Session Zero

Session zero started as a role-playing game term for the meeting before the first adventure, where the group agrees on tone, what’s off-limits, and how much time everyone’s actually committing to. It’s spread to the wider hobby because the same problem shows up everywhere: people sit down to play without ever agreeing on what kind of night they’re having.

For a family or casual group, session zero can be two minutes, not a formal ritual — is table talk allowed, is this a “play to win” game or a “play to laugh” game, does anyone need a lower sensory level tonight. Skipping it is how you end up with one person quietly furious that someone else was “too competitive” for a game nobody agreed had stakes. A minute of talking first usually saves the whole evening.