is your fun my problem?

sometimes. . . . . postscriptumbeing a recount of the RPG modalities I have experienced, and the differing levels of experiential curation required of the GM therein. short pickup gamesI love running at my local game shop's RPG nights because I love the struggle. People often buy a ticket for the night without checking Discord to see what games are on. They just show up and get given a seat. I affectionately term these people as 'stragglers'. Con games also belong in this category1. In this type of game, I am the host and the players are my guests. They have arrived with no prior information, no expectations, and possibly zero buy-in, wanting only to have a fun night of roleplaying. I therefore am responsible for their safety, comfort, and enjoyment, and any encroachment on these things is the result of a mistake that I can learn from. As a player, it sucks to pay for something only to realise it's not your jam, becoming captive to it for the next 3 to 4 hours. It is rare to have in…