So I& #39;m here watching @DichotomusPrime talking about game design things → https://www.twitch.tv/dichotomusprime 

I">https://www.twitch.tv/dichotomu... heard him say "crunch" and there& #39;s a part of me that used to think that when people said "crunch" all they meant was "I want to do math with the math rocks!" /1

But hearing the word today felt different. I& #39;m pretty sure people have talked about this at length already so I& #39;m aware this is not new, but the way I& #39;m thinking about all of this is, so enjoy the ride.

Anyway, about my thought... /2

I used to think that crunch meant MATH, but I& #39;m starting to think about what that math lets someone do. The numbers mean *something*, but it& #39;s arbitrary at best. It& #39;s shorthand for something.

I think maybe it& #39;s shorthand for *planning*. /3

Because deep mechanics whether numbers or otherwise gives you the feeling of being in control; if I know how the numbers work, I can make the game do what I want to a specific detail in a tangible way.

Do we need math for that, tho? Like do we? /4

Do you need three types of armor values for that? Do you need 3 d12s for that? Maybe?

Is the control in the numbers or in the mechanics in which you could, for example, state "here& #39;s what they do, here& #39;s how you can combine them. You have 20 things to combine. Have fun!" /5

Hm. Hmmmmm. I don& #39;t know if this has one particular answer, but I& #39;m really enjoying that I can ask that question. /6