Speaking as someone who thinks that no gaming is better than bad gaming, the most important things to me are group cohesion, GM flexibility (whether it's me or someone else), and an engaging story.

I created my current gaming group by taking with me the other players who'd had enough railroading and poor time management with the way-too-big Serenity gaming sessions done by the local Browncoats.

Quote from: Piestrio;5877361. The group. The actually people playing the game are the most important thing going on. A good group can make up for just about anything while a bad group will make anything shitty.

2. The GM. A good GM is a godsend and will make up for everything but a shitty group. That said if the group is simply mediocre a good GM can go a long ways.

3. The scenario. Or adventure, etc... What the GM has prepared for the group, whether it be a sandbox, plot based adventure., etc...

4. The setting. The fictional space where the game happens.

5. The rules/mechanics. Whatever rules you use to play the game.

This is interesting.

I would say:

1: The DM is more important than the players in general. I say this because I always introduce friends to the game and induct them in the old ways.

1: I dont draw any distinction between the DM and his campaign setting.

1: I don't draw any distinction between the scenario and the campaign setting.

2: Players: Good players are a godsend and I have found it difficult to predict
who among my pals would make good players. I think that players who stick with you for three years or so become as important to the campaign as the DM.

3: Rulebooks can be so inspirational, for me the 3 AD&D core books, but I will pay more attention to what interests my players than the books.

1) Overall fun/hanging out with friends.

2) Food. We eat like kings when we play, thanks to my wife.

3) Setting/resultant story. The world/sandbox we kick around in.

4) System. We usually end up streamlining/tweaking/gutting most of what it is, anyhow.

System does matter to us. It just doesn't matter nearly as much as other things.

I thought a bit more about this as I read the new responses.

I still think people is #1. Playing with people whose company you enjoy is paramount. I'm not averse to playing with strangers; I am averse to inviting strangers into my home, though. But on "neutral ground" (a game store or a mutual friend's home) I'll gladly sit down and play with new people.

I'm not so sure snacks is #2, though. If I had to choose between playing a bland D&D 4e module with a slab of foie gras and a nice Brunello Di Montalcino on the table, or B/X D&D with a rockin' setting like Aos' Metal Earth or misterguignol's World Between, but only Cheetos and Coke, I'd be really divided, but I suppose I'd end up going for the second option.

Setting and scenario (both at design and GM performance levels) definitely trump system... most of the time. If the system is a real pain in the ass, it can get very annoying, but it's unlikely to wreck a session by itself. But people trump all of this. And if we manage to get some good eating and drinking done too, all the better.

For me these days, it's:

1. Setting/Scenario
2. People of like mind
3. Rules

I mainly GM. The setting/scenario has got to interest me. The group is important, but only in that I don't need asshats, racists, or misogynists of any stripe (seriously, my current group has me (African-American) and two women, in addition to the three other guys, so...that shit won't fly). And then, my eternal bane, the rule system. Recently I like them crunchy (or rather, I always have, until read the Big Purple, then I think I like lighter games, then inevitably veer back towards my true crunchy love).

I DID take you all's advice, by the way, and largely avoid rpg sites for a good while. Got back recently but am toning down my reading to a tiny trickle compared to how much I used to read. Starting a GURPS game now, for example...

A group of people I like hanging out with, GM that is at least decent and a system I do not despise. Everything else is a bonus but that much is enough for some fun times.

So, the group is most important it turns out.

Quote from: vytzka;588579So, the group is most important it turns out.

Yeah, same here.  It would be a bonus to have a game that I love playing but if the group are filled with my friends or other people I get along with then I am happy.

People. Snacks. Setting. System.

In that order.

Emulation and Immersion.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;589079Emulation and Immersion.

RPGPundit

What does running old video games on new hardware and the method of believers Baptism have to do with RPGs?

Quote from: Peregrin;587755The group.  One player can bring a whole game down, so it's important to make sure everyone is chill.

The inspiration.  Ideally everyone should be excited to play in this game because it pushes all of the right buttons.  If the group loves the premise and the fictional trappings, they're more likely to buy into the game and really get into the role-playing aspect.

The rules.  Because once you get past people and creative goals, your tools are super-important.

Atmosphere.  It can help reinforce inspiration and create a mood that's conducive to good RP/creative play.

Ditto, +1, Like, or whatever kids are saying these days.

The group and then, maybe as a corollary, a system that invites the whole group. Systems that want me to round-robin paired narratives drive me nuts. The game must invite the whole group to participate.

In exactly this order...


1. Immersion
2. Friends
3. Genre Emulation/Setting
4. Rolling funky dice
5. Playtesting for homebrews
6. Snacks

Good gamers to play it with.
A good setting.
A good system.
A good environment. (I.E. a decent room without a lot of noise or snoopy people.)

The most important would be setting and system. Our group has been the same for about 20 years (otherwise it would've been the group first), so what counts with us (or, to be specific, me, since everybody else is too lazy to GM, and they seem to be happy to play whatever happens to suit my fancy at any given moment) is the rules, and how well they support the flavour of the setting. It also greatly affects my inspiration.