Am I Playing a Role-Playing Game?

There has been some discussion online about what constitutes a role-playing game.

When you are playing a game that you suspect might be a role playing game, ask yourself these questions:

• Am I pretending to be someone I am not.
• Am I holding dice.

If you answered yes to both these questions, congratulations, you are probably playing a role playing game. Now go have some fun!

I have heard it remarked that Dungeons and Dragons isn’t a role playing game, it’s a war game. Now, clearly we can see this isn’t the case–unless you are a halfing wizard or some such thing–so the next question to ask is: how do I know if I am playing a war game? If you find yourself wondering if you are playing a war game, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I see miniatures.
• Am I holding a ruler or tape-measure.

If you answered yes to both these questions, congratulations, you are playing a war game. Now go flank some units!

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