There has to be a way to graph out the levels of interest and fun in a game, based on the complexity and winnability. There also must be a steep drop-off on that graph, when players are not getting the feedback they need, and their interest wanes and fatigue sets in. That marked decline in enthusiasm is how game night ended. I am so burned out that I can't even draw on my former research skills to pull forth the terms for the math involved in plotting the graph. In my head, I'm just waving my hand vaguely in a circle, and saying, you know, a declining returns sort of graph. I was a little tired going into the game, and felt like I added very little to advance the plot. By the end of the evening, my voice only added to the chorus saying let's stop here, this is just frustrating. This game is good overall, but we spent hours accomplishing almost nothing until the very end. Our characters were exploring the tunnels of an ancient sewer system in a lost city in the desert. At the beginning of this night of play, our oldest friend in the group called it "sewer's folly." Wow, did he turn out to be prescient.
After a night like this, I have nothing in reserves to base a story on. I will just end on a photo of Hops, who is struggling with his new training before there is a baby in his household. Poor little dude. He wasn't made for family life.
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