Gaming with limited time

[DreadPirateMurphy]

I haven't gamed since high school (other than computer gaming), partially due to a lack of time. I have a full time job, a (non-gamer) girlfriend, an exercise schedule, etc. Mostly, I just collect RPG books for D20 and GURPS. There are a lot of folks on these boards, though, so I'm wondering if there are folks who have extremely busy schedules and still manage to game? Do you guys have strategies that allow for enough game time to make it worthwhile?

I've thought about just posting at the FLGS for a group, but that seems kind of random. Maybe I'm a snob, but I would want to game with mature folks (I'm in my 30s) who also have other interests, not the typical lurkers I see at the FLGS (no offense intended).

 

[Shallown]

If you have a busy schedule that usually means a somewhat set schedule. It is mostly a matter of deciding you wantto invest the time and play. Believe it or not most groups can get the same amount done in 4 hours as they can in 6. Mainly due to less BSing and such when the clock is ticking. At this point in your life Gaming is taken seriously in the sense that you are blocking off time to do it. Its like taking up any hobby/sport and make that clear to whatever players you recruit. Showing up and getting started is serious even if the campaign style may not be. I have problems playing every two weeks but it seem to work for a lot of groups. I think a Weekly commitment for 5 hours is fine (30 pre game and post game for BSing and such) but my lifestyle despite a job and family is not that intense most other hobbies involve gaming in some way for me anyways.

It just takes dedication.

Now as far as recruiting a good group. That has many methods and almost all are hit and miss. I would dedicate the same time I planned to run a game recruiting. one reason is you know if that is a reasonable amount to dedicate before you have others dependent on you setting aside that time. Another point is finding a good group is not easy. Its well worth it in the end and by far not impossible but sometimes frustrating. I have always been lucky in this regard but I know that thatis luck and not the norm.

Good Luck

Later

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Well, I have a full-time job, a wife, two young children, a house to take care of etc. etc. I manage to put aside some time to do game prep, usually late at night on the weekends, probably 3-4 hours a week, a little more the week of a gaming session. I don't need a ton of weekly prep time since our group is all pretty much as busy as us, and with one a nurse who works weekend shifts, we don't get to game very often, maybe once every six weeks on average. Its kind of frustrating when we have a long gaming drought (right now we are at the tail end of a 9 week lapse due to three members buying new houses and moving), and I would love to play every other week or so, but I realize it would take a lot more of my time to keep up.

 

[francisca]

Wife, 2 kids, house, full-time job, and I used to teach a 200 level class part-time. I gamed about once a month then. Since I stopped teaching, I'm gaming about 3 times a month. The secret: I only sleep 4-5 hours a night. Explains alot, doesn't it?

 

[DarkMaster]

Try to convince your girlfriend and you just got yourself another player. I have a wife, a kid, a full time job, exercise 5 hours a week and soon I will get into my new house and I manage to play once a month. Do the prep usually the week before playing. The other player are my sister, her boyfriend they have a kid two, a friend and my sister's brother in law. I find that it helps a lot when you know well the other gamers. But what helped the most is to have your spouse playing and enjoying the game. You get to spend time with her and game and you are doing an activity that both of you enjoy.

 

[spectre72]

Full time job as a Database Developer, Volunteer Fire Chief (this is a HUGE drain), Wife, and a house that always needs repair (which I do myself).

My advice is what we have done and has worked for a number of years.

Play once a month on a set schedule with a set time limit to play each time.

We play the third Sunday of every month from 1 PM to 8 PM.

This way you can schedule your busy life around a set thing that doesn't move month by month.

As I said earlier this has gotten our group from never playing to at least getting to play once a month

 

[Joshua Randall]

Kind of stream-of-consciousness here - apologies.

I agree that you can accomplish a lot in 4 hours of gaming, once/week. Or once every other week if you have to. Make sure the players understand that with the limited time allotment, the focus should be on the game - not on critiquing Lord of Rings or making Monty Python jokes. Make sure all the players (and you) have a firm grasp of the rules, so you don't spend a lot of time looking stuff up. Use tricks to speed up combat (roll attack and damage at same time, use initiative cards, etc.). Use the Take 10 rule as much as possible. Let the players develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) so that you don't bog down the game with endless repititions of the same actions (e.g. checking a door for traps, then Listening at it).

Use e-mail to take care of as much gaming administration as possible: leveling up PCs, item creation, rumor mongering (Gather Info checks and their results). Anything that does not involve rolling a d20 can be done thru e-mail. And even some things that do involve rolling dice, if you trust your players to be mature about it ("Last week we ended the session just as the party was about to enter the dragon's cave. For this week's session, everyone make a Listen and Spot check and e-mail me the results.").

Make sure the non-spontaneous spellcasters have prepared standard spell lists for various situations (In Town, On the Road, In the Dungeon, Maximum Buffing, etc.). Make sure the warriors have pre-calculated all their crazy attack combos. Basically, offload as much of the preparation onto the players to do between sessions as possible.

Then game your eyes out during your 4 hour sessions. It works for me.

 

[WizarDru]

I haven't gamed since high school (other than computer gaming), partially due to a lack of time. I have a full time job, a (non-gamer) girlfriend, an exercise schedule, etc. Mostly, I just collect RPG books for D20 and GURPS. There are a lot of folks on these boards, though, so I'm wondering if there are folks who have extremely busy schedules and still manage to game? Do you guys have strategies that allow for enough game time to make it worthwhile?

I've thought about just posting at the FLGS for a group, but that seems kind of random. Maybe I'm a snob, but I would want to game with mature folks (I'm in my 30s) who also have other interests, not the typical lurkers I see at the FLGS (no offense intended).

It can be done.

I have a wife (who games), two children, a house, work 50 hours a week minimum, go to the gym and have other obligations. We still manage to game almost every week.

If you can manage the discipline of going to the gym, you can do the same for gaming. When time is a constraint, you find ways to work around it. Published modules require less work on the front-end, for example, and agreeing to certain rules can be one method towards maximizing your time.

Have you visited the Gamers Seeking Gamers forum? That's a good place to start. Also, consider whether you'll be DMing or playing. As a player, your time investment is less, but that may not be your preference. As a DM, I suggest not using a homebrew world, but adapting an existing setting, and using published magazines and Dungeon to supplement your work. Aadapting or changing a module is far less work than writing a whole module out of whole cloth.

 

[Klaus]

How To Survive Real Life, by your truly:

http://www.fierydragon.com/DB/DB_MAY14_2003.htm



Just to give you a notion: I'm about to wrap up my first 3e/3.5e campaign, at 11th level. It started at 1st level almost THREE YEARS AGO!!!!

 

[BiggusGeekus]

DreadPirateMurphy,

I'm also in Herndon. We play about once a month. Our goal is basically to have fun. Sometimes it's Warhammer. Sometimes it's D&D. One of the guys hosts a regular poker game and paintball tends to break out around now. We're not fanatically devoted to the game. Beer/cig breaks are common and I accidentally derailed last Saturday night's game getting into a discussion about children's book with one of the other dads in the group. Another guy is a band manager. So, it's reasonably diverse.

That being said, I'm a raging nerd and largely unapologetic for it a couple of the other guys are as well. We also tend not to accomplish much during the games. Our last foray into the Temple of Elemental Evil lasted three encounters and we had four character deaths. Oops.

July looks pretty bad for us, as our "game day" will likely be spent helping one of the guys move. But if you want to be kept in the loop, let us know. Also, if you want in on the poker game feel free to drop a line (I won't likely make it but it's a way to feel the group out and decide if it's a good match).

-BG