About role-playing games, game mastering, and is it always necessary to win to have fun?

 I've been engaged in tabletop role-playing games as both a player and game master for an extensive period. Recently, my focus has shifted towards facilitating and participating in remote gaming, interspersed with occasional local sessions and family games. I've guided games for a diverse range of participants, including strangers, friends, children, teenagers, and middle-aged adults.

My preference lies in games where the trajectory of the story remains uncertain, with the narrative unfolding collectively. This journey may not follow the straightest, most efficient, sensible, or even logical path.

Play to find out: The concept of "Play to find out" characterizes a play style with a slightly more loosely prepared approach. We establish initial setups and observe how players shape the narrative through their actions. This style emphasizes embracing the weaknesses of characters alongside their strengths, allowing for foolish decisions, mistakes, emotional outbursts, and other natural human behaviors.

Superheroes vs. Normals: In my games, I gravitate towards player characters who exhibit vulnerability. This isn't driven by a desire for conflict as a game master but rather by the importance of personally investing in characters. I find it challenging to root for fairy-tale-perfect superheroes, and the triumph of a vulnerable, weak character in a challenging situation is particularly gratifying for me.

Player-focused: A player-focused play style spotlights the decisions, actions, and choices made by players' characters. In an ideal scenario, each player manages multiple characters, each with their unique agendas, desires, and needs. Teamwork evolves naturally rather than being forced. This approach poses challenges for the game master if communication falters, group dynamics are off, or the story stalls. However, at its best, this style operates seamlessly—players propel the story forward, and the game master introduces drama, challenges, highs, and lows as necessary to maintain excitement.