Flavours of crunch
Crunch is more complex than you think.
This article contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you make purchases using these links, at no cost to you.Phrases like ‘crunch vs rules lite’ get thrown around a fair bit. I think it’s too simple. There are different parts of a game to consider when thinking about ‘crunch’.
Resolution
The rough flow of RPG mechanics is often:
Question. “What happens when…”. We may use mechanics to help us answer.
Selection. Which mechanic do we use to help us?
Collection. Gather the information needed to use the mechanic.
Processing. That info gets put through the mechanic.
Outcome. The mechanic gives us information.
These can each be crunchy.
Question Crunch
Some rpgs aim to ask more complex questions. Instead of ‘if I try this does it work’ or ‘when 3 days pass what changes’, a game like Burning Wheel asks you ‘how strong is your character’s belief’.
Pros: It gets you thinking about aspects of a game you might not have before.
Cons: Having deeper questions forced by mechanics might feel odd, or you might not like those kinds of questions.
Selection Crunch
An rpg may have lots of different procedures for different situations e.g. Errant has specific procedures for managing estates and legal trials. This is found in simulationist games and also some OSR/NSR style designs.
Pros: Rules can be more tailored to situations, which can provide deeper immersion.
Cons: There are more rules to track, which can slow things down.
Collection Crunch
Collection crunch is found in games with lots of modifiers, stacks of pre-written abilities to pick from, and many factors to account for when taking action. This is the home of rpgs with ‘builds’ and very mechanised characters e.g. Pathfinder and some simulationist games like Harnmaster.
Pros: For some, this helps with immersion because it feels like the details matter for determining an outcome.
Cons: It means work, slowing stuff down, and bookkeeping.
Processing Crunch
Original Traveller had you use an equation to calculate travel times. That’s processing crunch, where taking collected information and getting an outcome is complex. It often goes hand in hand with collection crunch.
Pros: It can aid in simulationism, since it feels like the outcome is determined the ‘right’ way.
Cons: It means work, slowing stuff down, and bookkeeping.
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Outcome Crunch
In Harnmaster, an attack has a hit location, armour degradation, and potentially wounds, as opposed to just an HP damage value. For story games, games like Genesys, you might have a ‘success’, ‘triumph’, and ‘threat’ come up in a single roll.
Pros: You get more information about what happens, which can lift weight off you as a GM and add detail to the game.
Cons: It means work, slowing stuff down, and might also imply bookkeeping. It can also mean placing less precedent on GM rulings for outcomes (though you can always overrule the rules).
That’s it
Next time you think about or discuss crunch remember that there are different areas to consider. It might also help you understand better why you like the games you do and why others like the ones they do. It’s already helped me.
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I may spin this out into a response and follow up to my article on crunch, so thanks for continuing the conversation!
This is really interesting framing. I think whether you approach crunch from a bottom-up (setting first as experienced via ROLEPLAYING) or top-down (end-result as experienced via GAME) perspective definitely alters perception as to the value crunch can bring.
There are days when I like a lot of crunch and other days when I want rules lite. Especially with my solo game play. It amazes me how much crunch a designer can add to a game, such as Traveller. Makes my head spin sometimes but I still love it!