How I Explained RPGs To My Mother From First Principles On My Drive To Work This Morning

11 Feb, 2026

a theory post, written with apologies to those who have actually read The Rule Book.

When I chat with my mother on my way to work, I usually only hear the news of the house, but today, I talked about Blades '68, which I spent all of my working hours reading yesterday. She seemed interested in the premise of the setting ("That sounds like it would be a lot of fun!"), but during that conversation, she said to me, "I still don't really get how there's a game in those books."¹ I asked her if I can explain, and this (to the best of my memory) is what I told her.

Games provide constraints through rules

In Monopoly, there is nothing physically stopping you from grabbing all of the money or putting your piece wherever you want. The activities of Monopoly are given meaning by the constraints written on the rules document, which provides us with a goal (get the most money), a means to do so (collect rent), and constraints on how we can accomplish this (roll dice to move your piece, build hotels, buy properties, etc.)

RPGs do the same thing for make-believe

Remember when you played make-believe as a kid? Cops and Robbers and all that? This is fundamentally the same as what we do in roleplaying games. We have a shared imagined space that we act in as various characters, and our actions only have meaning inasmuch as we share that imagined space.

The constraints, however, are based on the rules themselves and the shared assumptions we make about that space. In Triangle Agency, for example, the players are normal people with superpowers, sent out to catch other Anomalous beings. Triangle Agency provides us with constraints (you are normal people who fail at almost everything) and means for the characters to influence the imagined space (Anomalous abilities, which I just described as superpowers for simplicity). When a character does something that just makes sense to everyone, we might say, "Ok, yeah, that happens." Other times - like when you swing a sword or cast a magic spell - we might reference the rules.

Often, games have what's known as a core mechanic. In D&D, for example, you usually roll a twenty-sided die and add the number, seeking to meet a certain target number, set by the GM². If you meet that number, you succeed at what you were trying to do. The game's rules will tell you what sorts of actions are appropriate - like casting spells or swinging swords - and how your specific character interacts with that rule.

The role of the GM

In many games, like Dungeons and Dragons, there is a divide between the players, who inhabit one specific character, and the moderator³, who describes the world and acts as other characters in the world. You can either say what they do or act it out, like in a play. Once again, the rules come into play when something is uncertain or there's risk involved. The moderator sets up the situation for the players to explore, and they act from their characters' points of view.

The books themselves

At this point, I asked, "Do you understand what the books are for at this point?" and received a resolute "No, I still don't really get that. Are they describing... the situation? The characters?"

Kind of! The books themselves provide the rules I mentioned earlier, and they also describe the situation you find yourself in. For example, Blades '68 tells us about the criminal factions of Doskvol, the current state of technology, and what kinds of criminal activities your crew might attempt. In the book, you'll find examples of your character sheet and how to fill it out, as well as what that all means. In Triangle U, my project, I am writing more of the first kind of material - setting information and details about Missions the players might undertake.

An interesting experiment

At this point, I got to work and had to leave, but I think it was a good stopping point. I was surprised to be put in a position where I had to concretely explain what an RPG was, but as soon as I had, I realized this was an excellent exercise. It forced me to think through and put into words my own assumptions about play and how I think about games. Hopefully, you find my experience interesting as well! Do let me know if so, especially if you also have to explain RPGs to a patient relative from first principles.