Editing Unwritten: System Reference Document/Starting a Game (section)

===Declare Preferences===
Go around the table and ask each person to describe what they want to do in the game.

Everyone is likely to have something that they want to do. It may be as general as a category of activity (solving puzzles, exploring new places, etc.) or something more specific (exploring the limits of what is possible with the Art of Writing, preventing greedy explorers from exploiting native populations, etc).

GMs, don’t forget that you are a part of this process. Declare the sorts of things that you want the game to be about and what challenges you want to present to the players.

Now, go around the table again and declare what they do not want to do.

This is the place where people at the table can throw up their red flags. There may be elements that particular players find offensive or stressful. Or, there may be things that people just don’t like dealing with, feel have been done too often, or give the game a tone they would rather avoid for this particular game.

What is important to remember here is that no one has to justify what they do not want in the game unless they want to volunteer that information. The purpose of this question is to ensure that everyone has a game that they will enjoy, not put people on the defensive for their preferences.