Dice spinning

[Jesus_marley]

I never really fidgeted at the game table. I wasn't a dice spinner either. I fell asleep a couple of times though. In the DMs defense it was because I was totally exhausted and not bored. The other players were good sports about it too. they just took it as in-game actions. My character became known as Sulik the Narcoleptic gnome.

My GF isn't a spinner either though to watch her game you would think she is bored to tears although she is probably the one paying the closest attention. She will sit at the table and KNIT while gaming or do cross stitch. But if you ask her what is going on, she can tell you exactly who we have to find, why, for whom, and what we have to do after.... freaky.

 

[jollyninja]

I'm not a spinner or a stacker but i do spend about 50% of my time at the table making sure my dice are lined up just right. it varies from game to game but they end up color coded or in ascending size, all on the same number or some such thing after every roll. I suspect it's a mild form of obsessive compulsive disorder but I don't do anything else that would lead to that diagnosis.

for a time, i would begin a game night by rolling every dice i had on the table until it was a one. I jokingly reffered to it as letting the bad rolls seep out the top. the other guys started calling it seeping. then they started doing it as well to since it's statistically difficult to roll the same number two times in a row. I quit eventually.

in short some people just do strange things at the table, if they find out it's bothering someone else, they will probably quit. penalties are excessive, just ask them not to do it.

 

[Lanefan]

I've had spinners and stackers at my table over time...doesn't bother me until and unless the dice stack comes crashing down and knocks the mini's out of place; then I holler.

I've also had people write, read, draw, do statistical analyses, etc. at the table...I realize not everyone can be involved at every moment, fair enough. But when people are involved, I get annoyed if the drawing etc. doesn't get put aside.

My own thing, when bored, is that I'll turn my character sheets into little works of art.

Lanefan

 

[Tewligan]

Mostly, I try to paint miniatures during slow spots in the game to keep myself occupied.

Hm. Although I am myself guilty of stacking, spinning, and sorting my dice, I think that actually painting miniatures is a bit much. Dice fiddling doesn't really take any attention and is just something to keep my hands busy. Painting takes a good bit of attention and concentration, though - enough so that I would think it pretty rude if someone was carefully highlighting a figure in the middle of a game, even if it is a "slow spot."

 

[Nadaka]

Im a stacker, I stack things when I can absorb information without concentration. One time, in a programming class for a language I already knew, I managed to stack 4 pens strait up on the table. I got such a dirty look from instructor Pham... I also stack during games when other people are running thier turns or there is some RP while my character is elsewhere.

 

[blargney the second]

I've taken to playing D&D standing up. Full-body fidgeting is actually more comfortable, and I find it easier to get into character because I'm free to gesture.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

I am an expert dice spinner (in my own mind).
I don't do it out of boredom (usually).
I'm the DM, so if I was bored it's a whole new problem.

If I were bored I'd be dice stacking. How high can he go folks.
...darn d4's don't stack so well though...

 

[Aaron L]

My hands are constantly moving. Nonlethal Force sounds just like me.

However, I have Tourette Syndrome, too, so I have some tics, but if I can manage to get something else to fidget with it usually helps as something to do other than the tics. Penalizing people for doing these things is mean. You have absolutely no idea why they are doing this stuff. It could be lots of reasons. Trying to "punish away" the behavior you dont like is pretty bad. These are grown people, not children, and not pets. If I had someone tell me to stop fidgeting, which I have have had happen, Ill lose focus, not be able to pay attention, and my tics will start to come out, and then theyll REALLY have something to annoy them. I used to get in such trouble in school because I would draw during class. If I sat there staring at the teacher I wouldnt hear a word the said because my mind would wander. But if I could draw, then it didnt matter if I was looking at the teacher or not, I heard everything they said (not that any teacher I had was ever worth listening to).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

When I game I stack & spin my dice...occasionally I even play "Mason."

In my case, its not really a case of boredom, but I've always been a "multitasker." I still have game input when needed, talk to the others at the table, etc.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Hi. I'm Duane...
Hi Duane!
...And I'm a dice spinner. The first step of course is to admit that I am powerless over my dice spinning. I never consciously decide to spin, just as noone decides to become a mouse - it just sort of happens to you. As for WHY I do it, well as part of the moral inventory step I don't think it's necessarily because I'm bored, though that can happen. I do it ANY time I feel fidgety and for any and all of the reasons mentioned already. Yes, boredom, but also just too much energy (like when you're unconciously bouncing your leg until someone tells you to knock it off because you're vibrating the table), to ASSIST in paying attention (by not having to sit, UNMOVING, staring at a wall while trying to concentrate on what the DM is saying or waiting for your turn at combat), or maybe just because dammit I ENJOY IT. I enjoy finally getting that d10 to stay up and watching it start to wobble and thinking "that's called precession". I can't help it! I'm weak! I'm weak!

Seriously, if it bothers you just freaking ask whoever's doing it to stop because it distracts/annoys you. But don't assume that there's some Freudian, behavioural indicator in it. Sometimes dice spinning is JUST DICE SPINNING.