How long are your gaming sessions?

[aramis erak]

When I was a kid they often went 6-8 hours or even more, but as an adult who has time for that?

Me, my wife... anybody else on disability, or many retirees...

 

[MNblockhead]

My games are scheduled for 8 hours. We usually play for over seven hours. Sometimes we go a bit over 8 hours.

 

[MNblockhead]

When I was a kid they often went 6-8 hours or even more, but as an adult who has time for that?

Depends on your lifestyle and work.

I have a very demanding job. I'm away from home more often than I'm at home. I put in a full days work at the office and frequently have to spend hours in the evening communicating with colleagues and vendors in other time zones. It is really, really difficult for me to schedule a regular session on a weekly or biweekly basis regardless of the session duration.

But I can almost always find a Saturday once a month when I'm abroad, by myself, away from family. So what I started doing years ago is that I would schedule an 8 hour gaming session on a Saturday. Then, at the end of that session my players and I would go over our calendars and schedule for a Saturday for the next month. It may sound like a recipe for a campaign destined to fall apart, but I'm wrapping up a campaign this Saturday that has run for five years (started in November 2018) and have been playing with mostly the same group of players since early 2014.

For me and many of my playes the issue is less find a long enough slot and much more being able to commit to a regular schedule. But we've been able to manage to find a Saturday, once a month, for years, rarely with someone being unable to make it.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

I GM online, and usually do weekly 4 hour sessions.

 

[pogre]

My online game sessions (over zoom) are 3 hours.
My in-person game sessions (different group) are about 5 hours.

Both games meet every 3 to 5 weeks (averaging about once a month).

The average between these is 4 hours - so that is what I chose. Sometimes the in-person games vary in length from as little as 3 hours to as much as 6 (the lower end being more common than the high end).

I find running and playing online to be much more exhausting than running in person for some reason.

Ditto. Except I dropped the online game. I began dreading the exhaustion.

 

[TheHand]

I’m part of both live and online groups. In live play we usually average around 6 hours, but only get to play once a month if we’re lucky. When online we typically only run 2 hour sessions, but usually play much more frequently. Its funny that for me, a 6 hour live game can feel “short”, but going past 2 hours online starts to really drag.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Not long enough godammit! 2.5 hours every two weeks if we're lucky! I am very frustrated by it.

4 to 5 hours every two weeks is where I want to be.

 

[el-remmen]

For me and many of my playe[r]s the issue is less find a long enough slot and much more being able to commit to a regular schedule. But we've been able to manage to find a Saturday, once a month, for years, rarely with someone being unable to make it.

That's me and my group too. We choose the date of the next session at the end of the current one. We only get to play about once a month, but in nearly 4 years we've only had 3 sessions in which someone missed (not including a couple of sessions that straight up had to be cancelled or rescheduled due to DM illness)

 

[Krachek]

One game 2 hours weekly,
one game 4 hours, once by two weeks.

 

[Corinnguard]

My group typically gets together on Discord and the Tabletop Simulator every Monday night, and plays on average about 2-3 hours.