Computers/Laptops at the gaming table?

[the Jester]

I chose 'minimal use', but how it really works is, as dm I do prep on my computer and a couple of my players sometimes use their laptops for organizing stuff.

 

[Crothian]

The Computer is your Friend

In one game we have the DM who uses a laptop, in another game we havea player that uses a laptop, and in the final game we have no one tjhat uses a laptop.

I will say if I owned one, it would be very tmepting to use it.

 

[wingsandsword]

I keep my laptop by my DM screen when I run my game, for the following reasons:
1. Soundtrack. I've got winamp and about 5 gigs of MP3's for background music there.
2. Experience Calculator: http://www.thegamehub.com/gm/encounter.asp
3. Treasure Calculator: http://www.aarg.net/~minam/treasure2.cgi
4. Forgotten Realms Atlas Software.
5. .pdf's. I only have a few I use, like the Grand History of the Realms (http://www.geonomicon.com/chronology/A Grand History of the Realms.pdf) but they would eat up ink lightning-quick if I tried to print them.

I don't have any PC's who bring laptops to the game, they just take up space on my gaming table already. I had one player in one of my games who is a big gadget-head and carries his laptop to every game he's in, and keeps his character sheet on a PDA. However, he's known for spending all his time staring at the screen and playing a game or something. In one campaign he was in, he wasn't invited to return at one point (the campaign was actually a series of campaigns set in the same world, but in different parts and different eras, telling one large interlinked story, he wasn't thrown out in the middle of a game) all because he spent so much time on his computer playing games that he would forget to act in combat, or not roleplay and just fill a seat.

 

[Breakdaddy]

The GM is the only one allowed to use a laptop at our gaming table.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

I started using my laptop at the table last session.
This far it serves two purposes: Number totalling. "Uh.... let's see. 10 +5 +2 +7 +7 +4 -3 -6."
And, most important to me, it acts as my spell book. It makes allocating spells on the fly (ie: after resting between combats) much easier. It helps with tracking what spells I have used, and checking out my bonus spells. As a downside, it makes it harder to get to the mini's. It hasn't distracted me much this game, though it did in the last campaign. As long as I don't upgrade or re-orginize my data during the session I seem to be ok.

 

[mossfoot]

We use a laptop for character maintenane for our d20 game. And my other game is played online, so it's all kinda on a computer

 

[Galethorn]

Only I(the DM) use a laptop at the table, and even then, I keep it off on a side table so as not to crowd things or distract me. Its mostly used for combat reference and a few stats, while I prefer to have the actual books and other things if I can.

Same exact thing for me; side table and everything.

 

[Furry]

We have a couple laptops around the gaming table. They're not in constant use, sometimes for looking things up. I probably use it the most out of all of us.

I make the most beautiful spreadsheets for dividing up treasure.

 

[Kaji]

I'm often the DM, and keep loads of stuff in custom apps for gaming on my laptop. I buy almost all of my stuff electronically.

Some of my players use laptops and electronic character sheets. The cool thing about that is if you are cursed, for example, you can make the adjustment to an ability score on your character shett, and everything will automagically adjust for you. Much easier than remebering that your Swim score should have a hit.

 

[maggot]

I voted "The DM has a computer and one or more players use laptops during the game" but really it is more like "One of the players has a laptop and helps the DM as needed."