Answer: Between my answer for day # 3 (How do you find out about new RPGs?) and my answer for the alternate question on day # 8 (What do you look for in a review of an RPG?), I feel I've covered this one pretty well. Well enough to pick another alternate question.
Answer: I don't know if there's a good answer for this other than, it depends. It depends on the game. It depends on the people you're playing with. And it depends on what your idea of "the most" is. A good, standard answer might be: it would take me a dozen sessions with a regular group to learn to get the most out of a game. That might sound like a lot, but here's how I figure it. Twelve sessions works out to be one bi-weekly session over almost six months, or a full year of playing once a month. That could work out to two smaller campaigns, or one more epic one.
In the first six games you'll likely still be settling into the rules, players figuring out how and when to use their abilities, GMs trying to determine the best way to adjudicate the mechanics without bogging down play, etc. By the next half-dozen sessions everyone should be comfortable with gears of the game, at least enough not to think of them most of the time. By that point, with the rules under their belts, GMs can make better world building decisions based on their experience with what works and what doesn't.
To me, getting the most out of the game is being comfortable enough with the rules where they feel invisible so you can concentrate on the unique experience of playing that specific game. I think it takes time to develop that facility, and I don't know if people have that kind of time anymore. Certainly not if they're playing in several other games at the same time.
Part of me wonders if players (and GMs) today get a chance to spend the time with games that it takes to truly master them. We have so many more entertainment outlets vying for our time that it's hard to find a group equally dedicated to a game. Maybe it's just me.
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