Designing a Game is Easy as Shit

Over in the Prismatic Wasteland Discord server, we have recently been discussing the play culture of fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons. The truth is that despite all of our love for independent systems and innovation, lots of people really like playing 5e because they are having fun doing it. This can be for many reasons, Dwiz wrote a series over at A Knight at the Opera as a ten year retrospective of playing the game. I also try not to keep it a secret that I actually like the core resolution mechanic of rolling a 20 and adding a potential proficiency bonus from a skill. It's simple and clean, and allows you to mechanically express the theming of your character. However, I think it's also worth thinking deeper about the role of system, or rules in general, in having a good time. Jay wrote a great post on how rules restrict play in tabletop RPGs (and how that can be a good thing). As Jay puts it, "What does this game offer me that I couldn't achieve by playing make-believe with my…