How To Keep the Game Flowing

Game flow is not something that you necessarily think about as being an issue when you get started as a GM, but it doesn’t take playing long to learn that it is easy to get derailed from your plan and get drawn into all manner of distractions and debates that can eat up your precious game time.

So, this week we’re going to give you all a few tips on how to keep your game flowing, and how to handle any of the hiccups that may come your way.

1. Prioritize Speed Over Perfection

As a GM, there will be times when you are unsure of how to handle an exact ruling. Whether from inexperience, or even from the fact that there are many complexities and details in each of the different systems, you are bound to be unsure of how to make a decision. Or maybe the rules of the system are just complex and you’re having a hard time trying to figure it out in the middle of a gaming session.

Example -  a player wants to grapple a flying enemy, but you’re unsure of how to handle this in regards to the rules of your system (Pathfinder, D&D, etc.). The grappling rules in Pathfinder 1e requires you to have a flow chart to figure out the state of the grapple.

Instead of flipping through the rule book for 15 minutes, here’s how I am able to make a quick decision and have the party move forward. I follow the principle that if I can’t find the rule in question in 15-30 SECONDS, then I just make my best guess as the decision.

Here’s how I would respond to the example above – “You can try! Roll Athletics, and if you succeed, you bring them to the ground.”

Here’s another example – a player wants to leap onto a moving wagon while shooting an arrow.

Instead of hunting for the multiple rules required for such an action, just simplify the action down to its core elements. I would respond, “Make an Acrobatics check (DC 15) to land safely. If you fail, you hang off the edge of the wagon for dear life.”

2. Keep the Game Moving, Then Check Later

If a player wants to argue or debate about battle mechanics in the middle of combat, you don’t have to let them slow the game down. The expectation going into role-playing should already be established that you are all human and mistakes can and will be made, so it’s not necessarily a huge deal. Just share with the players that you are going to be making an executive decision on this particular ruling, and that you will double check with the rules before the next gaming session.

“For now, let’s say it gives half cover (+2 AC). We can double-check after the session and use the correct method for our future gaming sessions.”

Now, this is not an excuse for you to avoid doing your due diligence! As the GM, it is your responsibility to get familiar with the system that you will be using for the duration of this campaign, especially the rules. This will provide the best experience for yourself and all the players involved.

3. Use “Yes, but…” or “Not yet, but…”

It’s not good to always shoot down your players when they are being creative and trying to follow the rules in creative ways. Instead, here’s what you can do.

Example – a player wants to use a feat or spell in a unique way that would be recurring throughout the game (a long-term effect through the whole story).

Instead of just saying no, I would offer this option. “Not yet, but let’s talk about it later for next session.” 

This would allow me time to consider the ramifications of allowing such a thing through the whole story so that I could make sure it wouldn’t break the game later in the story line or be something that would be extremely annoying to deal with every session.

4. Let Players Roll If Unsure

If you are completely at a loss on how to rule on an action that the player wants to make, you still don’t need to try to shut them down. You can make use of dice!

Example – a player tries to use Mage Hand in a tricky way (e.g., unlatching a treasure chest inside of an enemy’s bag while they’re driving by in a large caravan).

Instead of getting caught in a debate on whether that’s feasible or what are all the different parts that would have to go into calculating for something like that, just call for a roll.

“Make a Sleight of Hand check against their Passive Passion.”

Then you give them a target number to roll for using your best guess and the game can go on.

5. When in Doubt, Use Advantage/Disadvantage

If you’re unsure of how hard something should be for your adventuring party, you can always assign an advantage or disadvantage to the player/group instead of delaying the game and looking things up. This is a quick and easy solution just to keep the flow going, but you shouldn’t depend on this as the solution for everything.

Overall, the theme is that it’s okay to use your best judgment as an immediate solution for some things for the sake of keeping the game moving. If there is an area of the rules that you are less familiar with and it hinders the game play, make sure to look into that before the next session and be prepared.

Next week we will be discussing specific pacing problems and solutions!

Fellow GMs, feel free to leave a comment below to share any tricks of the trade that you might have for keeping your game sessions flowing well. You can also leave a comment on our Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4KaUTAaGn8) or you can join our community on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/g2NBTssuMh)!