D&D General How long should an after work online gaming session be ideally?

[Burnside]

In terms of weeknights, I have a weekly Tuesday night online game that runs 7pm-9pm and a game that plays online every other Monday night from 8pm-10pm. I also have another game that plays monthly in-person for 3 hours, and another that's monthly in person for 4 hours. I also do one-shots (both in person and online) and quarterly larger multi-table events.

The weekly 2-hour online game has been going on for 4 years and works really well at that length and frequency, despite the fact that there are now 9 players in it.

The one that only plays every other week (5 players) sometimes feels a little more disjointed, but tbh I think that's because it's every other week, not because it's two hours long.

I think my situation is different because I'm a pro DM and at any given time I'm running at least 4 ongoing campaigns plus one-shots and events. If my only game was a two-hour game once a week, I think I'd want more time. But as it is, 2 hours feels totally fine. 4 hours for an online game every week would be too much for me. I used to have a monthly 4-hour online campaign and that was fine.

 

[billd91]

We do 3 hour weekly games on weeknights. It seems to be about what we can fit in and manage between getting home from work, eating some food, and falling asleep.

 

[jgsugden]

2 to 6 hours depending upon the group and situation. Whatever works for everyone.

In my current Wednesday night online game (in which I am a player) we start at my 10 PM (7 PM for West Coast players) and play 2.5 to 3 hours. By the end, some of the West Coasters are fading and falling asleep at the table. Combined with the distractions of having a family constantly bothering the people in their 7 PM situation, it can get rough to stay on game. Some nights we go 2 hours or less.

In my in person game, I don't like to travel unless we'll get at least 3.5 hours to play - especially when I DM and am bringing materials (such as at a game store game). I prefer to be prepared to run things regardless of what the PCs decide, so I bring a big setup that allows me to improvise with maps, figures, etc... for a wide range of possibilities. If I put together my kit and then go to a game and it either starts late, ends early or gets a last minute no-show cancellation I am frustrated. I am a big fan of cliff-hanger endings to make sure I know what the opening beats of the next session will be (and to give PCs a bit of time to think through their next actions - and to foster engagement) ... and it is hard to wrap the cliff hanger and set up the next if the session is too short.

I played in one group that ran 6 hours twice a week on weeknights. 6 to midnight. We had one summer together before people were going to be going their own ways and we wanted to run one more campaign. We added a couple long weekend sessions and took the (3E) characters to above 20th level over that summer. Life was simpler back in the early 2000s and I devoted more of my life to the game. We felt the pressure of the impending split which gave the game additional focus and intensity. For a couple of the players, it was the last D&D they've played.

All in all, my preference for a weeknight game is 4 hours.

 

[Stalker0]

I feel like 4 hours is the sweet spot no matter what kind of game format I run

 

[LordEntrails]

Week night, 2 hours. Sometimes we hang on for 2.5 hours, but that's pretty much it. If we didn't play weekly, it might not be the right length or we might spend too much time remembering where we were. I'll also say that I think it depends on what online tool you use. For instance, using Skype and a web cam on a map table is going to be very different than using Fantasy Grounds with all of its automation. We use FG and can stop/start in the middle of battle if we need to.

 

[Deset Gled]

My group currently has a sweet spot of around 2 hours, but we don't start until about 9PM due to life obligations (mostly kids). We could probably do 3 hours if we started earlier, but that's not feasible right now.

 

[Umbran]

My weeknight games, online or in person, usually have about 3 hours of actual gaming.

 

[el-remmen]

As some others have said, I find online gaming (esp. DMing) to be more mentally and physically taxing than an in-person game. As such, whether it is weeknight or weekday, 3 hours is about my max (and we still need a 5 to 10 minute break in there). When playing during the week we usually do 7:30 to 10:30 (these can be online or in person depending on my in-person group's needs). When we do our usual weekend meeting every 3 to 5 weeks, those are in person and 4 to 5 hours. My wholly remote group plays 3 hours from 11 am to 2 pm because we have one person who is six hours ahead in Milan and one person who is three hours behind in Los Angeles.

 

[TheSword]

Wow, interesting that you folks start much later than I would be going to. No way I’d ever get even close to midnight. Interesting that they are all more substantial sessions too and starting later.

If I wanted to get a longer session I think I’d need to bring earlier and try and start at 6:30. Though then you’re butting up against work.

 

[Burnside]

Wow, interesting that you folks start much later than I would be going to. No way I’d ever get even close to midnight. Interesting that they are all more substantial sessions too and starting later.

If I wanted to get a longer session I think I’d need to bring earlier and try and start at 6:30. Though then you’re butting up against work.

"After the kids are in bed" is often the only viable option for a lot of parents to start a session.