Avoiding Spreadsheet Gaming

Referees should not attempt to emulate a computer. Over-engineering gameplay with low-value formula and procedure does little to improve the campaign. Gamists such as myself are particularly susceptible to this behavior, which I term "spreadsheet gaming." (Perhaps unfairly, as there's nothing inherently wrong with using spreadsheets.)

In "News from Gaming Land", I mentioned that parts of my late AD&D campaign had developed in to spreadsheet gaming. In the comments, Dingus asked:

Do you think late-game BtB AD&D is inextricable with spreadsheet gaming when scaled up or just your group? Do you have any thoughts on how to avoid this?

I replied to the comment, and will expand on that now.

Late-game, by-the-book AD&D doesn't need to be spreadsheet gaming, even if you have scores of active players. The type of gaming that happens at your table is actually one of the things you have greatest control over, as referee. The spreadsheet gaming that happened at my table was entirely a consequence of my style.

This type of gameplay had several consequences:

• Players who were engaged by number-crunching, increasing their personal power, and "clever application of rules" were highly-engaged in the campaign. Players who were not engaged by these things were the ones who stopped playing when, eventually, social conflicts began to occur in the campaign's latter days. (Those who left were veterans, and some of the most widely-beloved players at the table, and their departure signaled, to me, a dire peril that required action.)
• The types of output prep more useful than spreadsheet gaming also suffered; I delayed greatly, or never fully implemented, many ideas for setting-specific things like special cleric spells for my deities.
• Too-high a percentage of my prep time was "output prep" at the expense of my own development. I didn't assign enough time to "input prep." (For more info on "output prep" vs "input prep," check out "The Superior Value of Input Prep".)

The Superior Value of Input Prep

Referees want to know how long they should spend preparing a scenario and how to be more efficient. This is understandable. But this focuses on the wrong problem. Instead of thinking up tricks, referees should cultivate themselves. Appendix N is often viewed as a historical novelty, when in fact it’s

Dungeon BlasterDavid Gay

To avoid spreadsheet gaming, referees can adopt these styles:

• Any time you aren't sure whether to perform a procedure or look something up, vs keeping the game moving, keep the game moving. Game flow is high-value.
• Any time you aren't sure whether to do something the longer, formal way, vs the faster, less-accurate way, choose the faster, less-accurate way. This produces better game flow, a faster game, and more game.
• Don't make character date tracking any more complicated than (1) the date the character's on, and (2) critical notes about the character's activities. Anything you forget, ask the players. Anything everyone forgets, just pick a canon and move on. If you try and precisely track tens or hundreds of PCs and NPCs, it's going to cost you more than it's worth.
• Don't use random generation at the game table unless it's fast enough that players don't notice it. The random dungeon generator in the AD&D DMG isn't fast enough. I made a faster one that I'll publish later. The Appendix B generator is also too slow in cases when the players can see multiple hexes due to flying, and it's too slow for at-table domain clearing.
• Don't blantantly roll on tables and read off the results during the game. Players already own video games. They want an adventure game. Telling the players what they see, with or without the aid of a quick ad-hoc dice throw, is always better than sticking your nose in a book.
• Ensure you have enough time to "DIY." Once you've gained enough rules mastery to consistently produce a flowing game, that's the time to think about things like setting-based rules extensions. One example of this is custom cleric spells for your deities. Another is bespoke encounter tables for your world's regions. The value of these setting-tied rules cannot be understated. Gamers love them.
• Ensure you assign enough time to input prep. Read my previous article, "The Superior Value of Input Prep".

The Superior Value of Input Prep

Referees want to know how long they should spend preparing a scenario and how to be more efficient. This is understandable. But this focuses on the wrong problem. Instead of thinking up tricks, referees should cultivate themselves. Appendix N is often viewed as a historical novelty, when in fact it’s

Dungeon BlasterDavid Gay

Your campaign is defined by what you choose to focus on. If you find yourself doing more paperwork than designing, drawing, or adventuring, it might be time to zoom out, give up some fidelity in one area, and increase the fun in another.