Metagaming

Metagaming:  For those who don't know the term, it is multifaceted, and can be complex.  In its basest form, Metagaming is cheating.  Metagaming is often taking out of game information and using it in game.  You the player have read every book printed by the ancient venerable and inscrutable masters, you know more than the average bear, hell you probably know more than the average DM.

Your character does not.  

When your storyteller starts describing the creature that just stepped out of the puddle of primordial ooze, with dripping fangs, a purple shaded hide of gnarly skin, and flashing scarlet eyes, some of your players will begin flipping through their character sheets after the prerequisite number of 'that creature is your mom jokes'; they will already preparing to fight the creature's weaknesses.  They've read every book cover to cover.  You were just trying to prepare a fun session, and now there is no exploration, there's no mystery.
 

This is not OK.

If players want to waltz through the universe without any discovery, they should be playing Doom, with the god code on, not playing in the game you've worked so hard to prepare.  Its not cool, its not good sportsmanship.  It's not really gaming.  Sure, gaming can be broken down into well prepared math vs other hopefully well prepared math.  But gaming is so much  more than math.  We play to escape predictability, we play to escape the mundane, hopefully we don't play just to win.  Let me tell you that winning without struggle is boring, like DMV boring.  Its overcoming the enemy with teamwork, its about experiencing an amazing story, going home and dreaming about it.  That is why we game.

When you notice that your players are starting to break your game because of out of game knowledge, please stop them.  Pause the game, and tell them that it doesn't matter if  they know what they are fighting, the rest of the players may not.  Tell them that if a PC has a secret, but you know it out of game, don't arm wrestle them down with investigation checks, and bluff checks, and manipulation rolls, trying to get it out of them.  That's not fun.  Players that give up their information willingly are more likely to have fun.  If a player understands that you don't allow metagaming and still chooses to engage in that behavior, give them the choice, and kick them out if necessary.  They may have to sit out for a few sessions, trust me, they want to game more than they want to cheat. 

Remember that we play to play.

Sorry today's post is a little short.  I'm working on a free Shadowrun adventure that will be posted for anyone who wants to use it.  It should be up in a week or so.