Realistic Representations

I have written in the past about various ways to represent things that can't be done easily in real life, like picking a lock. In games where you need a skill to pick the lock, it might be better to use something that doesn't require the OOG skill to do it.

However, there are some circumstances where we tend to go to far when trying to find an alternate way to represent something, especially in modern or near modern games. And I think it's important to take a step back and ask yourself why you don't rep it in a realistic way.

In the Knutepunkt 2011 "DO" book, there's a description of a game called Babylon. The write up on this game is amazing. If you wanted to be a techno guy, they actually taught you how to do that before the game started. So when you had to solder something in the field while being shot at, you knew exactly how to do it.

And to rep soldering... you soldered a wire. Pretty novel, right?

I think we could use a bit more of this in the games we run. If you want someone to fix an electronic puzzle, put something simple together and have them mess with wires or solder something. The same could hold true for a number of other tests being made at games.

What are some of the most memorable tests you've had to perform? How realistic were they?