I’ve touched on this subject here on TT, but it’s never resolved itself this clearly for me.
Being a player is a lot like using a flashlight: You can see things in front of you, and maybe a bit to the sides, very well. On the edges, things are pretty indistinct. Further away (and behind you), you can’t see anything at all.
In other words, what seems clear to you as the GM may not fall under the players’ collective flashlight beam. They might be seeing it indistinctly, at the edge of their cone of light — or it might be behind them, effectively invisible.
When you GM, the key is to put as much fun, important stuff as possible in the flashlight beam. You should also leave some interesting stuff outside the light, in case the players turn in that direction.
That is actually a pretty good analogy. Never really saw it like that, but never-the-less true. Will keep it in mind, thanks.
My group does write ups covering the game for posting on the web page, games are sometimes weeks apart, so a review is handy.
Lately we have been including a “Things to remember” section covering new information learned and lingering plot lines, this might be usefull for clueing in a GM what clues the players din’t catch pick up.
Good point– it’s often hard to tell what you’ve successfully transmitted. If your players talk around you between sessions, sometimes you’ll figure out what clues they’ve decoded.
maikeru: That was pretty much my experience with it — “Hey, this sounds about right!”
Spleen23: If you’ve got a group that can maintain that level of organization through an entire campaign, this problem can fade into the background almost entirely. That rocks. 🙂
Scott: Those discussions can also be a great source of ideas for future sessions, too.