Self-Facilitated Games

Games that require that the people involved in the gameplay ensure that the rules are being followed and require that these people perform any necessary book-keeping actions.

All games require effort to setup and update the game state. When there are no other people, or machines, dedicated to this the players themselves need to perform this work. These types of games are Self-Facilitated Games, are requires that at least one of the players learns the rules before or during gameplay. Even if Self-Facilitated Games force players to work, they also allow the players to modify or ignore rules at their discretion.

Examples

Tradition board games such as Chess and Go, as well as newer ones such as Cluedo and RoboRally, require the players themselves to set up and move game pieces and, if they wish to break gameplay into several different play sessions, store the game state safely. The same goes for card games such as Illuminati and Magic: The Gathering. Children's games such as Catch are the same, except they also require the players to judge if players have been caught or not.

Tabletop roleplaying games such as Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay do have game masters that take care of responsibility of knowing the game rules and handling most of their inhabitants of the game world. However, players have to do some work as well and the role of game master often rotates, so these games can be considered Self-Facilitated Games.

Early multiplayer online games such as Kingdoms and DragonMud were setup and maintained by their own players. While only experienced and trusted players (called wizards) were allowed to actually change the code controlling the games, this still makes these games Self-Facilitated Games.

Using the pattern

Real-Time Games Drop-In/Drop-Out Time Limits Randomness Dedicated Game Facilitators Drop-In/Drop-Out Agents Units Turn-Based Games Turn Taking AI Players Freedom of Choice Late Arriving Players

Even if Game Masters are considered Dedicated Game Masters, human ones have the same freedom to introduce, modify, or ignore rules that players have so games consisting solely of players and human Game Masters (like Roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons or Paranoia) can still be considered Self-Facilitated Games).

Self-Facilitated Games require the will of all the players in Multiplayer Games to uphold the game state and the game rules, the latter which can be seen as Strategic Knowledge. The Memorizing this demands can be made easier in a number of ways: the rules of the game can be made as explicit and deterministic so that any player can perform them while the others watch; Turn Taking in Turn-Based Games can be used so that only one player at a time performs actions and the others can check the correctness of the actions; and Book-Keeping Tokens can be used to minimize the amount of the game state that has to be remembered by all players.

Player can be given Privileged Abilities to help facilitate the game, for example temporary judges. Game Masters are permanent Dedicated Game Facilitators where the facilitators are still perceivable as players with Privileged Abilities, and thereby combining Dedicated Game Facilitator with Self-Facilitated Games. These powers, as well as Investments players make to run Self-Facilitated Games can give them Social Status.

Practically any game can be the basis for a Meta Game based on Betting which is facilitated by the players themselves.

Self-Facilitated Games allow players to set up game sessions independently from outer factors through Extra-Game Actions as long as the required game elements exist. Although stories and Storytelling can emerge from Self-Facilitated Games, for example the story-telling game Once Upon a Time, these games have difficulties having pre-created Narrative Structures that have Tension or Surprises due to problems of timing. This does not have to be a problem for Emotional Immersion though, the creation of Narrative Structures through Storytelling in Player Constructed Worlds are often an important reason for wanting to participate in these games.

Ultra-Powerful Events are difficult to enforce as players may replace any results with Player Decided Results, potentially creating Player Balance but just as likely causing arguments. Likewise, Time Limits are harder to enforce and especially events based upon The Show Must Go On.

Since the players need to interpret the rules together through Negotiation, rule arguments are likely in Self-Facilitated Games. For this reason, many games that are self-facilitated normally have judges in Tournaments of the game or when Betting is involved. Sports are examples of Real-Time Games and Synchronous Games that are Self-Facilitated Games where judges are especially common since rule interpretation depends on physical actions in the real world. However, players can also change the rules in Self-Facilitated Games through Negotiation, giving the Empowerment to enforce Player Balance through Handicaps. Another way players can be given Handicaps in Self-Facilitated Games is due to the players' ability to revert the game to a previous game state, in effect enforcing Replayability.

Consequences

It is unavoidable that Self-Facilitated Games give players some Excise. However, it also allows them to have Player Decided Rule Setup and Evolving Rule Sets (especially those with human Game Masters).

Self-Facilitated Games do not make use of Dedicated Game Masters with the exception of when one considered human Game Masters as part of the people playing the game.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Evolving Rule Sets Excise Player Decided Rule Setup

Can Be Modulated By

Game Masters

Potentially Conflicting With

Dedicated Game Masters

History

An updated version of the pattern Self-Facilitated Games that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.