Laptops at the Gaming table: worth it?

[FunkBGR]

When running my conversion of 2e Night Below to 3.5, invaluable.

When running my Age of Worms game, it got in the way.

It depends completely on how you use it. I'd recommend looking at some pieces of software, like www.rptools.net (or whoever makes InitTool, and MapTool, etc.), and PCGen, and see if those are things you want to have handy. If you can find the goods, then it isn't tough to get a system down so that you aren't being bogged down by the laptop at the game table.

I'd also have to agree with players not having laptops. I play in a WFRP game where two of the players frequently have laptops, and when I leaned over once and saw one of them playing World of Warcraft? Yeah, that got to me. I mentioned it to the GM too.

 

[The Levitator]

This topic seems to come up monthly and it always seems that inanimate objects are the blame for problems at the table. I personally don't think there's a difference between the player/GM burying their nose in a laptop as opposed to burying thier nose in a book, magazine, PSP, cell phone, comic book, doodle pad, etc.

Inattentive players has always been a personal issue in my experience, not a prop issue. I wouldn't even try to run 3.5 without using DM Genie. DM Genie handles 99% of the mechanics which allows me to focus on vivid descriptions and cooperative storytelling. I find it much easier to find things on my laptop than pouring through 20 books and 5 different notebooks (how I used to game). So I spend less time doing busy work and more time playing the game. I know that it's not the be-all-end-all solution to GM'ing for everyone, but I'll never blame inanimate objects for being the root of distractions at the gaming table.

 

[palleomortis]

i guess this is as good as any place to ask, but i've just recently accuired a laptop (+3) and would like to get a dm sceen on it. Granted, i mean a classic DM screen. A pdf that resembles the same small, three panled, cheap lil' one that was released by WoTC. If anyone has a pdf for that (homemade or not) I'd be very gratefull to have it, or a link to it. THanx

 

[Glyfair]

The problem is the players, not the computer. These are the same players who will be reading spell descriptions when they should be paying attention to role playing. I've used my laptop for years as a replacement for all of my books, as well as note taking and scratch paper. It is definitely useful.

However, it's usually easier to set up a house rule "no laptops at the table" then set up a rule "Charlie can use a laptop, but Chris can't."

I personally don't think there's a difference between the player/GM burying their nose in a laptop as opposed to burying thier nose in a book, magazine, PSP, cell phone, comic book, doodle pad, etc.

The difference is that having a laptop at the table is the same has having a book, magazine, PSP (does anyone really allow PSP's at the table?), cell phone, comic book, doodle pad and a DVD player all at the same time. This is especially true if the computer can connect to the internet (which is usually the case these days).

Yes, the player or players are the problem. However, saying the laptop doesn't contribute is ignoring the elephant in the room.

 

[The Levitator]

In all fairness, I never said that things in and of themselves don't contribute to distraction, but I definitely don't believe that a laptop is any more of a distraction contributor than anything else. Cell phones and PDA's can get online now, so I don't think its the internet's fault either. Heck, a lit candle in the room can contribute to distraction, but I would hardly blame the candle for being distracting ( I once sat in with a group where one player spent the entire session putting his fingers in and out of the flame of a candle). There are a million things in any given room that could contribute to distraction, but whether or not the become a distraction is up to the people at the table.

I don't disagree that inanimate objects can contribute to distractions at the game table, but I give 90% of the responsibility to the player being distracted. The actual items being used to game can be distracting, so I don't buy the argument that removing potentially distracting items (in one person's opinion) does any good. I've seen people twiddle with and stack dice, doodle on their character sheets, thumb through splat book after splat book, etc., so if a person wants to remove every single potentially distracting object in the room, there won't be anything in the room but the players.

I've been lucky as a DM to have good players that get into the action and contribute consistently to the game. I've been a player in some nightmare groups that barely get any gaming done with all the extraneous activity going on, though not for long. My players tell me that I keep the story interesting and do a good job of moving the spotlight around frequently. Of course, they are probably just sucking up to keep their PC's alive, but I do know that I make a concerted effort to keep everyone "in the game". I think it helps that we are an older group. I'm 38 and my youngest player is 30. We all have jobs and families and responsibilities, so our gaming time is precious to us. We don't waste a lot of time because we don't have it to waste. My memories of twiddlers and easily distracted players are definitely of my younger days of gaming. Even with my online group, where they are in their own homes with plenty of their own distractions, I almost never have to wait on a player that doesn't realize we are waiting on them. So maybe it's partially an age thing too, or at the very least connected to the amount of free time people have in their lives outside of gaming.

If I'm running a group and I see that someone is constantly distracted, I just talk to the person outside of the group to find out why. Maybe they just aren't as into the game as everyone else, maybe they have a personal problem with me or another player, and maybe they are just having a bad day. But my first reaction is never to take away whatever it is that they are fiddling with, but rather to find out why that person is distracted in the first place.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

I use a laptop, and I pritty much need it. I use www.d20srd.org to look things up quick.

Im running a red hand game and I use the web enhancement addon with all the monsters in it. I take them and put them into open office with a 2x2 table. I also add all the creatures not included like the base creatures from the players handbook (with the help of d20srd). now i can easily change all the creatures stats if i think an upcoming encounter is too weak or strong. It lets me really tweek the game. My only regret is that its not a tablet pc. That would really make it shine. I could track all the hit points and rounds on it as well.

any i think a pc really speeds up prep work and speeds up the game. I like paper, but I also like trees.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I used one for a while. I no longer do.

Printouts, reference cards, and other hard copy tools of the trade (e.g., books ) just seem to work better, IME.

And for prepping, I prefer a desktop PC. Mainly because my laptop is ass, by way of comparison. :\

 

[meomwt]

At GenCon UK in 2007, I saw an entire table full of laptops - DM and players alike - deep in a Living Greyhawk game. The entire table was French players.

With the amount of table-top taken up by portable PC's, I'm surprised they had space to roll dice!

In my home game, laptops are banned. If one of our players is GM-ing M&M, he uses his laptop but he is under orders to keep it out of Mrs meomwt's sightlines.

 

[Kvantum]

Between myself and the five regular players in my tabletop game, we have 4 laptops. Waaaaaay too many. Ideally, it would be 2. One for the DM (d20srd.org is a lifesaver) and one for the appointed mapper/note taker/treasure loot list person. Beyond that, they're just a major distraction.

Although a calculator program is handy for my players who can't do math. Kind of an important thing for a low-Epic level game (just about to finish up Age of Worms). A point could be made in terms of being able to IM DM's notes and such, but it's just a distraction, in the end.

Get one for yourself, and then maybe let one of your players bring one. Any more than that and you're just asking for trouble.

 

[sfedi]

I personally don´t use computers while I play, it messes up the table dynamics.