, derailing a game from its intended experience. However, the entire concept of tabletop RPGs is based on the idea that the GM is there to make judgement calls. If a designer embraces this concept, and employs the unpredictability of meaning into their game's mechanics, it can create a feeling of empowered ownership for the players interpreting those meanings.

An excellent example of this type of uncertainty at work is the game The Fall of Magic. The entire game is based around the abstract prompts presented by the constantly unraveling scroll. What exactly is a crabsinger? It's completely up to you! This type of mechanic gives the players direction, but ultimate agency in the game, resulting in a completely unique experience.

Tabletop RPGs are all about being creative, flexing your imagination, and using the rule-of-cool on the rules as written. Don't confuse your players with ambiguous mechanics. Include all of the information required to play your game, leaving only purposefully placed blanks for the players to fill in on their own!

Uncertainty in Games: Perception

It was hidden in plain sight, and you kick yourself for missing it. Maybe it was the last place you looked, or maybe your opponent just saw it first. Perception, it turns out, can be a stimulating mechanic for games.

All of our senses can be used for this type of uncertainty. You could have failed to spot the clue, heard the mumbling of an off comment remark, tasted the difference in the coffee, or felt the hidden key tucked away in the thief's pocket. In most tabletop or video games, this is generally limited to sight and sound, with maybe some feeling thrown in with rumble controllers. But such uncertainty has to be directly built in, and it's not common. Physical sports, on the other hand, have these perception uncertainties almost by default: watching the quickly moving ball. 

Roleplaying games rarely have any sort of real perception uncertainty, save for a few puzzles now and then. However, perception checks are one of the most common skills called upon by characters! It's not directly perception uncertainty; it's more like hidden information. But it's definitely an interesting link to think about while creating adventures for our characters.

Unlike quick thinking or strategic decisions, perception is a form of player skill and therefor uncertainty that not many game designers make use of. I'm not sure if this is because there's a limited scope of player types that enjoy these mechanics, or if this is a relatively untapped form of fun!

Uncertainty in Games: Schedule

"Something's come up."

We've all been there, on both sides of the deal, where higher priority events have blasted over our gaming schedule. Even if gaming is high on the list already, there's always something higher. We schedule games weeks or sometimes even months in advance just to have a shot at playing. But when we do finally make it to the table: it becomes that much more special.

Schedule uncertainty is something that few games actually have. The only games that consistently use it as a core feature are mobile games, where players must wait X minutes or hours before being able to consume additional content (unless you pay, or course). That uncertainty, of when a player can and will be playing allows there to be "competition" in the game.

Tabletop RPGs naturally have this form of uncertainty, because it's never known when players will actually be able to get together and play. A lot of games combine this with other uncertainties to actually encourage players to come; even in more indie titles like "Tales from the Loop", players get XP as long as they played in a session at all.

It may be unfortunate, but schedule uncertainty in our hobby can be recognized and handled in various ways. Luckily, most of us want to be present thanks to the fun of the rest of the uncertainties packaged into each gaming session.