In the current year of 2026, and for many years prior, the gateway game into TTRPGing is, was, and has been, Dungeons and Dragons. It doesn’t matter if you like the game or not, if there are games you prefer over Dungeons and Dragons, it doesn’t matter how well built and conceived the original system or its additions are – Dungeons and Dragons currently rules the landscape. More than one gamer has wondered why this is the case, and not an insignificant number of gamers have wondered if they can recreate the metaphorical magic of Dungeons and Dragons. There are a number of elements that go into Gateway TTRPGs, or TTRPGs that introduce brand new players to the TTRPG scene.

Fantasy Genre

Far encompassing than the idea that a TTRPG must contain fantastical elements, a Gateway TTRPG MUST be of the Fantasy genre, first and foremost.

Not Science Fiction.

Not Cozy or Slice of Life.

Fantasy.

A system that does not provide a genre will put undue pressure on the GM who is introducing a potential gamer to TTRPGs and disqualify it instantly. For this reason alone, GURPS is not a good Gateway TTRPG.

Where Science Fiction typically says “here is a framework within everything is possible and if the science doesn’t support it, it can’t happen,” Fantasy says, “anything can happen at any time, so be prepared.” There are minimal expectations when the Fantasy genre is involved, and players are at the edges of their seats, waiting to be enraptured by stories that may present a world quite similar to or vastly different from our own.

Not Too Crunchy, Not Too Narrative

A lot of GMs make the assumption that games with any mathematics will result in new players not being interested in gaming. Even if this were the case, players should be introduced to games with medium-crunch… that is, games with some mathematics but not too much. This is another reason GURPS is not typically used as a Gateway TTRPG. Well-established games that meet this requirement are Pathfinder (2^nd Edition) and Dungeons and Dragons (5^th Edition).

In short, if you as a GM have to constantly refer to one or more books to uncover rules or confirm mathematics, it’s not a great game to use as a Gateway TTRPG.

On the other hand, a game with few rules or mathematical components isn’t ideal either. This is because purely narrative games are often akin to group storytelling. There’s nothing wrong with group storytelling, but if you are looking for a game, you are looking for challenges. Pushing the envelope for what is a game and what is communal storytelling may seem fun as a GM, but keep in mind, your target audience in this post is someone who has never played a TTRPG before. Maybe one day we will get a series of books on introducing babies and children to abstract narrative game concepts like there are books for introducing young ones to concepts like general relativity. Until then, medium-crunch medium-narrative.

Premade Content Provided

“Everyone loves homebrew!” says the average Game Master. “Who wouldn’t love a world tailored to their character and their friends? This is the best idea ever!”

When you are 20 pages deep into a document for a game that your players may not even enjoy, you may rethink that.

Premade content allows players to have a summary of what to expect in the game and it is the game creator’s way to provide guidance on the general game loop and some possibilities of how their game system can be run.

“B-but I can do that, too!” says the average GM.

Stop.

Allow the premade content to act as rails for the game system you’re attempting to teach. You can go off the rails and create side stories and side quests and whatever else your heart desires if you so choose it. Premade content gives you the guard rails needed on the shaky wooden plank bridge of player engagement over the raging river of player confusion.

If your new player(s) want to make new characters and experience a world of your own creation, you can definitely guide them after they’ve determined they enjoy the system.

60% Chance of Success

What, math again?

Yes, math again.

This time, it’s all about that big 6-0. Players who do not invest their character builds into a given skill or task should have a 60% chance of success. It has been proven in studies that when players are given a choice between a 50-50 game, a 40-60 game, and a game where success is nearly guaranteed, they will choose the 40-60 game again and again. There is also the concept of games that are 40-20-40, where 40% of the time you’re guaranteed a loss, 40% of the time you’re guaranteed a win, and 20% of the time it’s uncertain – these games perform extremely well as well.

Players want to feel like they have a chance of winning, of doing well, of succeeding. Leaving it to a coin flip is a gamble few are willing to take, and there’s no joy in consistently succeeding in what you’re trying to do.

Gateway TTRPGs…

… are hard to find, with these qualifiers. Pathfinder (2^nd Edition) gets awfully close, as does Dungeons and Dragons (5^th Edition), but neither are a perfect match. Know a game that exists that meets the above criteria? Feel free to share it in the comments!

Sources

• Abuhamdeh, S., Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Jalal, B. Enjoying the possibility of defeat: Outcome uncertainty, suspense, and intrinsic motivation. Motiv Emot 39, 1–10 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9425-2