The Art of the Ref



In exercise terminology, the Referee is the Facilitator with a touch of Controller. The Ref is the person who guides the flow and focus of the discussion. In a broader sense, the Referee here plays the role of a referee in any venue: to guide the game.

Each player has a character – or maybe more than one – but the Referee gives life to a couple dozen. Refs are clock watchers, narrators, prop masters, and the embodiment of central casting. Strong organizational skills and Multiple Personality Disorder are helpful.

The primary job of the Ref is to keep the action moving and make sure everyone operates inside the laws (of physics). The Ref has the final say on how an event transpires. If there is a glitch in the system, unlike real life, they can apply common sense to overrule the obvious error.

The rest of the players rely on the Ref's descriptions to make their decisions. In fact, the most critical trait for the Ref is impartiality. That can be more difficult than you might imagine – the Ref position has an inherent conflict of interest.

During average game play, the Ref will play the antagonists to the players' protagonists. It's human nature for players to become protective of their characters and the Ref is no different. Avoid this.

A Place for Player vs Player
For advanced role players, to lessen possibility of Referee partiality, the Ref may want to adapt a scenario to have another player fill the shoes of the "bad guys." A little dedicated "VS." action can be a learning experience all the way around.

Reffing as a Relay Race
Like term limits, we recommend players cycle through Ref duty as the group plays through different scenarios. This will keep fair play alive. In fact, as the sessions progress, and each player hands off the baton, a great deal of refereeing style can be learned from each other.

You're a Natural!
On the other hand... If one person is a natural Ref (a great story teller and impartial judge), it might just fit the players' game play style for that person to be the full-time ref. These folk are few and far between – and even they get burnt out – so watch out for the warning signs.

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