It's a Fire Mister, And All Fires Are Bad

There comes a time as a player and a DM you'll run into a disaster game. Sometimes it comes on slow and grinding; the initial rush of the start of a game giving way a sinking feeling that you're watching the wave about to broadside the Poseidon. A quick look around shows that your friends are either starring at cell phones or making phallic symbols with dice piles. This is not a good thing.

Sometimes you'll know right away, and the ominous words of the Grail Knight will echo in your skull, and the game you're about to play is a born dog. It might be that the DM has just waxed poetical about how their campaign world is like Byron meets Yeats meets Stephine Meyer, or perhaps has to explain why they have a plywood box with four eye screws dominating their living room (don't ask). Regardless,  you've just stepped into a mine field.

It can be a hard spot to be in. Most of the time the person running the game or playing in it is your friend, and real feelings can be hurt when explaining why you'd rather be pounding drywall screws into your forearm then play at that game. As a DM it can be easier. Talking to your players and finding out why they're bored out of their skulls can be an ego bruiser, but a necessary evil.  Sometimes what you have planned and what they want is simply incompatible. If what you want to run isn't what they had in mind then hash it out and see if you can salvage things. If not put the game into the freezer and wait till you have more compatible players for what you have in mind. Sometimes its the brutal truth you simply suck as a DM. This could mean a change of system or needing to go back to the drawing board, or hanging up the shield.

As a player though, things can be trickier. You've agreed to play in this person's game and now you find yourself in a mudpit wasting your valuable time. If you can salvage a glimmer of hope from the game then stick around a few sessions. Everyone has off days and your DM might just be having one. Most of the time simply talking to the DM can resolve a lot of your issues, be it the game or perhaps a fellow player you're not compatible with. And sometimes the only answer is to walk away. Remember: it's a game and meant to be enjoyable. Don't lose your mind over something you're not having fun at.

If nothing else learn from why the game went down in flames. Some of the best lessons I've learned as a RPG player have come from train wrecks. Pay attention and try to avoid the screw ups that you've either committed in the past or what the DM did. If you're starting a game with a group of people that you know prefer a combat heavy game and have seen them get glass eyed and bored when another DM tried to run them through his version of the Age of Innocence, tailor your stuff accordingly. Take advantage of every opportunity to improve yourself as a RPG gamer, even if it's a disaster game.