80% Rule: Are you a DM or player

[UnknownAtThisTime]

This is poll number two on "topics I am merely curious about":

Regarding 4E, do you, dear ENWorld reader, spend your game time as a DM, as a Player, or a mix of the two?

Here is the decision map:

1) I DM 80% or more of the time I play 4E
2) I am a PC 80% or more of the time I play 4E
3) I both DM and play, and neither make up more than 80% of my time spent playing.

 

[Mengu]

I'm usually involved in two games, running one, and playing in one. I also play LFR, but the frequency depends on the seasons, the wind, and the phase of the moon. I'm probably 40% DM 60% Player when you look at hours of play. But if you look at the time split adding how much I spend preparing, it's probably the other way around 60/40.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Haven't really had much chance to PLAY 4e, lol. I seem to be the one and only 4e DM around this area.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I am definitely more than 80%, probably more like 95%+

I run a lot of game,s mostly on Yahoogroups, and play in two there.
I currently DM my face-to-face group, and have since Dark Sun came out.

 

[Plaguedguy]

I have always been the Dungeon Master, Game Master, Storyteller, Referee, etc.

I love the chance to tell a story, direct the action (somewhat) and entertain people and I've been fortunate to thus far have found many gamers that enjoy my style and approach.

 

[Aegeri]

I have not played a single game of 4E since release, but I have ran about six campaigns now (of various levels, 2 to epic tier though). One day I might get to play it :O

 

[mac1504]

In the group I've been playing with for nearly 10 years, I've run two long running campaigns; a Midnight 3.5e campaign that ran for 2.5 years, a 4e campaign that we hope to wrap up in a few months that will have run for 3 years, and a very short lived campaign that only ran a little over a year (home brew). So, I think that puts me at about 70-75%.

I still went with option A.

 

[Mummolus]

I've spent about an equal amount of time playing and DM'ing - another player and I basically split DM duties on a campaign and now we're each running our own solo.

 

[Blue]

I'm taking "game time" as time at the table, under the (possibly mistaken) thought that if the poll meant total time, it would just say "time", not "game time".

If I add in prep time it would double my DMing hours, though that would put me like 70/30 so still in the mixed category.

If I add in world and plot building for a new campaign for when my current one ends, but isn't running yet so it has no table time, that would easily push it over 80% as DM.

 

[UnknownAtThisTime]

80 votes: enough, I think, to draw some conclusions.

The results so far are about what I expected. Given the nature of discussion here at ENWorld, I assumed there would be roughly 10% of posters that consider themselves strictly Players based on my definition. Right now it is 15%. It is not unnatural the the people "running" the games are the people most interested in "talking about them".

However, in the "real world" of D&D play, the ratio is likely inversed: for every DM there is perhaps 3 or 4 exclusive players. This should illustrate that, sometimes at least, our points of view on any number of topics may be vocal "here", but the minority "out there".

Thanks to all that participated in answering a question about which I was curious.