It could be that your players are beginners and haven't figured out the game yet. That's a common problem, but you can follow the steps in this guide to teach players how to develop their skills as TRPG players. Maybe it's more basic than that, and they need help using the dice. Or maybe you're playing a roleplaying campaign, and your players need some help creating characters that lend themselves to roleplaying. Or perhaps they have strong characters but need some tips on how to roleplay. If any of these issues are present for your players, you can solve them with the linked guides. But there's always the chance that your players are ready to play well and still need some help finding their fun. Read on to discover how to diagnose and solve these kinds of problems.
You can recognize players not having fun when they're not engaged. That can express in a variety of ways. Sometimes it means players are zoning out and not paying attention to the game. Sometimes it looks more like a character whose actions are inconsistent. You might introduce a story moment and find that some players don't recognize how that impacts the rest of the campaign. Whatever the case may be, you've discovered that at least some of your players just aren't plugged into the game. Then it's time to roll up your sleeves, mix up your GMing style, and meet your players halfway, just like we would if the players were ignoring your story.
Dealing with a player not having fun is less about the symptom than the disease. What I mean by this is that it's not so much about how a player is disconnected from the game and much more about why the player is disconnected. Different people express their disconnection from the game in different ways, but the root cause is what matters. Generally, players experience this disconnection for one of three reasons: (1) the player doesn't understand how to express themselves in the game, (2) the player isn't in tune with the focus of your campaign, or (3) the player doesn't feel like they can impact the gameworld. Let's tackle each one:
If your player doesn't know how to express themselves in your game, you might want to spend some time with them describing how they can do that. The roleplaying resources linked above are a great place to start that process. The important thing to understand is that a player who doesn't know how to express themselves in the game is dealing with fundamentally the same problem as a player who doesn't know their dice apart. In both cases, you're dealing with someone who hasn't yet learned the appropriate skills for interacting with the world. So treat it as a skill. Take moments in your game to offer opportunities to express themselves. There must be things that this character would feel strongly about--create situations that play on that feeling to allow the player to experiment with playing it out.
An example may help describe this. Let's say your player's character is an orphan because goblins killed the rest of their family. So you create an encounter--either combat or roleplaying--in which some goblins approach the party. Now the player in question is in a prime position to react to the goblins in a character-specific way. But if a player is truly disconnected from the fun of the game still, they may not recognize this as an opportunity. If they treat the goblins like any other person, offer them an out-of-game reminder. "Your whole family was killed by goblins. Might that affect the way that your character feels about goblins?" This kind of prompt should put your player in a position to respond in-character. As the player becomes more experienced with expressing themself, you can dial back the directness of your opportunities. Think of yourself as a teacher more than a GM; your goal is to train your players to engage with the game. (That's where the fun comes from.)
But then, perhaps your player knows how to express themself but isn't in tune with your campaign. Ideally, you can preempt this problem by building a party that all cares about the same kind of game. But if you are dealing with a divide in this area of the game, you're going to have to meet your player halfway. Short of kicking the player out of your game, your only remaining strong option is to create experiences in the game that appeal to that player. But don't only offer them what they want; also offer them opportunities to combine what they like with the kind of game you're trying to run. Don't worry about watering down your game by including some disparate elements--you may find your other players enjoy having a mix of elements. (There is always the chance that player interests will be opposed; if that's the case, do your best to offer the best of all the worlds involved. Directly address it with your party if there's an issue--an explicit conversation can resolve lots of problems in TRPGs.)
Once again, an example will make this easier to process. You're running a storytelling/roleplaying campaign, and you have a player who's interested in combat primarily; they want to feel like a heroic badass. You respond in two ways (both, not just one or the other): give them some of what they want and some of what you want mixed in. When you notice the combat-oriented player beginning to tune out, throw in a brief encounter. And while you're running the encounter, lean into the story of it. If the encounter you've chosen is the above example about the goblins, have the goblins be very vocal and directly address your combat-oriented player. Perhaps they recognize this player character as a combat threat and team up on them--now the player needs to roleplay asking for help and speaking with the goblins. This is only a minor exercise in roleplaying, but it gets the player more comfortable with the process. Then you can continue the mini-story about the goblins for your players, and the combat-oriented player is very much at the heart of that story.
But if your player both knows how to express themself and is in tune with the game you're running, you're probably dealing with a player who doesn't recognize their own agency in the game. This is perhaps the most challenging problem, because it means you essentially need to convey the entire concept of TRPGs to the player in a practical way. This can actually be a common issue with beginning players. I cannot count the amount of times that I have taught people to play who struggle the first few sessions with the extent to which their actions have meaning. But there is a relatively simple way to fix this problem, and it involves testing that player's character in game.
The first step is an out-of-game conversation. This can be simple or in-depth, depending on your needs. A player who generally understands TRPGs but who is a bit too hesitant to take meaningful actions (or recognize the capacity they have to make choices) can be addressed with a direct reminder that the gameworld is realistic and responsive; if they do something, it will have consequences. Push them to try being bolder with their character actions. Usually, people will respond by pushing the envelope, which teaches them the true limits of their agency. Or you might have to have a larger conversation if TRPGs are a concept that the player is struggling with. Give them your best description of how much power they have as characters in the world--stress that they can do anything at all--and invite them to push the envelope. And then follow it up with step two: testing them in-game.
Just as we have met our players halfway in each of these examples, we are now meeting our players in a liminal, strange place. The basis of the in-game test is this: if the player character were placed in a dramatic situation, would they react in a way that shows they grasp the full scope of a TRPG's freedom? Since this is usually a problem that confronts beginning players, you want to be gentle with the test. Here's a simple example that would work for most players: the player character in question is approached by someone. This person identifies themselves as an inventor and an entrepreneur and wants a small investment to create a specific device. (For Listen Check, I ran this with an inventor who had developed furniture which could both change forms and shrink to the size of a book, and the players really got into it, each investing money.) But then, unlike how it played out in the podcast, the inventor begins asking personal questions of the player. Now the player has to decide between investing in an obviously good idea and dealing with the invasive questions. The inventor's motives are difficult to discern. It's unlikely your player will simply invest or simply walk away. If the player character seems about to abandon the conversation, have the inventor change tactics and try desperately to keep talking to the player character. (Have the inventor primarily interested in the struggling player and ignore the rest of the party, which places further suspicion on their connection with the player character.) There doesn't need to be a major ending note--it can just be a strange moment with an NPC--but it will jar your player a bit into acting in specific ways that are hopefully both in-character and illustrative of more than a binary choice.
If your player "fails" this test, by which I mean they do not take much more ownership of the game than previously, don't give up. Create situations which are character-specific. Some scenario you can create will eventually teach your player that they can make differences in the game as they see fit. If you have a trusty and experienced player who the struggling player gets along with, privately ask the experienced player to help the struggling player. Have the experienced player talk to the struggling player in-game, pushing them to become richer and more motivated in their portrayal of their character.
This has addressed players who have specific disconnections with the game, but there's always a chance that your players still haven't found their fun. For situations where people just aren't into the game, you have two main strategies. First, and perhaps most easily, you can have an out-of-game conversation with your players. It won't spoil the fun or break the reality of your game to talk about it from this perspective. Ask them if they feel driven by the story, which characters they like the most, what ideas they would like to see come up in-game, specifically what experiences they want. (You might do this at the beginning of the game to build a campaign out of player suggestions, but it's not a bad idea to revisit these questions mid-campaign.) Then get to work, since you'll have a better idea of how to reach your players.
But if talking it out doesn't work, you can still mix things up as GM. Use what you know about your players to create stories that appeal to them. Recognize the combat strategies they like and create encounters that make them change strategies. Take the moments and NPCs that your players respond to most and reorient the story around them. Never be afraid to rewrite--a customized story that responds to the players will always be more interesting and enjoyable than a static adventure. And most importantly of all: never give up on your players. If you can't get them invested with your best efforts, try something else. It is my deeply-held belief that literally everyone would enjoy a TRPG given the right focus and party; you just need to get yourself in tune with them. Remember that from your perspective, the player might be struggling, but that from the player's perspective, the game itself is struggling. You are collaborating with your players, so hold up your end of the bargain.
A final suggestion about finding your fun: if you're really in a dead end, mix up the type of game. There are hundreds of TRPGs, and one of them is bound to strike the right balance. Maybe you just need a break from your favorite system. If you don't want to learn a whole new system but you do want to mix things up a bit, try out my Cats one-shot or my Con Air one-shot. They're simple and easy to pick up, and trying them out may strike a chord with your struggling players. Just don't give up on your players or on TRPGs. There's always fun to find.
That's all for now. Coming soon: what works when telling a grand story (and what doesn't), how to develop player character businesses, and my variant rules for gods in D&D. Until next time, happy gaming!
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