White Box is packed with freedom of choice. It has been said that "less is more" and the fact that the original game texts can be a tad sparse lends great power and freedom to the referee and ultimately to the players. The 3 LBBs are empowering to referees and empowering to players. The gaming concept introduced in White Box continues to encourage the exercise of that freedom.
Any game that presents the rules as written as guidelines or tools from which to choose and add to as desired is empowering. It may be overwhelming as White Box was to me upon first reading. There were too many new ideas, too many choices to make and too much left unsaid for me to immediately make the jump from traditional wargames to this new concept in adventure gaming. It took me and my friends months to figure out the enigma enough to start to play. I had to guess at parts and make some stuff up. It wasn't until years later that it occurred to me that is exactly what the authors intended - interpret, choose and create. Freedom!
As the hobby spread and I began talking to others who were also playing the new game, it became evident that there was more than one way to play White Box. The official word from TSR confirmed this and a discussion about "official play" styles circulated among the hobby. The by-product of making official rulings and interpretations is a reduction in the freedom players had to make things work the way they wanted it to.
Freedom means work and some players are more willing to put in a lot of work than others. Do we prefer to put in more work learning "official rules" or working it out for ourselves? Obviously I am a fan of the latter...although I also enjoy some "rules heavy" games such as Advanced Squad Leader. For the referee the work of White Box must include filling in and completing some sections so that play may proceed according to their preferences. One such choice involves combat - a central theme of the game as written, but one with obvious choices. It helps to work toward a goal. It helps for the referee to have it worked out in his/her mind the goals they would like to achieve with the game before hand. The desired milieu will shape many decisions. Experimentation can help discover what seems to work and what doesn't. Feedback from players can help the referee as well.
White Box gives power and agency to the referee through creative control. The referee must create an imaginary setting for the players to explore. In White Box this can be just about anything as long as the referee is willing to make adjustments in the suggested guidelines. The 3 LBBs include a number of suggestions for play, none of which are complete and ready to run out-of-the-box.
Player agency is evident in the almost infinite variety of characters it is possible to play with White Box. Where some may at first see the choices as limited, just three classes and four races, the lack of detail on the character sheet lets the imaginative player take the character concept in just about any direction. A Fighting Man need not be a knight in shining armor - although that is a definite trope one may play - rather any character who uses a weapon well can make a good Fighting Man. Archer, swashbuckler, adventuring minstrel, highwayman, anarchist, assassin/spy, or lots of other archetypes can be Fighting Men in the three class scheme. The rules only list six attributes with scores randomly determined, race and class, hit points and level/experience points. Anything else about the character is open to interpretation and therefore the player is free to imagine away.
My experience with the game has been that many characters start as some numbers and a name on an index card, but through play develop "character" and personality. It can be fun to discover who the character is as the player makes in-game decisions during play. I have watched players reveal aspects of the character that were surprising and significant. What motivates the character? What are their personal goals? What lengths will they go to to achieve them? I have seen characters evolve during play as in-game events shape and mold their "personalities". Many players bring their character "to life" through creative play, while other characters seem to remain fairly unknown. The freedom of choice is there to play your character as you will.
As we move towards this new year I see great potential in our hobby. Getting the game "just right" - the desire to improve continues to drive innovation forward. Whether it is the OSR working to re-imagine White Box or "new" games that push the play experience envelope beyond anything done before, game designers seem hard at work as evidenced by the number of new publications. The quest for a better game is either limitless or supremely elusive.
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