With over 8 billion people on the planet, it’s hard to find universal truths. But there are a few simple rules that apply to every person who ever was, who currently is, and who ever will be.
All other rules we encounter are artificially-added complexity based on how, where, and with whom we play the Great Game — local, agreed upon expectations that remain changeable, made by other players who convinced the rest to accept them, for better or worse.
But before we get into that, let’s start at the beginning with how the Game works. Consider this a quick reference to not just becoming a more active player in the world, but within your own life and its various adventures.
What is the Great Game?
While I teased about it in my first post, the Great Game (or simply "the Game,” always capitalized) is life itself: your existence alongside that of every other person, creature, and object in the physical and digital worlds.
In this game, we’re all players. You’re constantly playing, calculating your next moves regardless of your awareness, skill, or if you even care about it. Through singular and collective action, we can make dreams reality, for better or worse — a power we’re all given but too often neglect or use ignorantly.
It’s my goal to train you to harness that power so that you can create the change you want in your life, your community, or however big you want to go. Though it won’t be easy, the journey’s difficulty comes from a need for persistence; be consistent and you’ll be surprised how quickly things start falling into place.
Mastery of the Game comes from practice, learning how to leverage failures and setbacks, and knowing how to adapt to anything.
Some Quick Terminology
To draw more parallels between life and the Great Game, let’s define some terms to see it for what it is: the code that runs in the back of your brain as it makes sense of the world around it.
Player Character (PC) - a person who is an active participant in the Game, aware (whether fully or partially) of it, and striving for a defined goal.
Non-Player Character (NPC) - a person who is an inactive participant in the Game, choosing to do nothing except the bare minimum to maintain their existence.
NOTE: “NPC” has often been used as slang to denote players who aren’t important in another player’s story in an attempt to dehumanize them; we reject the use of “NPC” in that way, only referring to those whose goal is to continue existing and nothing else. True NPCs are rare, but if the idea of being left on autopilot for years (if not decades) without ambition terrifies you, this is your wake-up call.
Status Modifiers - otherwise known as buffs (if positive) or debuffs (if negative), status modifiers are various permanent or (most often) temporary effects applied to a player. For instance, a player that runs out of money gets the temporary “broke” status modifier which causes penalties until it’s fixed.
Skill Check - an attempt to do something based on a player’s inherent aptitude, learned experience, and proficiency to get a desired outcome augmented by relevant status modifiers. This is similar to the more common “check” which is simply determining what action to take.
For example, a check might be a question like “Should I eat breakfast?” and, if yes, “What should I eat?”
A skill check is your odds of success to perform an action. Pouring yourself a bowl of cereal is an easier skill check than making yourself bacon and eggs.
Seasons and Arcs - a portion of the Game defined by time (season) or a theme (arc). For instance, 2020 to mid-2022 can be considered the COVID-19 arc. Seasons are usually defined by time itself like the literal seasons of nature or election cycles.
G.O.D. - the Grand Omniscient Developer who has many names; the creator(s) of our universe most commonly referred to as God but may refer to a pantheon, the laws of physics and nature, or the universe itself. Many human-made systems are built around various interpretations of the G.O.D. including the belief that one doesn’t exist at all. Regardless, this meta-mechanic gives players purpose and status modifiers with potential bonuses and penalties.
Bugs, Exploits, Fixes, Patches - status effects (both intentional and unintentional) applied to the Game itself; bugs and patches are systems-level (a new law is passed to fix a problem or causes a new one) whereas exploits and fixes are player-level actions to adjust to a glitch in the system. These, especially exploits, can be considered game-breaking, cheating, or otherwise poor behavior when used at the cost of other players. Because we do not have objective perception of the Great Game as players, there’s rarely consensus regarding these.
Applied Game Theory - a branch of probability mathematics defined by four main parts: players, outcomes, strategies (what actions players can take to get a certain outcome), and the variables that affect the previous three parts. Every choice you’ve ever made, are making, and will make is grounded in applied game theory and is what the Game is built on.
What are the Rules?
Most of the Great Game’s near-infinite complexity comes from player-made sources: the governments that oversee us; the communities we live in; the systems of authority that shape our worldviews; and the places and people we work for and with.
But for every player, the Game itself has only two rules you must understand and follow if you want to play it well:
Be a net positive to the world. Every action should benefit yourself and others in a way that improves the world more than when you first came into it; “be the tide that lifts all ships” and you’ll find yourself, your community, and the world at large better for it.
You can only move forward. There are no checkpoints to reload an old save file; if you want to go back, you have to turn around and spend more of your finite time doing so, regardless if you’re correcting a past mistake or trying to live out nostalgia.
Players may try to fight these rules. Doing so will only cause problems for yourself and others, both directly and indirectly. If this is a cost you’re willing to pay, be honest in the role you’re choosing.
But every interesting story requires villains, flawed protagonists, and “gray” anti-heroes and so players, for whatever reason, decide to play this way, testing the strength and sanity of all other players. Who ultimately wins is a question seemingly without an answer, though that is the nature of the Great Game’s mechanics, always giving its players something to do and strive for to keep them engaged.
True failure of the Game is when every player concedes or ceases to be; the Heat Death of the Universe, but much sooner.
The 6 Core Mechanics of the Great Game
Where rules outline the standard that all players should abide, mechanics explain how the Great Game must behave as a system itself. There are six fundamental mechanics:
Time is finite — and no one knows exactly how much they have left. At some point, your time will be up. Fewer resources will be as precious as this so learn to use it wisely.
Everyone is assigned both permanent and temporary status modifiers. Some players have permanent starting advantages whereas others have to fight for what little is locally available. The vast majority of your status modifiers are temporary and require you to figure out how to remove the negative ones while sustaining the positive ones. While it might suck, their temporary nature means they can be overcome. Difficult does not mean impossible. Just difficult.
You must choose a path; not choosing turns you into an NPC. The Game is meant to be experienced, not just observed.
You can have as many adventures as you’d like within your allotted time. Players sometimes fear progression for various other reasons, usually uncertainty or growing fond over a specific arc. The nice thing about completing various story arcs is that, for as long as you live, there will always be more to experience.
The Great Game is fair, but other players might not play fairly. The Game itself is indifferent though other players make it hard to believe at times. While most players want to focus on themselves without causing problems, others will try to steal from or hinder others because that’s either don’t know better or they choose to be a villain. When faced with this challenge, know that gain more experience through adversity despite having to deal with it.
Every player is accountable for their moves, whether they realize it or not. We have free will to act within the Great Game as we choose. Ultimately, you can do whatever you want. You can go out and buy a ice cream cake for no other reason than wanting it. You can also punch a random passerby because you didn’t like their face. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Every action has consequences and some carry more weight than others. Be wise with how you act and the cost that comes with it.
Others who philosophize on this might come up with different mechanics but this is the nature of the Game itself. It’s also why past generations of players built systems over millennia to make sense of the world we were dropped into. You and I are a part of the current generation here, milling about as we interpret the collective knowledge of thousands of years left by those who came before.
So where does that leave you in all this?
Important Game Decisions to Start Your New Adventure
No matter how long you’ve existed within the Great Game, let’s assume today is the day you start really playing it. What should you do to set yourself up for success?
Consider the following questions:
Who are you? — What character should you create?
Who are your companions? — Who’s in your adventuring party?
Where are you starting and where are you going? — What is your current adventure and its purpose?
What do you need to accomplish your objective? — What’s in your inventory?
In later posts, we’ll explore how to answer each one thoroughly. How you answer them will determine your trajectory and growth so treating each question with the respect it deserves is a necessary step before you head out on your adventure.
After all, as far as we know, we only get one life. Why not play the Game well?