How long is your sessions, and how do I extend my?

[broghammerj]

Why do your players get board after 7 hours?

You have to start analyzing your game as a DM. Is there too much mindless hack n slash? Too much roleplaying and not enough action? Is there traps/puzzles the PC have to figure out which are overly difficult? Find out why they get tired of it.

We always try to play for 10+ hours. As a DM this can be really tedious. Our group's general consensus is that playing is better than DMing. Is the DM revealing his boredom or disappointment to the players and they're responding in turn.

My suggestions:
1. Take breaks to eat, watch football, play x-box, etc. A short 1/2 hour break can revitalize a group.

2. Make sure everyone gets a decent nights sleep before playing. This has a huge impact.

3. Play other campaigns, games, and switch DMs. Our group gets DND'ed out sometimes. (I'll get stoned for saying that here).

4. Make sure your players are on board with you. 1 bad player can ruin the whole session if they're distracting or complaining.

Well that's my 2 cents worth.

 

[Decamber]

While you are at it, you could change either to even!

You...!
Well, it is siebenundzwanzig minuten nach Gebraubintoschel (or whatever it's called - I didn't pass my German grade), so my mind has been disassembled into very small pieces of unequalized inverted radium photons...squared... for several hours ago. (Wow, I sounded smart. Tock tock.)

 

[Decamber]

Also, to add to this thread: How long does your pre-playing time normally take? Not prep-time, mind you, I'm talking about the time before the session when everyone is sitting at the table. And is this time being added in to your tally in the above poll?

Our group is usually sitting down for at least an hour before we play (food, catching up on events, etc.).

Usually it takes about an hour to start. Some while ago it was even more, about two hours or two and a half I guess.

 

[Thanee]

Well, it is siebenundzwanzig minuten nach Gebraubintoschel...

I can only guess... Mitternacht (midnight)? Geisterstunde?

Bye
Thanee

 

[BluWolf]

I would say we average a good 5-6 hours. Any longer and my old feeble mind can't keep up anymore.

 

[John Crichton]

My suggestions:
1. Take breaks to eat, watch football, play x-box, etc. A short 1/2 hour break can revitalize a group.

This is a good point. During long sessions, dinner breaks are a great way to recharge. I'll usually have the Yankees game on or something. Even a 1/2 sitcom works, too.

2. Make sure everyone gets a decent nights sleep before playing. This has a huge impact.

Another key element. I hate playing tired and can always tell when one of the players is distracted. It throws me and everyone else off their game.

3. Play other campaigns, games, and switch DMs. Our group gets DND'ed out sometimes. (I'll get stoned for saying that here).

I hear that. Sometimes I just need someone else to run for a bit. Even if it's just for a week or 2.

4. Make sure your players are on board with you. 1 bad player can ruin the whole session if they're distracting or complaining.

These players don't last long in my group, nor should they in anyone's. I pull aside people who are the offender and have a talk. If it continues they are asked to not come back.

Good points all around.

 

[Decamber]

Why do your players get board after 7 hours?

You have to start analyzing your game as a DM. Is there too much mindless hack n slash? Too much roleplaying and not enough action? Is there traps/puzzles the PC have to figure out which are overly difficult? Find out why they get tired of it.

We always try to play for 10+ hours. As a DM this can be really tedious. Our group's general consensus is that playing is better than DMing. Is the DM revealing his boredom or disappointment to the players and they're responding in turn.

My suggestions:
1. Take breaks to eat, watch football, play x-box, etc. A short 1/2 hour break can revitalize a group.

2. Make sure everyone gets a decent nights sleep before playing. This has a huge impact.

3. Play other campaigns, games, and switch DMs. Our group gets DND'ed out sometimes. (I'll get stoned for saying that here).

4. Make sure your players are on board with you. 1 bad player can ruin the whole session if they're distracting or complaining.

Well that's my 2 cents worth.

Those tips of yours sounds good, I'll have us try them!

What has been misunderstood is that I am not the DM. I am actually one of the players who gets bored. It's hard to say something concrete which makes me bored. Thinking realistically, boredom comes from having a bad time. So that should be the reason, however I am not sure if there are any other factors. I will think of it next session and really try to find out what is making me get bored.

What we've discovered to be a hard fact in our gaming group, is that when someone fails, everyone follows. If a single player (or to be extreme, the DM) gets bored, then there won't be a good game because everyone will be affected of the radiated boredom of his. That's a big problem, especially for the DM since he's the one who's responsible for everyone having a good time.

 

[Decamber]

I can only guess... Mitternacht (midnight)? Geisterstunde?

Bye
Thanee

Well, the first would be the most correct one, I guess.

 

[Mistwell]

My sessions last about 3 hours. Honestly, I think that is close to the length a good session should be. It's why movies last 2-3 hours, and why most people only read books in 2-3 hour time periods, if not shorter periods of time. That is the attention span for creative experiences. Much beyond that, and details start to drop off, and attentions wander.

7 hours should be plenty long, regardless of your youthful stamina. I would focus on making each session higher quality, rather than higher quantity.

 

[drnuncheon]

We generally go for 4 hours on normal nights (Fridays) - that's not counting the hour or so of dinner/prep time that we share beforehand.

Every once in a while we do a 'double session' on Saturday, starting about 2ish and going until late, with a dinner break thrown in.

This weekend, we did both (!) as apparently the cliffhanger I left them with on Friday was too much for them to handle. But I don't anticipate that happening again anytime soon.

J