Keeping all players satisfied... all the time

Obviously, the topic title is an exaggeration - it's impossible to keep all players engaged and on the edge of their seats all the time (at least, I think it's impossible). However, it is my firm belief that every DM should strive to keep the players' attention focused as much as possible.

Unfortunately, since players are usually a pretty diverse bunch - even within the same group - keeping one player happy often means that some other player is not happy, because the two are interested in completely different things (storytelling vs powergaming, method acting vs kick in the door, puzzle solving vs exploration, and so on).

While the group remains together, this problem is not so apparent, since the party dynamic usually overrides individual desires, particularly in conflict situations (different players may have different approaches to conflict resolution, but the goal remains the same).

But, when one player decides that his character wants to do something on his own, the party dynamic... ceases to exist. Thus, I'm starting this thread in hope of learning new and innovative techniques that people are using in their games to keep all players engaged and focused during "one on one" parts of the game. I'll start with a few simple techniques:

1. Keep everybody in the same room. Nothing breaks the game like telling the player to come with you to the kitchen for a 15-minute sub-session while the other players die of boredom in the living room. Even worse is kicking the rest of the players out of the room while you and the player in question remain.

If your players are mature enough, you may as well hold the entire conversation, or plot, or whatever in front of them, since you are certain that they can separate meta-game knowledge from in-game knowledge (perhaps with a gentle reminder).

If the players are not so mature, or if the topic is particularly hot, I usually still hold most of the encounter in front of the others, and then separate the player in question for a few brief moments, or write a note containing confidential info.

By keeping everybody together, you will pique the other players' interest in the encounter, even if their characters actually don't have anything to do with it.

2. Ban/restrict cell phones and portable game consoles. Don't let players play with their gadgets, because this is ruinous to the game flow. This seems pretty obvious, but in this day and age, it bears repeating.

3. Try to turn one-on-one encounters into group encounters. Have other player character stumble upon their comrade (if appropriate) - maybe they will have something substantial to add to his solo encounter. This also creates tension, and tension is (almost always) good. Also, if two players want to go see the same NPC, gently nudge them to go at the same time, if at all possible.

4. Never spend too much time on one player. 10 minutes seems to be OK, in the sense that most (non-ADD) players will be able to suppress their session-breaking urges for that long. If you are absolutely certain that everybody is paying close attention to the game, you may extend this time a bit, particularly if you can't reach an appropriate cut-off point, but it's better to switch to another player or group in the middle of a conversation (and break that conversation) than break an entire session.

5. Alternate between different player types. By all that is unholy, never, ever switch from one method actor to another, unless you potentially want to lose the group for good. Switch from method actor to butt-kicker, then to storyteller, then to specialist, then to powergamer... this ensures that the whole experience does not become repetitive. Repetitive = recipe for disaster.

I can't think of any other techniques at the moment (I may have more, but I must be using them on a sub-conscious level). I'd love to hear other people's experiences and suggestions!

One of my players, who is our "other" DM, complimented me on something I hadn't noticed I was doing, but which he observed:

I've been switching the "camera focus" to the character of whichever player seems least interested in the game at the time: describing the scene through their character's eyes, tossing them a piece of information which only their character has noticed, getting eye contact or calling them out by character name and asking what they do, introducing (or re-introducing) an NPC who wants to talk to them, etc.

One thing that works is stopping right before a fight or some other tense situation and cutting to someone else. If that other PC gets into a fight you can run them both at the same time.

When appropriate, take individual "adventures" off-line from the game session. I used to have some players who liked to spend lots of solo time on their city trips. They wanted to haggle with merchants, hear rumors being spread in bars, gather information etc. that bored other players to tears. When it made sense, I would do that between sessions, sometimes in person, occasionally by phone, but usually by e-mail.

One thing it took me a LONG time to figure out (or at least, to puzzle out specifics).

Players may get something out of the game that no-one else even notices or cares about. See if you can enable that. I know that sounds weird, but....

One of my players seemed disinterested on some nights. She was our 'newest' gamer, with the least experience. It turns out I was giving her too little to do. She wasn't bored by the game, but she wasn't always mentally challenged by it.

Now, I give her maps (if they are reasonably available, like we have a guide to a known area) and she details all sorts of stuff on them. If not, she draws maps. She tracks the "party loot", the stuff that is shared between characters, and she also uses a LOT of consumable items (thrown alchemical items, etc). She also has Wall-walkers, which let her use her movement in different and unusual ways.

By trying to make the game easier to understand for her, I actually was making it more boring. Other players are coming in from work, and don't really want that much mental exercise.

In addition, she has set goals for her character that are both realistic in roleplaying, and tactical challenges. She's never run out of surges. She's never made a Death check. She was overjoyed at making it through one encounter without even taking damage. It's not that she's not contributing (that encounter with no damage? She dealt the death blow to every monster in it). The character is the least "Heroic" of the heroes, so it makes sense for her to be less willing to risk life and limb. But really, she's doing this to set herself another challenge. It's like a videogamer playing on Hard, or trying to get a perfect score.

Those things don't have to reduce anyone else's fun, but they sure can boost her fun. Pay attention to the quirks of each of your players. Is there something they really liked, that you didn't think they would care about? Is there something you thought would go over like gangbusters that they didn't get excited about. Hopefully, you can customize the game just a little bit for each of them.

Sammael said:

2. Ban/restrict cell phones and portable game consoles. Don't let players play with their gadgets, because this is ruinous to the game flow. This seems pretty obvious, but in this day and age, it bears repeating.

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This couldn't be more vital. I have successfully done it in one group but the other refuses to turn the ing things off. It has become a major irritant to me (the DM) to point that I don't really enjoy running the game.