How Often Do You Cancel Sessions?

[Retreater]

Another evening with yet another game cancellation has got me wondering: do others cancel the game as often as my group does?

We strive for a weekly game. This month, 3 out of 4 sessions have been cancelled. Most of them without so much as eight hours notice. (One of them was cancelled without anyone telling me at all.)

Since I joined the group in December, we've had 13 scheduled sessions. All except maybe 4 have been cancelled.

As I'm not the host or DM of the group, I have no control over how regularly we play. I know only that I make plans to attend repeatedly and more than 70% of the time we don't actually game.

Retreater

 

[Kingreaper]

To me, that sounds like an unnacceptable rate of cancelations.
The lack of notice happens. Sometimes it's hard to predict certain problems.

In the past I've had it reach 2, and once 3, weeks out of 4 not gaming, and that has generally resulted in someone, generally the least reliable person, being dropped from the group and/or a change of DM.

At present we skip the weekly game maybe.... once every two months? But that's including planned events. Actual cancellations are rarer

How many people are in your group?

 

[the Jester]

I think we have canceled twice in the last year, but we only average 1 game/2 weeks due to travel distances.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

How often do you cancel sessions?

I generally only need to cancel them once.

 

[Dausuul]

Another evening with yet another game cancellation has got me wondering: do others cancel the game as often as my group does?

We strive for a weekly game. This month, 3 out of 4 sessions have been cancelled. Most of them without so much as eight hours notice. (One of them was cancelled without anyone telling me at all.)

Since I joined the group in December, we've had 13 scheduled sessions. All except maybe 4 have been cancelled.

As I'm not the host or DM of the group, I have no control over how regularly we play. I know only that I make plans to attend repeatedly and more than 70% of the time we don't actually game.

Retreater

That sucks, man. Our group has a hell of a time finding days when we can assemble a quorum of players (our rule is, if 4 out of 6 players plus the DM can make it, game on), but once we do set a date, cancellations are very rare. For the most part, the only thing that results in a canceled game is if the DM is too sick to run.

 

[delericho]

We strive for a weekly game. This month, 3 out of 4 sessions have been cancelled.

This sounds like one of my groups. We strive for weekly games, but since we came back from our summer break, we have actually managed to meet twice.

In the case of my group, it's due to low numbers - there are four of us, so if any one can't make it, we cancel. Most weeks, at least one of us is busy. (It doesn't help that we meet on Saturdays; unfortunately, my commute is such that weekdays just don't work.)

The truth is, though, that I think that group has played itself out; it's only sentiment that keeps me from putting it out to pasture.

For your group, if you are serious about gaming, and if you have at least five people, I would institute a policy that if any four of you can gather, the game is on regardless. Even if the DM can't make it, you still play, whether it's a one-off, a parallel campaign, or a board/video/minis game.

(One of them was cancelled without anyone telling me at all.)

That is simply unacceptable. In this day and age, we all have easy access to modern technology. Whether it's a telephone call, an SMS message, an email, a private message, or something, if someone can't make it to the game, they should damn well make sure to inform the rest of the group. If the game is cancelled, both the DM and the host should make sure to let everyone know - duplicate messages are better than no message at all.

(As with all such rules, there are inevitably exceptions. If your children are rushed to hospital, of course the last thing on your mind will be cancelling the game! However, in 95+% of cases, that just doesn't apply. In 95+%, there is just no excuse for not letting people know.)

 

[pawsplay]

IME, in a weekly game with grownups, cancelling three of four sessions in a month is not that unusual. It is really nice when I can get together at least 3 of 4 instead.

 

[Ranes]

I've been on the receiving end of more cancelled game sessions that I would have liked and I know it's not fun. I've got a pretty good record of not cancelling and not missing sessions. The worst exception to that record is about fifteen or sixteen years ago. I was invited to DM for a very high profile game industry person-who-shall-remain-nameless and our mutual colleagues and friends. I actually arrived at his house early. In fact, no one else was there.

As it happened, this person had several stables on the premises and I bumped into a beautiful young woman who worked there as a groom. I had time to spare and it was clearly a case of lust at first sight. I also just happened to know that there was a really picturesque inn a short walk away through woods at the edge of my host's grounds, so I invited her for a little drink.

Spent the next several hours canoodling by the river, eating strawberries and drinking champagne. Finally returned to find everyone enjoying a board game. Joined them for a game of cards, grinning like the idiot I am, and then retired.

No regrets.

But generally it's a really inconsiderate thing to do and I find it very annoying.

 

[El Mahdi]

...For the most part, the only thing that results in a canceled game is if the DM is too sick to run.

Why!?! If the DM can't run, doesn't it just make it harder for the DM to get away...

 

[Morrus]

I think one every 4 months or so for us - and usually good reasons known in advance (somebody's going on holiday, having a baby, etc.) Very, very occsionally there's a same day "have to work late" cancellation (in fact I had to do that today) but it's rare.

I think my group - and we're all 30s/40s - recognises that it's an effort to be there, and so makes the effort out of respect for the other people. Perhaps in our younger years we all went through the "lots of cancelled sessions" period and kinda realised that it doesn't work.