The puzzle really shouldn’t be that difficult. They have all the clues. Heck, you saw them write them down. The players are all veteran problem-solvers. Your spouse figured it out during a commercial break. (Your kid was even faster, but don’t tell your spouse.)
But there they are, nearly an hour later, still futzing with it. They have now come up with so many wrong answers that they’ll never solve it. And you know they’ll just hate it when you give them the answer.
Crap, the night’s a total loss, and you’ll have to borrow Ed’s miniature for another week, because they are stuck.
We’ve all been there, watching the group spin their wheels as they try to solve what should be a fairly simple problem. It could be a riddle, a whodunit, or something else entirely, but they’re not getting any traction. Either they’re entirely over-thinking the situation, or someone has aggressively glommed on to an incorrect assumption, or some evil spirit has taken over your normally well-oiled machine. (A more modest GM might also entertain the possibility that he or she came up with a crappy puzzle.)
What to do?
Assuming that the players don’t want to just move on and forget about it, you pretty much have only two options. Obviously, you can let their wheels continue to spin. Eventually they’ll find the answer (for a given value of “eventually”). Or maybe they’ll choose poorly and die a horrible death. Or maybe they’ll accuse the Princess of the murder, and the entire campaign becomes a parody of a mockery of a farce.
Or you’ll have to buck up and help them out by providing some traction. Don’t fret about doing this; I resisted giving the answers for years, and missed out on what could have been some epic moments because of the unwritten rule of Don’t Help The Players.
“Wheelspin” happens to every group, for whatever reason. When it does come up, you should already know how long you’re going to let them spin, and what kind of help you’re going to give.
How Long?
I’ve found that my frustration with the group’s flailing makes minutes seem like hours, so a real clock is helpful for tracking the wheelspin. Before looking at the clock, recognize when the players lose traction, and how they lost it. It’s not much different from the ‘Hot and Cold Game’ we played as kids. Once they start getting cool, check the clock.
For minor puzzles, I usually let the wheels spin for about 5-10 minutes before I step in. Major puzzles get more time, but rarely more than 20 minutes. Your group’s attention span and frustration levels will definitely be a factor.
While extremely complicated puzzles can take more time to solve, especially if they’re the climactic moments of a campaign arc, remember that it’s the wheelspin that we’re tracking, not the total time spent solving the puzzle. Also, these are really rough estimates. When the pieces are all falling into place, except for that one minor clue, and the entire group starts restructuring the puzzle to fit that clue, it’s probably time to step in.
What Kind of Help?
My favorite technique for something like this is the Juror NPC. Basically, this is someone who helps identify and verify the pieces of the puzzle so the PCs can put it all together. But if the Sphinx isn’t willing to wait for the party to have a consultation, you might need another approach.
Hints can be useful, but remember that you misjudged the group initially, and your hints may be equally off-target. Or they could point the group into a general direction, and they’ll still get partial credit.
Direct discussion is handy, but a word of caution. Players are smart enough to sometimes play dumb and let you gloat your way to giving them the solution. I prefer to play the part of the Juror NPC above, and question their assumptions (especially the questionable ones), and let them do the heavy lifting. Hey, if it worked for Socrates…
Ultimately, you may have to resort to the dreaded clue-by-four. Remember, it’s an act of mercy.
Regardless of which kind of assistance you provide, use the time they’re spinning their wheels productively. Find a way to phrase your question or hint, so as to redirect them with a minimal amount of interference. Because the more you do, the less satisfaction they get.
Have you watched the dreaded wheelspin? Got any horror stories or words of advice to share? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
I know that as a player, this one drives me nuts. There’s almost nothing I hate more than being stuck and not getting any direction from the GM. I like feeling like I’m clever and figured out the mystery or the riddle or the puzzle, but if it’s obvious the players and the GM aren’t on the same wavelength, we need a little help.
Usually I’ll point out to the GM that the character might be more knowledgeable about something than the player is and get a little help coming from that route.
As a GM, because I get frustrated with this as a player, I’m usually trying hard to make sure the players have the info in a way they understand. Too often we think in different ways and assume something easy for one person is going to be easy for another. Our brains just don’t work that way. 🙂
Usually I try to err on the side of too easy rather than too hard when crafting puzzles/riddles. I award bonus XP if players are able to solve the puzzle/riddle on their own, but if after ~10 minutes (and a hint or two) they don’t appear to be making any progress or aren’t even close I’ll usually just give them the answer, describe how long it took the characters to come up with a solution and let the game continue.
No matter how clever or interesting I may think the puzzle/riddle I’ve introduced may be, it just isn’t worth seeing the game come to a screeching halt for an extended period of time if the players just aren’t getting it. YMMV.
I find that re-addressing all the KNOWN facts is usually enough to push things along. Make sure to point out the things the characters know vs the things they’re assuming. I try not to build in any bottlenecks so typically a quick run down is all that’s needed… And if there’s a GMPC (not in a bad way) handy to do it all in character, then so much the better.
One head meets desk moment for me was when the GM decided to use higher level math as the basis for a puzzle to be solved in the game and the only player capabable of solving the math wasn’t really getting enough clear clues from the GM to be able to do so.
Not only was it a challenge relying on real world player mathmatics knowledge (not character ability or knowledge) but it was absurdly drawn out over a two-hour period even though it was quite obvious none of us was going to be able to solve it anytime before the next solar eclipse.
Bad design. Bad execution. Just no fun at all.
I’ve seen puzzles from both sides and the thing that is so important is clarity. For example, identifying whether it’s the player or character who is supposed to solve the puzzle is critical. Many good roleplayers will impose their own limits–if their Int 8 fighter wouldn’t solve the puzzle, they won’t solve it in character. Make sure that your players aren’t handicapping themselves.
Absolutely. We’re playing games that are basically nothing but words. Clear communication is of the utmost importance.
The challenge I have with my long term group is that they routinely over-analyze problems. They obsess over minutiae and assume that a perfect answer– and only a perfect answer– must be discernable from the basic clues. This predictably results in them getting stuck on Square One of solving the puzzle as they chase their tails instead of making headway toward an answer.
I’ve been handling this problem by taking the role of coach. When I see that they’re spinning their wheels instead of getting traction on the problem I’ll prompt them with a suggestion. Sometimes it’s keyed to a character’s abilities, like, “Do you think there’s a spell in your divination school that could provide insight on how dangerous the cave troll is?” Other times it’s a general suggestion for the table, such as, “Instead of just debating 3 different ideas for how to cross this swift river, do you think you could try a small experiment that’s reasonably safe?”
I’m curious if folks here have other ideas for how to help this group.