Player Appreciation Is Important

And we're back. Did you have a good Thanksgiving if you're in the States? If not, did you have a good weekend? Are you getting psyched for Christmas and the other holidays that come around in December? I had a good week. We're pretty much moved. Not as restful as I would like, but with moving, Thanksgiving, and people over to see the new place/game what are you going to do, right?

Speaking of game, in an interesting coincidence two GMs I saw this weekend (at the time of writing I haven't attended the third game) made a point of thanking their players at the end of game for how the game was going. It got me thinking, and it makes me wonder, have you thanked your players lately? Because you should.

Believe It Or Not, The Players Make The Game
A lot of GM advice, and questions to places that give GM advice, boils down to GMs wanting to know how to run the best game possible. The thing not told very often though is that for a game to be truly good, or truly great, you need to have good players. As good of a GM as you are, if your players aren't buying in to the game - or worse, don't want to buy into the game - it's not going to go very far. Sure, you can still have an interesting plot and fun events, but they fall flat without invested players to help push them along.

Players Make It Better
Active players, engaged players, players who are bringing their own mojo to the table make everything better. A story with pro-active protagonists is always more fun than a story with exclusively reactive protagonists, and with the players being the protagonists of any game, them being proactive is always good for the game.

Players Can Free You Up
If nothing else, good players will free you up as the GM to focus on the big things in your game. How? Well, by being proactive (and you being light on your feet as a GM) your players will start things, get into their own trouble, make their own mini-adventures based on their own desires and those of their characters.

This puts your game into one of the most amazing places it can be. The content in the game is a true collaboration between you and the players. That lets you get more enjoyment from the game, and the world a lot better.

So thank your players. A big part of why your game is as fun as it is is because of them.